[IC] Batman: Gotham Knights

[thatguy]

The previous night had been spent in several hours worth of recuperation after having the Crime Doctor work on Victor's wounds.

Luckily, he had received a small boost due to the Doctor's nefarious and greed lusting mind, and the barber behind the door, running the mask of this backdoor operation, but once he has able to hobble around he was kicked out onto the streets with a threat made by the man calling himself the Crime Doctor.

"If you don't pay your fees in 24 hours time," he had said last night, "i'll place a call and tomorrow the Gazette won't even bother printing the story of a dead bitch in the narrows," so that's what Victor had set out to do, hobble along with a wooden cane and look for a way to make some fast cash, specifically $1,000.00. Several more hours into the night, and he used the wooden cane to beat down on muggers and crooked shopkeepers alike, though he enforced a "finder's fee" by the time he finished beating everyone to a bloody pulp.

Now it was morning, and he was $200.00 short, well technically $180.00 because he was now sipping some crappy tasting mug of Joe, ironically at Joe's diner. His blood stained walking stick leaning against his leather seat. He watched with pent up anger as two of the employees were getting into a kind of lover's quarrel, but when the man started to physically misuse the young lady, he started to white knuckle the coffee mug. Then he caught sight of the young woman's face and nearly went into a comical "oh shit!" kind of face when he realized it was the same woman who had saved the hostages at the Deadshot fiasco last night.

Victor glanced outside as he felt another small rush due to the woman manhandled, now feeling like he didn't need a crutch and like had just woken up from a nice nap. He peered outside, making sure there weren't any authorities around, but saw a wall mounted tv that was displaying his image of killing an undercover cop by kicking him out a window. He looked back at the young man who turned his back, and Victor got up with his stick.

"You don't deserve balls," Victor said as he slammed the bloody end of the stick against the backs of his knees, knocking him down, "if you're going to treat the dames with no respect," and as the kid fell unsuspecting, Victor slammed it against the crown of his skull.

"And make a better cup of coffee" he added, ignoring the man's half screams and half moans of agony.

[Omega Man]

It had been a night or two since the incident with Deadshot in downtown Gotham, as well as the authorities finding Bane's near lifeless body with plant remains and soil all around the area. Bane was still in the intensive care unit of the hospital, while Deadshot managed to escape. Bruce was hard at work in his cave and went with the lead he had. Are the new heroes in Gotham allies or potential threats? He remembered a tracker he gave the plant creature from months earlier and pulled up a GPS signal on the largest monitor of his bat cave computers. He wasn't too shocked by what'd he'd discovered...

"Independent Acres. One of the places I was looking into for possible hideouts for Pamela Isley. Is she connected to the creature..." Bruce thought with his mask off, "What do you think Alfred..?" he started to say looking over his shoulder only to see Alfred knocked out cold and a ninja striking his temple with the power of five baseball bats.

Across town, 9:00 pm...

A graying man sat in dimmed light in a shady hotel. The curtains just barely kept the bright lights of Gotham out. An empty bottle of Jack Daniels is on the floor and the man peeks out of the window with his left eye giving an almost stare into the sun kind of expression. Suddenly, a message popped up on the laptop resting on the generic table also by the window.

"The Bat hasn't been seen in two nights and Deadshot is still running free. The League of Assassins may already have a foot in Gotham. Lawton may be our only lead...- H"

The older man knelled down and typed a message for the Hacker...

"What do you know about swamp creatures in Gotham? - J"

~KL~

[Sheikarah]

Jenna's head jerked up as she heard the sounds of violence from the diner. She ran around to the front window to see the brooding man she had seen before slamming his walking stick into Issac's head. She gasped and ran in there, ready to confront him if he attacked anyone else. She realized within seconds that the strange man was actually defending her and furrowed her brow. He turned towards her and Jenna's eyes widened as she got a better look at his face. Suddenly an image of the same man in a dark half mask and jacket with a bird feather pattern on the back popped in her head and she realized it was the man who had fought Deadshot.

She half raised her hand towards him "Oh my God...It's you!" She half whispered. She was about to run out of there when Mr. Baxter came in and started shouting.

"What happened in here?!" He saw Isaac struggle to get up while trying to wipe his nose and the back of his head at the same time "Isaac, are you okay?"

Jenna cursed profusely in her head and took a step towards him "I'm sorry, Mr. Baxter, it was just..."

Suddenly Isaac pointed at her with fire in his eyes "The bitch punched me!"

Baxter's eyes widened and turned to Jenna "Is this true? Why would you do that?"

