[IC] Batman: Gotham Knights

[Omega Man]

Batman has had it pretty rough. Nightwing is now Agent Grayson and working for Spyral, Batgirl is separating herself from the rest of the Bat-family, Red Hood is an international gunman running with the Outlaws, and Red Robin is among the roster of the Teen Titans. The last Robin, Damian [biological son/clone of Batman] was thought to be murdered by another clone of himself, an aged anti-Batman called the Heretic... but it was all just a ruse. Damian, 13 year old former assassin and former Robin, has now taken his place at the head of the League of Assassins with his mother Talia Al Ghul. Their mission is to bring Batman down, and to take down the man you have to strike him in the heart... Gotham. With Batman's team scattered, and the Batmen Inc. disassembled, Bruce Wayne was tasked with finding new heroes to fill the gap and protect Gotham from the criminal element as well as the oncoming war with the LoA. Some with powers, others without, heroes one and all. How will this new team defend Gotham, and what lengths will they go to save the man that gave them a second chance?

Gotham info used in the game (Crime Families and Burroughs near the bottom!)

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Accepted Players/Characters

The Kid Lantern - Skeleton Jack
Sheikarah - Blink
Lord Wraith - the Fool
Hillan - Shaman
thatguy - the Vulture
BlackSam - Paladin
Pathfinder - Forest
riurik - Wraith
Rumiko - Cypher

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Rules:

1.) No back-to-back posting.

2.) PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL AND SET-UPS!!

3.) Make sense. If we can't make heads or tails of your posts they're likely to get skipped over.

4.) Get permission before using another player's character in your posts if it involves changing the scene or making actions. Everybody will take beatings in this game in battle however, so don't get pissed if you get punched or blasted into a wall by the bad guys!

5.) Problems with the game or players should be sent directly to me through PM's. I don't want a bunch of bickering in the OOC.

6.) Abandoned characters will be used as NPC's or killed off within the context of the story.

7.) There is no rule #7.

8.) “I was waiting for [insert player/character] to make a move” is not an excuse to not post.

9.) My word is law.

10.) In the event that I'm offline for any period of time, the deputy GM (not yet selected) will take control and HIS/HER word will then be law.

---

It was 1:19 am in Gotham and a chill was in the air. Batman was out of town, last seen with the Flash leaving the city around 10 pm concerning something with Justice League in Opal City. In Gotham's East End neighborhood, an underdeveloped area riddled with crime, drugs, and prostitutes, Skeleton Jack was on the hunt. Out of the corner of his eye he caught some gangbangers cornering a young woman in an alleyway. He leaped down as quietly as he could and came in behind the punks. After striking one in the knee and making himself known he took a few steps back. He popped his neck as the men pulled knives and one was already carrying a ballbat.

"Batman isn't the only one in the shadows of Gotham anymore..." Jack starts saying in between dodging the punks' attacks and making a few critical strikes.

"Let his sidekicks deal with the psychos in costumes and the nuts in Arkham, you lowlifes answer to ME now!" he screamed leaning back and dodging a strike from a baseball bat only to take it afterwards and break it over the guy's shoulder.

Skeleton Jack continued to fight the six men and after a few moments he'd managed to knock out or half cripple nearly every one of them. One of them, however, was still awake and crying for his life. He looked like he was on some kinda drug. Jack looked back at the girl, still taking cover behind a dumpster...

"Get out of here while you can..." he said sternly while looking back at the man on the cold wet alley beneath him.

"Don't kill me man, don't KILL ME!" the lowlife begged.

"Shut up..." Jack said kicking the man in the face and knocking out a few of his teeth as he walked away.

~KL~

[Sheikarah]

Jenna sighed and rubbed her upper arms to try and fight off the cold. Her jacket was tattered and from a glance at the moon she guessed it was around midnight. She debated whether or not to head back to the warehouse and get some sleep but her instincts were telling her to hold out a little longer. She started walking through the back alleys and garbage covered streets of Gotham and was just about to call it a night when she heard scuffling just aroun a corner. She quietly ran up to the corner and raised her hood to cover her face. She peered around the corner and glared as she recognized some small time gangbangers of the Bowery neighborhood that were harrassing some boy.

"Yo, all I want is my money." The leader of the tiny gang, Leo, spoke with a cocky smirk.

The kid, who looked to be about 15, swallowed a lump in his throat "I-I don't have any money, this is my first time walking around here, I just wanted to get home."

Ray, Leo's chief muscle, grabbed the kid by his collar and hoisted him into the air "These streets are ours. Ya wanna go through? Ya gotta pay up."

Jenna shook her head slightly as the kid just about wet his pants before she tossed a can into the alley across from her. The gangbangers all turned their heads and she quickly teleported behind one of the goons. A hard punch to the back of the head, and he was down for the count. The rest of the people turned to her and she maneuvered between them with teleports, punching, kicking, and sometimes biting them into unconciousness. Finally she was face to face with Ray. She knew from experience that he was big, but he wasn't dumb. He grabbed at her and she jumped backwards just in time to avoid his hands. She took a deep breath and teleported rapidly around him in a circle, punching him and teleporting before he could react. After a minute of the abuse Jenna gave him a roundhouse kick to the stomach and he went down. She turned to Leo and he ran as she nodded. Jenna looked at the kid and helped him off the ground with a hand. He looked at her with terrified eyes and started hyperventilating.

"How...How did you do that? Who are you?"

The strain of so many teleports in such a short time was starting to get to her and she waved her hand "Don't worry about it. Just get out of here and don't come back." The boy nodded and ran off while Jenna braced hersef for one more teleport and almost collapsed against the wall behind her. She could hear the bass booms from a nearby car and Jenna decided it would be better to rest for a while before she headed back to the warehouse so she just sat there, taking deep breaths and resting from the strain.

[thatguy]

The blacked out 2014 BMW pulled up to the curb of a sushi restaurant that was recognized by the public for such delicious food, but to those in the know, it was a meet up spot for organized crime.

Stepping out of the back passenger side, a young man with raven black hair stepped out, a look of constant anger easy to read upon his facial features. He pulled the hood of his sweatjacket over his head as the light rain made a soft, annoying patter on him, he then stepped onto the curb and watched as the BMW pulled away and drove off.

Sighing quietly, the young man walked inside and took note of the few exits, fire extinguishers, and the oriental employees. He made eye to black eye contact with one young man who was cleaning and pulled out a roll of cigarettes and a lighter, only for a short asian lady to approach him, screaming in another language, the busboy approached him to roughly translate for her, "i'm sorry sir, but this is a non-smoking establishment,"

For the first time, the young man spoke up, his voice full of hidden aggression like a jaguar ready to pounce, "Sure about that?" He asked and proceeded to light the roll aflame. He smiled at the sight of their eyes wide in shock, then turned to the busboy, "I know what this place really is, so you have two choices," he tossed the burning cigaretted behind him, soon catching a curtian on fire, "you can tell the owners of this joint that is place under new management, or," he  paused to go and grab the fire extinguisher, ignoring the screaming asian women, "or this becomes a smoking establishment,"

He let them think it over, while the wall began to burn behind him, then he turned and started towards the front door, an image of a vulture emblazoned on the back of his grey and black sweatjacket. He took one last look at the asian family and walked out with the fire extinguisher in his hands, whistling a quiet, yet random tune. Then he walked towards the front window, emblazoned with the restaurant name and phone number, and slammed the fire extinguisher against it so hard that it shattered, giving them back the fire extinguisher, but damaging their image as well. 

Then he walked off without another thought of what he had just done, yet at the same time he was full of regret and self hatred, but he knew the end of all this was worth it.

[RumikoOhara]

Elli walked behind the maids cart she was pushing down the hall of the Gotham Royal Hotel. None who passed her saw paste her disguise as middle aged slightly over weight mexican woman.
Stopping outside room 422 she used her pass key to open the door and pushed the cart inside.
She had to suppress a giggle of excitement as she walked through the suite collecting the contents of the waste bins and then sheets and covers. She replaced the trash bags and made the beds then left the room.
She parked the cart a few minutes later in the supply room and stuffed everything she'd collected trash sheets an all into a large piece of rolling luggage. Afterwards she quickly removed her disguise then exited the supply room dressed as a young business woman before the fourth floor cleaning crew came on their shift.
She rode the elevator to the seventh floor and walked into her suite ready to begin her investigation of Steel Eyes Stan a mob boss who had managed to avoid direct entanglement with Batman so far.
Steel Eyes was a smart criminal who operated through multiple cut outs and took great pains to sweep his rooms for listening devices and even used vibrational feedback on his windows to avoid laser mics.
Pity that he as smart an careful as he was couldn't have prepared to defend himself from Cypher.
She began with his trash first pulling a spent cup of coffee from a nearby trendy Java Jack's shop.

She allowed time to drift backwards to the point at which the cup was being filled with a double cafe carmel latte. She listened to the small talk the mob gofer exchanged along his route back to his boss but heard nothing useful.
She relaxed when Steel Eyes Stan took the cup a dismissed the gofer.
:Steel Eyes:"Okay now back to business" he said as he took a sip of his Java.
:Frank the Mink second banana:"I looked into that weapons dealer an he had all the vouch he needed to clear him as righteous" says the fat wise guy
:D D Delgado Consigliere:"Stan I checked him with the Garelli an they says he's the man for the job"
:Steel Eyes: he sips his drink as he thinks things out then says "Tell him we want him to arrange a Button man we can deny an if he can give us that then we'll deal weight"
:Frank the Mink: "But boss he's a supplier not a Fixer" says Frank to his boss.
:Steel Eyes: "I know what the man is but before he gets to become our supplier I want his hands wet as proof he's legit"
:Frank the Mink: "Sure Boss but who you want him ta have cooled?" asks Frank
:Steel Eyes: "I don't care who just pick a mook an have him cooled, as I said I want blood on his hands an I don't care who's it is"

The trio's conversation drifts after that to what's for diner an women before the cup is discarded.
Cypher goes through the trash an finds as expected only about 15% reveals any good intell but what she gets from that would make a Fed Special Investigation team drool.

Collecting all her sources back up Elli packs it back into her luggage and heads down stairs an checks out.
She has a cab Hailed and heads across town where she catches a subway to the south side and catches a bus to the harbor; several times she switches transport till two hours later she steps into the office of Sinclair Searchers - Tracers and Pet Finders.
She grins as she sits down to her terminal an log on to check her open business messages.

[Lord Wraith]

A cool wind blew through the dark alleys as the large SUV turned down the narrow passage. Ahead of it, two bright pillars of light shone towards it as two men got out of the awaiting car. Gotham had never been a safe place and while men like the Batman had tried to change that, it seemed that the city was doomed to continuously allow crime to flourish within its streets. No matter how many gangs were broken up, nothing ever seemed to change. Gotham's underworld was a like a hydra and no matter how many heads you destroyed, more seemed to grow to take their places.

Stepping out of the passenger's side of the larger vehicle, the well dressed man adjusted his trenchcoat as an associate climbed out of the back seat and opened an umbrella above his head, warding off the incoming rain as a light drizzle began to damper the dark night. Walking towards the men who had arrived ahead of them, the lead man pulled out a cigar, biting the tip off before promptly spitting it towards the ground as he tilted his head towards the associate holding his umbrella who extended a lighter, igniting the cigar as the man took a long drag. Exhaling a ring of smoke, the man finally spoke, his low voice rumbled like distant thunder as every word was punctuated by a thick Italian accent.

"Do you have my weapons?" The man asked as the man standing beside the other car snapped his fingers causing his own associate to turn around and present a case. The locks opened with a loud snap echoing through the quiet alley. Turning the case towards the Italian, the man displayed the disassembled sniper rifle within.

"For fifty million, we make sure every one of your gangs are armed with Spetsnaz grade weapons." The Russian said as the Italian motioned to his own men who opened a case containing top grade counterfeiting plates.

"What about a trade?" The Italian said motioning towards the plates as the Russian's eyes lit up.

"OH! ME! ME!" A voice suddenly rang out through the alley as the cocking of weapons quickly followed, both the Italians and Russians searching for the source of the obnoxious voice.

"I've got a shiny marble I'm willing to trade for those!" A man in a three pointed hat called out, his loud obnoxious garb resembling something that should have been worn by a jester or a Renaissance Fair attendee. The pitter-patter of a handful of marbles hitting the ground quickly followed by a hissing and a loud bang as clouds of laughing gas billowed into the hair.

"Shoot him!" The Russian called stifling back a chuckle as he tucked his face into the nock of his elbow and bolted for his car. A yo-yo whipped through the air, wrapping around the nozzle of a gun as the man in the strange costume bounced towards the gunman before suddenly leaping over his head, spreading his legs as he sailed over. The yo-yo suddenly going taunt as the gunman's weapon was forcefully slammed into his face.

"That had to hurt! Hate to be you tomorrow morning!"

Following the wannabe hero with his weapon, a second gunman suddenly was suddenly met by a spring loaded fist into his face.

"Oooh! Too slow! K.O. in one!"

Cards sailed through the air, their faces adorned with the markings of 'The Fool' tarot card. The sharp edges bit into the Italian gunman, causing each man to began chuckling uncontrollable as the poison laced edges infected their blood stream.