Jenna was about to speak but Isaac cut in again "No reason! I was just saying hi and she punched me in the face!" He pointed at the man with the walking stick, a little fearfully "And then this guy beat me up with his cane!"

Finally Jenna snapped "Mr. Baxter, I did punch Isaac in the face, but only after he threatened me." She glared fire at Isaac "Isaac said that unless I went to his house tonight and put out, he was going to call the cops on me."

Isaac shook his head "I did not! I invited her to a party at my place tonight! I said nothing about the cops, she's lying!"

Jenna felt her fist ball up unconsciously and she bit her lip to keep her from punching him again "No. Mr. Baxter, I should have told you before, but Isaac has been harassing me for weeks now. It was only today that I finally did something about it."

Isaac's glare grew fiercer and he shouted "Well guess what?! I'm going to call the cops anyway! And then I'm going to sue you!" He pointed at Baxter and tried to smirk but the bruise growing on his face wouldn't let him "Unless you get rid of her, and her muscle!" He pointed at the dark man and Jenna shook her head.

She opened her mouth but Baxter raised a hand "I'm sorry Chica, but you need to leave now." Throughout the exchange the other customers of the diner had stayed silent but a few looked almost angry enough to speak. Baxter sighed and thumbed towards the man "And take him with you." Jenna bowed her head and nodded stiffly, trying to control her anger.

She turned towards the door and firmly tugged at the man who had attacked Isaac. He followed her and just before the door closed behind them Mr. Baxter stepped out and smiled sadly "We'll talk in a few weeks, okay?" Jenna stiffly nodded again and Baxter smiled, reaching into his pocket "I'm really sorry about this, but I can't afford police or a lawsuit right now. But I can afford to give you a few dollars for your work. Here." He handed her twenty five dollars and closed the door.

After a moment Jenna's expression changed from resigned frustration to full on anger and she dragged the man into the alley. She turned to face him and glared, pointing at him while she loudly whispered "You're the guy from yesterday! The one with the half mask and the bird jacket! What are you doing here?!"

[RumikoOhara]

.

[thatguy]

"Oh my god, it's you!" The voice forced Victor to freeze in a mid-strike as he was in the heat of the moment and anout to land a blow to the kid's temple, no doubt kill him.

He was about to speak, before the owner of Joe's Diner came rushing to the scene, "What happened in here?" The man demanded, looking from Isaac, to Victor and then to Jenna. Victor was about to rat on the ungrateful punk, and white knuckled his blood encrusted stick when Isaac spoke up.

"The bitch punched me!" He cried out and pointed an incriminating finger in Jenna's direction, "Mr. Baxter, I did punch Isaac in the face, but only after he threatened me!" Then she added with a hard stare at the punk, "Isaac said that unless I went to his house and put out and call the cops on me!"

'Like the cops would do anything in this town' Victor thought as Isaac spoke up, quick to defend himself with a comment,

"I didn't, I invited her to a party tonight at my place! I said nothing about the cops!" Victor wanted nothing more in the moment than to smash this kid's head open and kill him for lying about wanting to get with a minor.

Finally Jenna spoke up, and Victor could see her fist forming and her biting her lip, trying to show restraint, something that Victor probably had very little of, "No Mr. Baxter, I should have told you before but Isaac has been harassing me for weeks now, it was only recently that I did something about it!"

Then Isaac shouted at her with a mouthful of hatred, and Victoria's violent urges began to reach the surface as his face grew red, "Well guess what?! I'm going to call the cops anyway, and i'm going to sue you!" Then he turned to the owner, Mr. Baxter, "unless you get rid of her, and her muscle," Victor could see that Jenna was ready to defend herself verbally again, but Baxter spoke first,

"I'm sorry Chica, but you need to leave now," then he looked towards Victor, "and take him with you," defeated, Jenna did as she was told and gently started to push Victor towards the door when he quietly gave Isaac a little warning,

"When the Sun goes down, you'll have better chances with the Clown," he whispered in the kid's ear before being whisked away outside, Mr. Baxter had followed them and added in sympathy, "we'll talk in a few weeks, okay?" He reached into his pocket and gave her, "I'm really sorry about this, but I can't afford police or a lawsuit right now, but I can afford to give you a few dollars, here," he said, and handed her 25 dollars and retreated into the store.

Victor was nearly dragged by the young woman into the alley when she exploded on him, "you're the guy from last night! The one with the half mask and bird feathers! What are you doing here?"