"Live a little boys! How about some laughs?"

Swinging around a large mallet, the Fool smashed the hood of the Russian's car as the latter tried to start the vehicle. The impact of the hammer activated the vehicle's airbags as they exploded forward launching the weapon case that was still in the man's hands into his forehead. The Russian suddenly slumped down in his seat, knocked out cold as the Fool turned his attention towards the Italian.

"Always watch out for hammers! You never know when one's just going to jump out in front of you."

Unfortunately, the Fool hadn't work quick enough as the sound of squealing tires filled his ears. Suddenly the his laughter filled the alley way as the Italian pushed the metal to the floor harder only for four loud bangs to come from beneath the vehicle as the tires were destroyed by a field of jacks left ahead of time by the jester like man. Sparks flew every which direction as the bare rims scarped against the pavement and the Italian lost control of the vehicle, the wheels going every which direction as the chassis met a brick wall and the Italian too was rendered unconscious. Reaching into his utility satchel, the Fool pulled forth a can of silly string giving it a shake as he walked towards the ruined vehicle chuckling.

"Hopefully you won't be too tied up for your arrest."

[Pathfinder]

Forest was sleeping, he liked sleep. The city wasn't the swamps or forests that have become his name. No the forests were quiet, only the sound of rustling leaves and the speedy feet of deer or squirrels... Forest liked squirrels. Swamps were good too, not better than forests but ok. The ground wasn't as nourishing as the forests were and the beetles would try to bite into him as he slept the days away. Plus the crickets would make a lot of noise, not that it was a bad noise but Forest just liked the serene calm that forests had. With a little shake Forest was roused by the sounds of two men arguing and the unmistakable "thunk" of shovels cutting into earth.

Aroused from his sleep, punched his arm out of the dirt and began to drag himself out of his shallow grave. Changing from what looked like a bush, which looked quite odd in a cemetery, to his usual titanic frame. His arrival must have scared the men because as soon as he showed up the two began to yell in a language he didn't know, perhaps Russian? Either way they stopped their grave robbery and shakily took out their guns, fear very evident in their voices. Deciding that this would be easier if they just ran away, Forest stomped his feet and roared at the pair. A trick he learned dealing with bears. The roar was a cacophony of sounds that could mostly be summed up as the sound of a dragon, a revving up car, and a large man all making noise at the same time.

The effect was less then stellar. While it did scare the two, one even releasing the foul fertilizer that comes from man, they began to fire their guns at Forest. The bullets had no effect really, just denting some wood that would quickly heal in a minute or two, but the fire that came from the muzzles frightened Forest and he panicked. In a swift motion, Forest swung his giant arms and smacked one man and he flew far, hitting one of the big rock houses that dead people live in. With the other man still firing, Forest brought his arm down and crushed the remaining man. However with the fire done with what was left was fear and more panic.

Forest did a bad, just like the man told him not to do. Pacing around, Forest tried to find a way to solve the problem. Not knowing what to do, Forest did the only thing he could do. He yelled. With a great effort, Forest yelled and yelled until he saw lights all around flick on. There was no way that someone wouldn't call the blue men now, guns shots happened all the time but Forest doubted that they had heard him before. With that problem taken care of, maybe, Forest had to find a new place to stay. He couldn't go to the park, after the green lady was there the plants were mean and the soil made his head fuzzy. With no other choice at hand, Forest went back to his old hole and hid away.

As he sat there, Forest idly felt inside of himself and pulled out the little machine the man bat gave him. The man bat told him to call if he was in trouble, but Forest didn't know how to do that. At a loss as to what to do, Forest did as much as any giant plant manchild would do and just hugged it close. If he hugged hard enough than maybe the man bat would come and help him like he did before.

[Sheikarah]

Jenna jolted awake to the sound of gunshots and horrible, loud screaming that almost didn't seem...Human. She stood up quickly and looked around in an almost panicked way. What the...How long have I been asleep? I knew I should have just teleported home, I am so stupid! She thought as she made sure that she still had all of her clothes, her shoes, and the other stuff she carried with her. After she was sure that nothing was missing she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. In the span of the few moments it took for her to calm down, the gunshots and screaming had stopped and police sirens were getting closer. Jenna looked up at the sky to try and figure out how long she had been asleep, and sighed in relief when she saw that it was still sometime in the small hours of the morning. She debated whether or not to go find out what was going on with the sirens but eventually decided that she had done enough for one night. She closed her eyes and teleported back to the long abandoned warehouse she had called home for almost eight years.

Jenna took a quick walk through the halls and empty rooms to make sure no one else had come in while she was gone. Satisfied that she was alone, she walked to the main boiler room and pulled out the key she kept on her necklace. She unlocked the door and smiled as she walked into the one room she had made her bedroom, kitchen, living room, dining room, and even her bathroom on really cold days. Jenna turned on the small camping lantern and yawned as she stretched tiredly. She rolled her shoulder to get the ache out and shook her head. She sat down on her makeshift bed and pulled off her shoes before she slowly lay down and pulled the ratty blanket over her. She rolled onto her side and sadly smiled when she looked at the singed picture of her family. She almost grabbed the picture but shook her head and turned off the lantern, ignoring her rumbling stomach as she slowly drifted off to sleep. Just before she lost consciousness Jenna thought about the yelling noise that had woken her up.

What kind of person could possibly make a sound like that? I mean...It was loud and angry but...It sounded scared too. Almost like...Almost like he sounded...

[An Outsider]

"You sure this is the most prudent course of action?"

"Uh-huh."

"But those guys have guns. You could get hurt!"

"Too late to change my mind now. Already put my evening wear on."

The two men speaking were Dr Aaron Kitchell, an engineer of superlative skill and Galahad, a man who's skills were better left unspoken. Kitchell was currently in the safety of his underground bunker, a repurposed subway station terminal that was thought to be lost during the No-Mans land crises while Galahad was deep within the confines of the Bowery, one of Gotham's most dangerous neighbourhoods. The reason he was there was simple. Dr Kitchell had received a tip from one of his paid informants that a group of illegal gun runners operating in the city were using a loft in the Bowery as a safe house. As he wasn't the most 'physically' inclined of individuals it was left to Galahad to perform the wet work, something he seemed to relish with a near savage glee. To help in these evening jaunts Kitchell had developed and built the Knight Exo-Suit, a set of hi-tech armour that would keep Galahad ahead of even the most prepared of criminals.

So when Galahad, dressed in the Knight armour and calling himself Paladin, kicked the front door of the gun-runners hideout open and swaggered in with all the confidence of a man who owned the place its little wonder that the rogues were more than a little surprised. One man, slouched on the couch in the front room, could barely believe his eyes.

"Don't get up pal, I'll show myself around." stated Paladin before calmly shooting the crook in the leg, who could only scream in response. He'd heard that Batman had a 'thing' about guns, but Galahad had no such restrictions. In fact when you were as good with guns as he was it would be almost a crime not to use them, or at least that's what he told himself. He could hear Aaron gasp in shock, probably stunned by the brutality of the act. That was why he was sat behind a monitor in his safe place though, and Galahad was out here doing the wet work. Some men just aren't cut out for the hard stuff.

Paladin could hear a commotion from the back room, sounded like another two gun-runners getting ready for a last stand.

"Suit, switch to heat vision." the suit's visual readout snapped into obedience, the room becoming a colourful blend of blues, greens, reds and yellows, all indicating different heat sources. And there, just behind the walls of the next room and armed with assault rifles, were the other two gun-runners. Sometimes it was just to easy. With easy grace of someone who'd done this more than once he raised his arm and shot the two through the wall, careful not to kill them though. Maybe he didn't mind using guns, but he was trying hard not to have to kill anyone. He entered the room with the two smugglers and disarmed the two in amongst their groans for mercy.

"Who are you man?" asked one when it became apparent that Paladin wasn't gonna kill them outright, though if their wounds weren't seen to soon they run the danger of bleeding out.

"Just a concerned citizen. You found those guns yet Blacksmith?" Dr Kitchell had insisted that Galahad called him Blacksmith whenever he was in the field, which was just about the worst call-sign he had ever heard.

"The suits scan is indicating they are in the floor underneath you. Floors just normal timber, shouldn't have any problem getting to it. Will I call the police now."

"Them and an ambulance too, these fella's are gonna need it." Aaron had highlighted on Paladin's HUD just were the guns were, under the floor not to far from him. It didn't take much to stomp his armoured foot through the floorboards, revealing a sizeable treasure trove of guns and ammo. He idly thought about just how much money all that hardware could earn before shaking his head. He'd leave the guns for the cops to decide what to do with, which meant that they'd more than likely end up back on the streets in about six months in the hands of some new group of hoodwinks. That's Gotham for ya. He crossed back to the two crooks, who he hog-tied with a length of filament cable from his belt. By the time he was done he could hear the sirens getting closer. He waited until they sounded like they were right outside before pulling open one of the windows in the main room and swinging his legs out. The cops were banging up the stairs when he engaged his boot thrusters and kicked off into the night sky.

"Another good nights work." Aaron said, his happiness apparent even over the commlink.

"Yeah, a good nights work." Replied Galahad. A couple thousand more like that and maybe his conscience would stop weighing so heavy on him.

[Omega Man]

Two days had passed. Bruce Wayne was in the public eye once again at a charity fund raiser in Gotham. It was still early in the day, and the event still had another hour or so to go. Alfred sent Bruce two coded messages concerning a situation with Deadshot cornered by the GCPD with hostages involved, as well as a message involving Bane ripping through a chemical plant, namely Ace Chemicals. What were the chances both hired goons would pop up on the same day? Bruce was still at the fund raiser but he was distant. Plotting his course of action, deciding which required his attention the most. However the newer heroes in Gotham were already on the scene. The Vulture reminded Bruce of Dick Grayson...

"However without the innocence the boy had in the earlier years. While her trust is still in question, the homeless girl with the teleportation power seems like a valuable asset to have with ninjas and mercenaries on the rise. Mike being back in town is another plus..." Bruce thought while eyeing the crowd when a signal on his watch caught his attention.

An alarm went off on a laptop in a sub par hotel room. The lights were off and only a little evening light peaked through a crack in the curtain. "SWAT teams have been called into Gotham's financial district to intercept Deadshot. Bane has reportedly killed all three employees still on the facility grounds at Ace Chemicals including one security guard posted at the fence. - H" was written on the screen of the computer. Hacker was an old informant of Batman's, now under the employment of Jack.

"The chemical plant has something the junkie needs for his venom fix. This should be fun..." Jack mummbled rolling out of bed and grabbing a drink from a bottle of Jack Daniels' whiskey.

About ten minutes later Skeleton Jack was entering Ace Chemicals through a window on the top floor. There was Bane carrying out barrels of some chemical under his arms like some kind of comical gorilla in a video game. Jack observed the area, remembering key exit points as well as the layout of the factory itself and the number of side offices and storage closets. He made his way down to the chemical storage where Bane was located and challenged the behemoth face to face.

"You ready to do this, or do you need to stick more of that juice in your arm? Skeleton Jack asked with a grizzled voice and tone.

"I don't know who you are, but you picked the wrong night to mess with me hero..." Bane responded activating his venom pump in his wrist connected to an armband connected to the back of his head and mask.

Before the brute could fully develop his altering musculature, Skeleton Jack rushed him and grappled with Bane toe to toe and pound for pound until the size and mass of Bane grew into monstrous veiny proportions finally putting Jack to his knees like a scene out of professional wrestling. It was a stupid and arrogant mistake, Jack would not make it twice. Slipping a blade from the wrist of his left gauntlet Jack lunged at Bane severing the hose from the wrist device to his head and mask. The man who broke Batman's back still had power, but he only had a gallon of gas in a rather empty tank. Bane had been running low on supplies to produce his venom formula hence the heist at Ace Chemicals.

"You think I cannot break you with the power I have, skull-face?" Bane screamed while grabbing the man in the skull helmet and throwing him across a storage facility in the back end of the factory.

Getting himself picked up was an easy enough task, but Bane caught the would be hero on his right side with several powerful strikes from his large fists. Like Jack didn't even see the brute coming. Still, there would be others, right?

~KL~

[thatguy]

Victor sat in his bare, crusty apartment after doing what he was told to do with that sushi restaurant in Gotham's chinatown district. He was sitting in nothing more than a lawnchair, popping his knuckles and glaring at a web of interconnected pictures and clues, his television, or what could pass as one playing in another room.

Getting up, he walked into his bedroom, which was merely a torn mattress, and a television on cinderblocks, he had it on the news channel, just in case anything of interest were to occur tonight in this rotting city, as it did every night. Sitting on his cot, he paid silent attention as the scene unfolded before him. The master marksman known as Deadshot had taken hostages downtown, and damn near everybody had shown up to the party.

Turning to his closet, he said quietly, "Time for the Vulture to make his debut," and opened the door, revealing his costume in dim lighting, keys to a stolen motorcycle down the nearby alleyway beside it. The outfit was a simple blue half mask made of cloth, there were bits of blood and gore on it, but it wasn't his. The outfit was made up of a bulletproof vest that he stole from a cop, only moments are saving his hide in a shootout, and a letterman jacket with yellow and blue lines intersecting on it to look similar to a bird, or a vulture to be exact. Fingerless gloves and steel toed boots for an extra umpf in close quarters, and the young man was set after grabbing what little supplies he had.