Finally Victor himself exploded, "first, take a step back little girl, second, I deserve a god damn thank you for teaching that fucker a lesson," then he folded his arms and added, "and third, I owe money to some dangerous people, I was planning on robbing the joint before I saw you getting harassed, so that's another thank you I deserve!" He finished and breathed hard as he leant on his stick for a little bit of support.

[Sheikarah]

Jenna's eyes narrowed and she took a single step back in a defensive stance. "Look, I'm not some 'little girl' you need to defend. Isaac's an ass but I didn't ask you to beat the crap out of him, I can do that myself. " She pointed at his stick "You could have killed him with that!" She crossed her arms and looked him over, maintaining a cold glare but there was a hint of compassion and sympathy in her eyes once she saw his injuries.

Jenna raised an eyebrow "How much money do these 'dangerous people' want from you?" She wanted to ask why they wanted money from a vigilante, but she could tell this guy would never tell her. A part of her was considering punching him for almost robbing the diner but another equal part was against it because he didn't.

[RumikoOhara]

Cypher Enjoys the Show

Cypher lay atop a building across the street from Joe's diner observing her prey through a pair of Sunagor Mega Zoom Binoculars (30-160x70mm)
She saw everything through these beauties and could have with ease counted the spots on the cook's apron and even made a good guess as to their cause. That's why when the altercation happened inside she was glad that she had the digital camera attached to them and they sat on a mini tripod.

She began recording what could be viewed through the window just in case things got messy. And as she watched she used her ability. To read lips to follow a good deal of the conversation.
When the Vigilante and the young woman came out side she gently pivoted the optics to focus solely on them and their conversation.

"You're the guy from last night! The one with the half mask and bird feathers! What are you doing here?" accused the Young woman as she confronted him in the alley.

Cypher leaned back an opened a sleeve of Sabrosas crackers and began munching them like popcorn as she watched the show.

"First, take a step back little girl, second, I deserve a god damn thank you for teaching that fucker a lesson; and third, I owe money to some dangerous people, I was planning on robbing the joint before I saw you getting harassed, so that's another thank you I deserve!" said the Vigilante an then he leaned on his stick which he'd used so violently earlier.

Cypher took a sip of her mango drink as she mulled over his statement about preparing to commit armed robbery. This flaw of his troubled her because until that admission she'd marked him as a hero thug type, hell if she were him she'd at least rob the criminals and leave the good citizens alone.

The woman's eyes flared with anger as she began teling him where to shove it
"Look, I'm not some 'little girl' you need to defend. Isaac's an ass but I didn't ask you to beat the crap out of him, I can do that myself. You could have killed him with that!" she said finishing up and indicating his stick.

[thatguy]

"Look i'm not some 'little girl' you need to defend. Isaac's an ass, I didn't ask you to beat the crap out of him, I can do that myself," Victor raised an eyebrow and laughed inwardly,

"Yeah, you were doing such a good job back inside, way to stick up for yourself," he mocked her with a clap,

"You could've killed him with that!" She said pointing at his bloody walking stick, Victor looked at it silently for a moment before shrugging his shoulders since violence like what just went down was an everyday occurrence for him.

"How much money do these 'dangerous people' want from you?" Victor crossed his arms and looked away from her for a moment, out at the hustle and bustle of the city streets, he had past cafe televisions that were screening his identity to the public after he had killed a man to get to Deadshot, now the Families would probably want even more.

"Not that it's you're business or anything, but I need to a man $1,000 dollars for fixing me up after last night," he paused, trying to decide if he should continue, "or, someone I care about is going to be in some... trouble,"

[Sheikarah]

Jenna once again considered to punch him in the face when he clapped his hands but she stayed in control. She leaned back slightly and waited as he looked out at the streets.

After a second he turned back to her "Not that it's your business or anything, but I need to pay a man $1,000 dollars for fixing me up after last night," Jenna raised her eyebrow and maintained a harsh demeanor but internally she felt sorry for him. "Or, someone I care about is going to be in some... trouble." Despite his brash personality and rudeness, there was something about the way he spoke that made Jenna actually want to help him. She knew the lengths people would go to for the sake of someone they care about and was beginning to understand his motives.

Of course, her stubbornness was rearing its head again and she was considering going home and forgetting about him, but she had seen him risk his life for the same reason that she had risked hers. After a moment of internal debate she sighed and shook her head. She pointed to the ground as she checked to make sure nobody was looking. "Wait here."

Within seconds she was back at the warehouse and she quickly ran to her room. Jenna unscrewed a panel in the wall behind the boiler and took out a wad of bills and a few coins before she teleported back to the alley, praying that nobody besides the bird guy saw her. Luckily for her, nobody did. She added the money she got from Baxter to the pile and held it out to him. She sighed again and spoke with a slight edge in her voice.