Outside, the bike was covered in a tarp next to a dumpster, and only the desperate homeless folk would ever venture this close to one so he knew it was safe. He pulled the tarp and started the beast up without a hitch and drove off into the night, passing cars and pedesterians unlike, uncaring for their safety at this time, until he reached the ritzy and glamour of the downtown area, he broke through a police blockade without any notice and was mere blocks away from the scene.

He pulled to a stop shortly before reaching the multi-story office building and assessed the situation.

There was a way he could do what he was thinkIng of doing, but It would take time, of which the hostages had little, or he could ride straight in, but that would run the risk of being stopped by the police. So he chose the former and drove straight into the adjoining office building, glaring at the security cameras because of how easy it would be for a robbery to occur while everyone was paying attention to Deadshot. 

He finally pulled the bike into an elevator, and set it on the corrosponding floor of the two buildings, pausing only to listen to the elevator music, popping his joints to release the stress his nightlife gave him.

Once it reached the floor he desired, he floored the accelerator as the doors swung open and popped a wheelie just as he hit and shattered the glass window.

"Vulture'a gotta fly," he said to himself as he soared through the night sky for mere moments, a police search lightlight had found him half a second before he broke through the level below Deadshot's hostage floor.

There was a guard standing just outside cubicle farm he landed in, giving him a 1% boost in his faculties. Skidding to a stop, he tossed out makshift Vulture shaped blades from within his letterman jacket, not outright killing the man, but potentially paralyzing him.

"Now on with the show," Victor said aloud as he picked the man up and kicked him out of the hole in the window that he had just come through, and watched as he fell about four stories, the searchlight had found him again, if only for a second before he retreated into the darkness.

"He's not walking soon," Victor said as he walked out into the hallway and up a flight of stairs, getting another single percent boost as he slammed his blood encrusted brass knuckles into another guard and watched him tumble over the railing.

Deadshot was now mere feet away, and it was only for a second that Victor began to doubt himself, if he had jumped into the deep end without any floaties, but the life if his loved ones was at stake, and the lives of other loved ones as well, so he soldiered onand took out two more of a total of five Vulture blades and got himself ready for what came next as he kicked down a door...

[RumikoOhara]

Cypher finished her work online which kept her solvent and able to indulge in her shadow work. So she grabbed her laptop which she'd purchased at a flea market to avoid leaving a video or paper trail.

She left her office with a backpack that held the computer and a change of clothes.
She found an unobserved alley an switched clothing quickly then dressed as a typical traceuse (Female practitioner of Parkor) began an erratic pattern of terrain running. Her lithe form flowed over the urban environment like a squirrel through the trees till for her own reasons she stopped atop a building. Her reason was that this particular roof top had as many as 20 wifi connections. She set up her laptop after assembling a blackout tent she'd made spray painting a climber's tent with sealant. She didn't want the screen's glow to give away her presence and attract the police.

She opened her system's communication net work and set everything to binary which simplified her access. Adjusting her mic and headphones she began direct communication with the net. Using this method Cypher was able to basically lie to the systems she connected to as she wove an intricate web of connections and false trails. While she was no genius programmer Cypher's ability to speak and understand any language did allow her to do things few could. She was fully aware that a good programmer could trace her given enough time which was why she went to so much trouble to gain access.

She began posting to her free website which she'd named "Gotham Gossip"

Greetings my faithful followers and hunters.
Tonight's show is all about Steel Eyes and his interest in acquiring weapons and disregard for human life.

What followed was all the information she'd discovered using her own unique method of eavesdropping and it didn't merely cover Steel Eyes but several other criminals and the minutes of their private meetings.

Across Gotham several hackers hired by the cartels tried as hard as they could to trace her location. This wasn't new to Cypher Cypher giggled when one of them actually got close but was deflected when she lied to his system and said that she was actually just another false link in the elaborate chain.

Once she'd posted her new information Cypher closed down her laptop and even removed the battery as an added precaution against tracing. She then disassembled the tent packed it away.
As a method of throwing off anyone who might see her while she leaves Cypher goes over an sits on the edge of the building and has a Monstro Energy drink.

[Sheikarah]

Jenna was walking by an electronics store when she saw the news broadcast about someone named Deadshot who was holding hostages. Jenna gasped and quickly started running towards downtown Gotham. She knew that it was probably a bad idea with all the police there but she had to do something to help. She thought about teleporting there as she pulled her hood over her face but she decided there was too many people there to try.

After she ran for a few minutes, she found herself on the opposite side of the police blockade and anxiously pushed through the crowd to get a better look. She couldn't see this Deadshot guy or the hostages but she assumed they would be on one of the higher floors to gain the advantage over the police. Jenna looked around for a second to figure out where she would teleport into the building right before a guy on a motorcycle burst through the blockade. She couldn't see his face because of the mask he was wearing but after a second of looking at the building with the hostages he drove his motorcycle into the one right next to it. Jenna tried to figure out who that guy was or what she was going to do about him but before she could, he burst out of the fourth story window on his motorcycle and landed in the building with the hostages.

Jenna ran around to the side to look inside the hole in the window just as the strange man tossed a guard out. Jenna gasped and winced when the guard's body made a sickening crunching noise as it hit the pavement and she decided she couldn't wait any longer. She focused her vision on the office behind the shattered window and ran towards a dark alley. Jenna took a deep breath and teleported into the building while the strange man was walking up the stairs. Jenna ran after him and dodged another guard that he tossed over the railing. Jenna got a better look at his outfit and realized some of the patterns looked like bird feathers before she raised her eyebrow. The man pulled out some knives and kicked down a door.

A guard came up behind Jenna and she just managed to dodge his attack. She punched him in the face then kicked him in the stomach, causing him to stagger back to the wall. He leaped at her and she didn't react quickly enough to avoid a punch to the shoulder. Jenna teleported behind him and brought both of her fists down on the back of his head to knock him out. She ran up behind the strange bird man and carefully looked into the room he was about to enter.

[An Outsider]

It didn't take long for Galahad to don the Knight armour, not with Aaron's intelligent design making the whole kit as simple to slip on as a pair of comfortable old jeans, but it still felt like it took forever. Maybe that was because he knew that every second wasted was just one more that Deadshot had those hostages at his mercy, or maybe it was just apprehension for the nights activities. After all, its not everyone that can boast about getting into a gun fight with the worlds greatest sniper, though there might be a reason for that.

He could hear Dr Kitchell fussing in his 'Smithy', the portion of the abandoned underground station that he'd set aside for his lab and survey equipment. A set of beeps and whistles sounded, indicating that the direct link between Aaron's lab and the Knight armour was initiating. Galahad was fully decked out now, and about as ready to party as he was likely to get, so he stepped up to the raised blasting pad which would allow him to egress from the base.

"Open the hatch," he ordered. Despite the fact that this was Kitchel's operation, Kitchel's suit and Kitchel who was bankrolling the whole thing Galahad just naturally assumed a leadership role, but then he was accustomed to having his orders obeyed in his last life. Aaron tapped a few buttons and a hatch above Paladin's head slid open, revealing a metallic tube that would lead all the way up to a fake sewer grate in the East End.

The Armoured Vigilante was preparing to jet off when Dr Kitchell began to cough awkwardly, obviously desiring his attention. Paladin swung his head round, willing the Docter to be quick.

"So, uh, Deadshot huh? He's supposed to be good. Real good. The best, or so a lot of people say."

"Uh-huh." responded Galahad. It had become a small tradition of theirs, for Aaron to voice his fears of the coming mission, and for him to dismiss them with casual nonchalance. Galahad had come to realise that it gave Kitchell some measure of peace.

"Do you think he's the best?" Aaron looked about as worried as his friend had ever seen him, which was impressive because Aaron always looked worried about something.

"Are you asking if I think he's the best, or if I think he's better than me?" Aaron merely bit his lip at that, but Galahad could tell he'd hit the crux of the matter. He smiled, knowing that it would never show through his helmet.

"Well I guess there's only one way to find out." And with that Paladin blasted off with Dr Kitchell watching him a mixture of cold dread and grim respect.

---

Paladin had traversed the sky with the easy grace of someone who had been born to fly, dodging news and police copters like they were static. Though he wasn't trying to create an urban legend about himself he still didn't see the need to announce his presence to the world, especially when he'd made so many enemies in the past.

He was coming up on the building Deadshot had chosen to take his hostages in now. Aaron was right, Deadshot wasn't called that for irony, he really was the best shot in the world. Galahad was good, damn good, but he doubted even he could take the infamous Floyd Lawton on in a straight up shooting match. No, he'd have to mix it up with this one, and hope he was better of the two in CQC.

"Blacksmith, have you located the target?"

"Easier said than done, but not impossible for someone like me." Bragged Aaron, a red reticule flashing up on the HUD onto the side of the high rise building, indicating were Deadshot should be standing. "By the way, I'm getting reports of another couple of 'capes' on the scene. I'm trying to pull up some info on them, but they must be some new players in town because I can't find a darned thing."

"Good work Blacksmith. I'll deal with him if he gets in the way. Now you might wanna close your eyes, I think I'm about to void the warranty on your suit." He could hear Kitchell's panicked demands for what was going on, but he chose to ignore them as he accelerated. The suit picked up speed at an alarming speed, so he had to slow it some to get it back under control and aim himself straight for the red reticule. If this worked then he would torpedo straight through the plate glass windows and cannonball Deadshot off his feet. If it didn't then he was likely about to get a whole lotta people killed.

Himself amongst them.

[Pathfinder]

Forest hadn't moved in two days, feeling that if he did then he would get in trouble. It wasn't to bad, really it wasn't, Forest just slept. He even had a dream, it was about squirrels. Lots and lots of squirrels. Seriously, so many squirrels. However he was roused from his sleep by a beeping noise. At first he didn't think to much of it, just one of those background noises. But it persisted and finally Forest woke up, finding the little machine was blinking. Curious, Forest touched the blinking light and found a message from what sounded like the man bat asking for help. Happy that he could help, Forest listened to the message and crawled out of his hole, scaring everybody in a funeral next to him.

One issue remained however, Forest didn't know where the storage facility was. Walking towards a scared bystander, Forest tried to talk to her. A little trouble was had with translating his growl's into words but eventually she got him directions. With determination in his eyes, Forest shoveled a large amount of soil and placed it inside of his chest. As he absorbed the extra strength and made his way to the storage facility. His foot prints made large cracks in the ground as he ran, cars swerved out of his way and people ran screaming when they saw him coming. Oddly enough, no blue men showed up. They must be preoccupied. Shrugging it off he sped a little faster before he realized that he was suddenly lost. Forest hated it when this happened, he would just forget stuff sometimes. Throwing a little fit, he began pushing random buttons on the little machine before he accidentally destroyed it.

He was about to breakdown and throw a frustrated tantrum before he heard a large crash from his right, looking over he saw a large whole in the wall along with a dead man on the ground. Stepping closer, Forest heard "You think I cannot break you with the power I have, skull-face?" Whoever that man was, he was angry. Stepping in he saw a large man, bigger than any man should have a right to be, and a much smaller man. Searching in his memory, Forest found the description of the bad man that the man bat gave him. He definitely fit the bill. Well, no time like the present.

Giving a shrug, Forest did his bear scaring roar before charging at the man and slamming his mighty arms into the mans face. After the punch the man flew and landed on some metal containers. However this seemed to only anger the man as he got strait up and charged at Forest. Letting his oldest memories flood in, Forest remembered how to fight like a savage animal and charged back. The two titans crashed together in a tangle of muscle and branches. However the man was getting weaker as Forest grew stronger from the soil finally coursing through his veins.

[Lord Wraith]

The last two days had been rather slow for the college student. Wandering around the University of Gotham Campus, a wall mounted TV caught his eye as it showed Gotham's own playboy billionaire philanthropist at a charity fund raiser. Pausing for a moment, Jacob Jackson or 'JJ' as his friends called him, couldn't help but be envious of a man like Bruce Wayne. Infathomable wealth, beautiful woman constantly fawning over him and who could forget the amazing cars? Lambos, Rolls, Bugatti, Bruce Wayne had them all. Heck, JJ wouldn't be surprised if Bruce Wayne could solve world hunger just by selling off his car collection.

The fund raiser broadcast was cut short as it was interupted by a breaking news bulletin. It seemed that Gotham was having a rather busy night as both Deadshot and Bane were active. The live feed from the scene of Deadshot's hostage situation showed that there was already numerous police on the scene as well as a maniac in a letterman jacket. JJ wasn't about to get caught up in that mess, Bane however happened to be at the Ace Chemicals' building, the place notoriously known as the first sighting of the Joker. How very poetic that it could be the first place for the Fool to make a public appearance? Changing direction, JJ hurried back to his dorm, it looked like he was in need of a change of clothes.