"This is 154 dollars and 92 cents. Take it." She shoved the money into his hand and teleported back to the warehouse before he could react.

Finally the truth of her actions hit her and her entire body sagged as she ran a hand through her hair. What now?

[RumikoOhara]

Deep Thoughts and Potential Allies

Cypher watched as the two in the alley talked about the events of the other night and of owing money to criminals. She saw when the girl gave the Vigilante money and how it wasn't quite enough.
This caused her to pause and consider her options and future actions.
Cypher knew that the Vigilante was so desperate for money he'd commit a crime but the fact that he'd seek to abuse his power and take from anyone was troublesome. She would need to work on that aspect of his morals.

That was when it hit her, she knew where he could obtain a large amount of cash tomorrow and while technically it was stealing he'd be harming a criminal enterprise. "Hit them where it hurts, the wallet" was what she thought as laughed softly.

Her next problem was how to get the Vigilante to cooperate.

Her plan was quickly thought out and put into motion. Cypher drew from her small back pack one of her Crown Royal bags which she used to separate fetters, a length of string which normally she used to lower personal eves dropping fetters within range of conversations. She then took one of her three burner phones and after checking the charge put it in the bag along with 300 dollars cash.

Perfect she thought as she tied off the top of the bag with the twine. She then maneuvered herself ahead of the Vigilante and climbed the first fire escape ahead.
As he approached she dropped the bag on the string and waited like a. Fisherman for him to take the bait.

[thatguy]

When Jenna teleported, Victor leaned against the wall of the alleyway, staring into the spot that she had only been in seconds prior.

Then she reappeared seconds later with a wad of bills in her hand, to which Victor saw almost immediately and she handed them to him, "This is 154 dollars and 92 cents. Take it," she told him,

Victor remained quiet for a moment as he pocketed the cash before saying, "i'm still about thirty dollars short," he said in a matter of fact kind of voice, inwardly he was very thankful, but he had an image to uphold as the "tough guy" on Gotham's streets.

He noticed out of the corner of his eye, a woman's purse being lowered down and his reflexes kicked in, grabbing the twine it was attached to and tugged at it, looking up he exclaimed, "whoever you are, show yourself!"

[RumikoOhara]

First Contact

Cypher released the string and made an easy retreat trusting that curiosity would cause the Vigilante to look inside the bag. She flew across the rooftops using all her skill as a traceuse to cover ground before he can decide to give chase. She sees her escape and dives down it finally landing in the alley below after a series of acrobatics that would thrill, stun an terrify anyone who saw.

She doesn't hesitate once she is down as she pulls her black long sleaved top over her head and removes her wig allowing her long dark hair to spill from beneath.
Reaching down she unzips the legs of her BDU pants an pulls them quickly off then stuffs all this into her bag. She now looks like an entirely different person as she pulls a colorful draw string laundry bag from her backpack then uses it to cover the black backpack.

Slinging the bag over her shoulder Elli heads out of the alley and over to a train station. After a leisurely assent up to the raised platform Elli finds a seat and pulls another phone from the right thigh pocket.

She dials the number and waits for him to answer

[thatguy]

Victor scowled as the mysterious figure disappeared over the rooftop, then turned back to Jenna, "what the he'll is that about?" He turned his attention back to the bag to find $300 in cash and a cell phone, "this is ridiculous," he said with a snort before pocketing all his money in his wallet, then heard a ringing noise and picked up the disposable burner phone.

"Whoever this is, you better not be messing with me or I swear to God," he growled a nearly empty threat and waited for a response.

[RumikoOhara]

'Hi Big guy heard you needed cash so I cut ya an advance.
Now I knows that bout nows youse is asking yer self who tha hell is this frail?
Ma name isn't needed but less say I'm a friend.
The guy ya tossed that theys stinkin bout was no copper but one Oh Deadshots gang
Cypher uses an obvious but effective accent to disguise her own as she talks to Vulture.

"Now here's tha skinny ya need to knows.
I break tha back of tha bad guys by gathering info nobody else can get.
Trouble is that means I have ta allow fer some crap ta happen an that erases my warm an fuzzy.
I want this ta stop but muscle I ain't got an that's where ya come in sweet cheeks. Yous are da muscle
And here's tha bright silver lining they always got cash when I hit because theys wallet is more tender than their balls
I'm not sayin ya keep all tha cash just a couple of grand fer expenses an tha rest ta charity
So ya in or out? she says finishing

[thatguy]

'Hi Big guy heard you needed cash so I cut ya an advance.
Now I knows that bout nows youse is asking yer self who tha hell is this frail?
Ma name isn't needed but less say I'm a friend.
The guy ya tossed that theys stinkin bout was no copper but one Oh Deadshots gang

Victor listened with a raised eyebrow at the odd voice, knowing that he wasn't feeling the tingling sensation that normally accompanied a boost in his body functions when he confronted those of ill intent. So whoever this was, she was one of the good guys, or as good as good could get in Gotham.

"Now here's tha skinny ya need to knows.
I break tha back of tha bad guys by gathering info nobody else can get.
Trouble is that means I have ta allow fer some crap ta happen an that erases my warm an fuzzy.
I want this ta stop but muscle I ain't got an that's where ya come in sweet cheeks. Yous are da muscle
And here's tha bright silver lining they always got cash when I hit because theys wallet is more tender than their balls
I'm not sayin ya keep all tha cash just a couple of grand fer expenses an tha rest ta charity
So ya in or out?

"Charities be damned," Victor laughed mockingly at the voice, "whatever cash I get I keep," he turned to look at Jenna before turning back around, "but what the Hell, i'm in. But know this mobster sounding lady, you cross me somehow, and i'll rip you're throat out faster than you can blink,"

[RumikoOhara]

"No deal, I'm no crook and will have no truck with simply privatizing crime against criminals. I do this to hurt them not make you or I wealthy.
You're already in deep do my friend because they're framing you.
I don't know how you managed to piss of such powerful people or if you were so frigging unlucky that you dropped into their laps as a perfect scape goat but either way you've screwed the pooch Cypher sighs as she pauses briefly before going on

"You've already made me wonder if you should be my next target by committing crimes to gain money.
As I said I don't roll that way and as a demo of what I know about you I tell you a few tidbits about yourself

Cypher begins by telling him in what alley he'd kept his bike even describing the color of tarp he covered it with, what color the dumpster it was parked near was and how many trash cans and fire escapes the alley contains.
After that she tells him what streets he took to get to the scene of Deadshot's crime

"So ya see bunky I know a lot about you an I've only been on you since the other day. Now imagine what I know about the criminals I want taken down. And judging by your connections you might be able to point out probable targets I've missed, even I ain't Jesus

[Sheikarah]

Jenna was only in the warehouse for a minute when her thoughts drifted to Galahad and she sighed. She thought to herself I guess I should at least make sure he's okay, those injuries looked pretty bad. So she teleported back to the alley and saw the guy talking on a mysterious cell phone with a less than patient tone of voice.

Throughout the exchange between the bird guy and whoever was on the phone, Jenna had stood with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. She was considering just cutting her losses and teleporting back to the warehouse but she wanted to make sure this guy wasn't about to go rob somebody else. There was also something about him that piqued her curiosity, but she was very careful not to let it show. Her brow furrowed as he said "Charities be damned, whatever cash I get I keep," and her opinion of him lowered slightly but her interest increased when he glanced back at her for no apparent reason.

He turned back around and said "but what the Hell, i'm in. But know this mobster sounding lady, you cross me somehow, and i'll rip you're throat out faster than you can blink," and a tiny smile crossed Jenna's lips as she thought about her new alias.

Jenna heard the mystery person on the phone start talking in a very long winded sort of way, and while she couldn't hear the specifics, the look on the guy's face told her that he wasn't liking it too much. Once again she raised her eyebrow and considered going home but instead she quietly walked around the man to face him, trying to figure out why he intrigued her as well as think of something to say once he was done talking.

[thatguy]

"No deal, I'm no crook and will have no truck with simply privatizing crime against criminals. I do this to hurt them, not make you or I wealthy."

Victor agreed with that statement, but at the same time, a city like Gotham, money got you a long way if you spent it right. "I want them to hurt too, don't get me wrong,"

You're already in deep do my friend, because they're framing you.
I don't know how you managed to piss of such powerful people or if you were so frigging unlucky that you dropped into their laps as a perfect scapegoat but either way you've screwed the pooch."

"How I landed in their lap is of no concern to you, hell, I don't even know what you look like lady,"

As she began to recount every detail on his end of how he dealt with Deadshot, starting with where he hid the stolen bike, he started to realize how far up shit creek he really was if this 'Big Sister' had been watching him for so long.

"Fine then," he said after a second's deliberation, "we do it your way, but the moment you go to anybody with any information about me, my methods, or how I handle things, then nowhere on Earth is safe for you. Understood?"