Cool night air filled his lungs as the Fool bounded from roof top to roof top propelled by the spring loaded shoes on his feet. The glowing green sign for Ace Chemicals appeared on the horizon as the Fool came to a stop, leaning over a ledge just in time to see some animated tree like create charge into the building. Could Bane have had a run in with the wrong chemical? Was that creature what was left of Bane? The Fool wasn't certain but the show certainly had to go on.

"Lets go spread some cheer." He cackled as he tapped the handle of his large mallet agains his free hand. Jumping down, the Fool ran towards the building sliding through the opening before springing onto the back of the giant wooden creature.

"Watch out! Here comes Jack the Giant Slayer!" He cried, swinging his hammer down. "No I don't want to climb your beanstalk!" With another swing, he looked forward only to see Bane below the wooden monster struggling with the creature that the Fool had assualted.

"One day we'll all laugh about this!" He yelled jumping to the ground as he pulled a handful of marbles from his satchel. "Or we could all lighten up right now!" He yelled as he shattered the small orbs on the ground releasing the gas within.

"Hey Bane! Didn't the luchador style go out the same year your Mom and her army boots?" The Fool yelled as he threw a playing card towards the angry latino. "Hey man, I know what it's like to need a fix, I stay out of my way when I don't get my morning coffee but we have rules in this city. Rules that you sir have broken!" The smaller man taunted as he danced around Bane while avoiding the no doubt enraged walking tree.

"First rule of Gotham though, you've got to smile!" The Fool cried as he wrapped his yo-yo around Bane's legs and tugged. It threw the man off balance but the Fool didn't anticipate for Bane to take a hold of the yo-yo's string and pull the Fool towards him. With a punch to the gut, the Fool flew backwards, winded as he slumped up against a wall.

"Is that the... *cough* best you've got." The Fool sputtered as he tried to get up, for the first time just noticing Skeleton Jack in the room. "Oh hey! Did I miss Hallowe'en?"

[Omega Man]

"Out of my way, clown." Jack responded in his gritty tone, while the big tree looking guy was just confused.

After coming out of nowhere, a giant walking tree came to the aid of Jack after getting thrown across the chemical storage department of Ace Chemicals. The Fool made his grande entrance attacking the plant creature. Skeleton Jack dusted himself off while the jester looking hero tried to keep himself standing, Jack tried to communicate with the mobile tree.

"The man with all the colors is just dumb. That man..." Jack began to say pointing at Bane who was still trying to get chemicals loaded into a van during the confusion, "..is bad."

Skeleton Jack leaped forward, charging toward the man in the mask who seemed to be losing muscle mass every few minutes or so. He dodged a barrel of chemicals thrown by the enemy of Batman and went in for close quarters combat. His fighting skills were superior to those of Bane however Bane still had the strength to rattle Jack's jaw. Spinning around, Jack used his tactical skills and slashed one of the front tires of the van with his left gauntlet. The man was already wearing down, and now his transportation was screwed up. It infuriated the genetic freak and he landed a few strikes on Jack. The Fool looked to be doing better and the walking tree seemed to at least be moving in Bane and Skeleton Jack's direction. After picking himself up off the ground Jack could barely make out what was going on before taking a strike to the right side of his head from the boot of Bane. Thinking instinctively Jack swept Bane's other leg out from under him and tried to buy himself more time.

"I used to respect you, Bane. You were the man who broke the Bat. What are you now, what've you become? Just another jacked up freak with a drug addiction. If I had a decent knife I'd have ended this ten minutes..." Jack began taunting while backing into a corner, interrupted by somebody approaching the brute who was down to about three hundred and fifty pounds of muscle mass...

~KL~

[RumikoOhara]

Finishing her drink Cypher crushes the can and drops off the edge of the building snatching at the power conduit. She has to soak up the impact when she lands but actually enjoys the tingling in the soles of her feet.

She looks around herself as if she were bored an seeking something to do eventually heading up the street to window shop a trendy bondage shop. Using the reflective surface of the stores window she checks behind herself to assure that she's draw no unusual stalkers.

Satisfied Cypher heads off for the train wanting to visit several locations where crimes have occurred so she might read those places for clues and solutions.

Her first stop is the location of a fatal shooting that happened several days ago which has had no progress in the case.
It was a Thursday about 7:00 to 8:30 pm when a volunteer handing out food to the homeless was shot for unexplained reasons

He was loved by those who called this place home and it was evidenced by the memorial offerings which littered the sidewalk where his body was found. Cypher felt a bit remorseful when she knelt before the ragtag mound of funereal offerings as if she were a mourner.

She laid her hand on the sidewalk and drifted backwards through time till she found that tragic thursday night.

"It was a dark an dismal night as the homeless walked the streets like ghosts which many refused to see. Standing there handing out paper bags from two boxes on a shaky little table. For nearly an hour everything seemed normal as the kind middle aged man did his charity work with a gentle smile.
This beatific scene was suddenly shattered by the sound of squealing tires an racing engines. People scattered for cover but the charity man simply stood an watched as two cars raced up the street. He only sought cover when the pursuing car began firing at the fleeing car.
He was half way down as he tried to flatten himself against the sidewalk when three bullets struck him in the neck, center of the back and left kidney. He screamed in pain as he struck the concrete.
Cypher froze the scene when the pursuing car was passing. By and she could see it's plate.
ZLA 447 read the plate and there were four men inside that cypher committed to memory so that she could draw them later

She broke her trance catching her breath a bit and noticed that two homeless people squated close to her with curious expressions.

"You okay girly, you seemed really out of it for a little there." Said the large of the two

"We thought you was reacting to something or in a trance like Lady Erskine the psychic when she does an aura reading" said the other.

"I'm fine guys I guess I let my grief get the better of me" she says lying and hating herself that she must.

"It's all cool girly we was jus worried is all" says the big guy as he an his friend stand.

"You be careful, some folks ain't as nice as me an Bobo" says the small man then the two walk away.

Cypher giggles as she watches the two characters fade into the distance
She s happy that she has a number but knows that the number could be a false lead so she begins a back trace to see where the cars may have come from but has to halt for rest and food about 8 miles away.

[thatguy]

Victor had just enough time to throw his two Vulture blades into two of the remaining guards, each heavily armed. He had another second left, and looked into the terrified faces of the hostages. A woman's mascara ran and her mouth gag was soaked. An oriental gentleman was crying for his mother, and a white guy had the look of a man who was at peace with the his fate.

Then he locked eyes with the greatest gunman in the world, and it happened.

Time sped up to it's usual pace, and everything just happened all at once. Something crashed through the window on the opposite side, the guards went down, and a trap Victor had triggered was set off, the explosive thermal winds sent him into a water cooler, and knocked him out cold for several moments.

In the last few moments between consciousness and unconsciousness, he saw a young woman with brown hair, and possibly grey eyes, something you don't normally see on an attractive young lady like her. In his state of pain, Victor thought he was hallucinating, so he thought up something cliche to say, "If you're an angel, go smite that sonofabitch," he said, weakly pointing to the figure of Deadshot.

[Sheikarah]

Jenna had barely enough time to teleport out of the way of something big crashing through the window and past her, which triggered some sort of explosion and the strange guy in the bird costume was knocked into the wall. She ran over to him to make sure he wasn't dead and just before he passed out he spoke to her.

"If you're an angel, go smite that sonofabitch." Jenna blushed slightly as he pointed towards the leader, she figured it was the Deadshot guy from the news, and then he lost consciousness.

The guards and hostages had all been knocked down by the blast but one guard had gotten up and was aiming his gun right at the bird guy. Jenna quickly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and focused her energy into teleporting him to safety. They appeared about twenty feet away just as the guard fired his gun and Jenna practically shoved the unconcious man under a desk to keep him hidden. She teleported behind the guard and easily knocked him out cold before she came face to face with not only Deadshot, but the weird metal suit thing that had just crashed through the wall.

Jenna's mind started racing, she didn't think she was going to get caught in the middle of something this insane. She was about to panic when she realized that Deadshot had been distracted by the man in the suit and had an idea, albeit a stupid one. She quickly ran over to the hostages and prayed that she would be able to take all of them.

After a moment's thought she whispered "All of you hold on to me and pray that this works." She pulled out a small pocketknife and cut the bonds on their wrists before circling her arms over as many as she could. She closed her eyes and made sure all of them were touching her before she took a deep breath and tried to teleport.

Miraculously enough, she had managed to get all of them two stories below the guards and Deadshot, and all the hostages almost immediately started running towards the stairs in a panic. Jenna felt like her insides were on fire and her brain was being split with a rusty axe and only just managed to crawl under an overturned desk before she completely lost consciousness.

[An Outsider]

Unbeknownst to Vulture the men he had mistaken for Deadshot’s guards were actually dressed in the attire of GCPD Swat officers, though that was a deception as their real allegiance was to the League of Assassins. These men had been hired to keep the real police as far from Lawton as possible, but for what nefarious purpose we are yet to find out. While Vulture was right to think they were ‘evil’ men the rest of the world had just witnessed him throw an innocent Gotham Cop out of a high rise window. What that damning image would come to mean for the young vigilante, well only time will tell, but it would be certain to have grave implications further down the line.

Deadshot barely even moved when Vulture kicked the door open, the only concession he made to the bird-themed vigilante’s entrance was a narrowing of the red aiming reticule he wore over his right eye. The hostages Deadshot had his two wrist guns aimed at certainly looked pleased to see a rescuer, even one as forbidding looking as Vulture, but they would not move in fear that the captor open fire upon them, and you didn’t have to be the worlds greatest marksman to hit someone from that distance.

“Like puppets on a string.” Sighed Deadshot, while languorously raising his right, wrist-gun wielding arm towards Vulture. It was for show of course, as the young fool was striding straight towards an explosive trap that Lawton had set earlier, and there would he no need for a bullet at all after that. Batman would never have fallen for it, he thought to himself. It was at that moment the world exploded.

Vulture tripped the explosive, getting hurled across the room and severely injured for his troubles, but at that same moment Paladin crashed into the room from behind. His targeting system had been spot on, and his forward momentum carried him straight towards Deadshot like a ball shot from a cannon. Lawton was surprised to say the least, but he was a professional through and through, trying to spin out of the way out of reach. As it was he managed to miss the brunt of Paladin’s attack, instead only being spun of his feet as the armoured heroes shoulder brushed against his side. The force behind it was still impressive though, Deadshot gaining a broken ribs in the contact.

Paladin hit the ground hard, having little room to manoeuvre in these tight confines. He glanced at the fallen Vulture, summarising that he must be one of the other vigilantes that Aaron had spoke of. Amateur. As he turned back to face Deadshot he caught the fleeting form of Blink just as she teleported the hostages out. He applauded her mentally, but was cut short as a crack of gunfire announced that Lawton was back in the fight. Paladin dived towards cover, grunting as he took a shot to the chest piece. A quick check revealed that Aaron’s armour had held, but just barely. Obviously the assassin was using armour piercing rounds, which would make things more difficult.

Galahad popped his head up from the cubicle he was hiding behind for a quick survey of the area, blanching as he realised Lawton was doing the same thing. The two traded gunfire, bullets screaming across the room for what seemed like an eternity. Paladin ducked first, after being hit twice, one bullet bouncing from his helm, another screeching across his bicep. The second shot had sundered his armour, and blood was weeping from a shallow wound. The vigilante was forced to admit that even injured Deadshot had him beat when it came to gunplay. He had to figure out away to get close to the marksman and end this the old fashioned way. It was then that Lawton called out.

“You new guys ain’t all that clever huh?” He sounded cocky, which Paladin didn’t like one bit. If Deadshot had some sorta ace in the hole then it could mean curtains for him.

“Says the guy who got involved with Harley Quinn. How is clown face by the way Floyd?” Maybe poking the bear wasn’t his best idea, but it’s all he had for now. Too Lawton’s credit he just laughed.

“You’re funny. I’m gonna miss you.” Paladin thought it might be more bluster until he popped his head up again to see that Deadshot was standing clear up, with what looked to be a detonator in his left hand. With his right the marksman pointed towards the ceiling. Galahad look up slowly, knowing what he was gonna see but praying not to see it. His prayers went unanswered though, as sure enough there was another set of explosives.

“Buh-bye.” Sang Deadshot, then he pressed the trigger. Paladin threw his arms over his head and crouched into a ball. The force of the explosion blew him straight through the floor, and the one underneath that, finally crashing to a stop upon the same floor Blink had teleported the hostages too. The armour had miraculously held again, but it had been a close run thing and he felt like he had been fed through a giant meat grinder. Aaron was screaming down the comm-link for a status report, but Galahad was willing to keep him waiting for now. He rolled to his back, groaning at all the little twinges that fired down his spine, knowing that those couldn’t be good. Through the dust and the haze he could just make out Blink, safe from the debris under her table.

“Hey, soldier. Get up, fight ain’t over yet.” he croaked, knowing he was speaking to himself as much as he was speaking to Jenna.

Two floors up Deadshot strolled casually over to the prone Vulture. The loss of the hostages was no big thing, this had never been about them. No, this had been about making noise and attracting attention, and he had sure done that. Now the only thing left to do was to tie up loose ends, and there was only one way he knew how to do that.

“G’night birdy.” he said as he aimed point blank at Vulture’s face.