Jinny

[High Casual] Various Dark and Semi-Dark Plot Ideas. Mature or not, as Desired. [MxF, FxF]

@Alkeni Synair Sounds like your tastes are right in my wheelhouse and I intend to have a more thorough look through once I get off work, but feel free to peruse the interest check in my signature and let me know if you think we'd fit, or I'll just PM you when I get the opportunity :)

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

The response Talia received from the dangerously curious Mr. Bolton seemed practiced, automatic, as if it came directly from a customer service script. To that end she quirked a brow, the shadow of a bemused smirk tugging at the corners of her lips as she assessed just what kind of person this stranger was. Clearly not a seasoned sleuth, or at least not one anywhere near capable of standing against the League. And yet, by the looks of the video feed in front of her he didn't appear to be a particularly ferocious individual, so what did he plan to accomplish in this exchange? She would even go so far as to assume that he knew nothing of the League or the danger of inadvertently putting himself in her crosshairs.

"Indeed." she replied softly, "Fortunately for you, I have more pressing matters to attend to and I'm feeling unusually....charitable. It would be in your best interest to forget this exchange and lose this number. I will forgive this transgression and we may both go on about our lives without incident. However, if you refuse and allow your curiosity to get the better of you then you will be putting your own safety in jeopardy."

The exchange was interrupted abruptly, as another window appeared on the holographic screen. It was a live feed of the security cameras within the facility where guards were lying unconscious, with it came a tone on the line indicating an incoming call. Talia's eyes narrowed as she examined the new feed, her teeth set on edge. Speaking to Anton once more her tone remained level despite the newfound complications, "The choice is yours, Mr. Bolton, so choose wisely."

With that she terminated the call and switched over to the incoming alert, "Mistress, security has been compromised, we have an intruder."

Talia's demeanor shifted to that of a much more tactical nature, her fingers flying across the control panel to bring up the extensive security features of the compound, "How many casualties so far? Number of assailants?"

"No kills. We found remnants of grappling wire and Visce caught sight of one of them. He was able to issue a warning but was found unconscious by the time we responded. The flesh on his hands was singed. Our security feed was compromised by an outside source, but when we received notice of a sighting we reset them manually."

She turned the clues around in her mind as she assessed the signatures of varying enemies. Guards left unconscious seemed a highly unlikely tactic for a great majority of the League's enemies. Most who sought to attack the League had no qualms about killing. Grappling wire and the use of non-lethal weaponry were undoubtedly familiar signatures, especially considering the particular city they were in. However, Talia could only think of perhaps a handful of individuals with the skills and training necessary to even attempt infiltrating a League facility. None of which possessed anything akin to an army. That narrowed down the list of potential intruders exponentially. It wasn't Bruce, so that only left one option.

As if on cue the facility map on Talia's holographic screen began indicating detection on the motion sensors in the ventilation system. Zooming in, she pinpointed the intruder's route, "Our prowler is in Sector Four, moving toward the elevator."

"Send in reinforcements?"

"Only a handful, the calvary isn't necessary."

She terminated the connection and powered down the controls before making her way out of her office to intercept her uninvited guest. In Sector Four the air was crackling with tension as Nightwing stood surrounded by a handful of assassins, all of them waiting for the command to descend upon the interloper. The sudden ring of the elevator bell sounded and interrupted the heavy quiet, the doors opening to reveal Talia al Ghul, Daughter of the Demon, Mistress of the League of Assassins.

Viridescent eyes sparkled with an impeccable intensity as they met his crisp sapphire gaze. She stepped forward, her voice calm as she issued her command to the waiting guards, "Stand down." The assassins eased and lowered their weapons, but still remained at the ready should he make any sudden movements. Continuing her approach she moved toward Nightwing and only halted when she stood but an arm's length from him, "I can't say this is an entirely unexpected visit, if somewhat invasive. I would have gladly entertained a call if it meant sparing several of my men." A small, dismissive wave of her hand, "But nevermind that, I have quite a few things to speak with you about." She paused only long enough to pass a glance around the room, "Though perhaps this is a discussion better suited to the privacy of my office." Moving back to the elevator as the doors opened, she glanced back toward him and arched a brow, "Well?"

{@ProPro & @Psyga315}

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

Sorry for the radio silence, Ruby and I have been tied up with life things in addition to RPG being wonky >.<

I'm actually going to be mostly unavailable Thursday - Sunday for an out of town trip but I'll be checking in on the thread via my mobile whenever I get the chance. Ruby is likely going to be busy working on posts in her downtime, so might not be immediately available until those are finished and she's all caught up.

That said, @ProPro, I will be attempting to get a Talia post done up today and Ruby passes along her approval for Constantine and her apologies for the delay.

Anyone has any questions or concerns that haven't been addressed then tag or PM me and I'll see what I can do.

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

I guess whoever made that image forgot about Stephanie Brown.

@ProPro

Right?! I was kind of silently seething about it :P

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

"Miss Helena, we've located one of the vigilantes Master Bruce wanted dealt with, and it seems this vigilante has gotten himself in trouble."

Helena smirked. "Oh, yeah? What'd he do, Al? Get into a fight with some Jokerz, try to bust one of Penguin's arm deals, get trapped in one of Riddler's little tr--"

"--he happened upon a direct line to Talia al'Ghul."

The Ferrari came to a screeching stop that put more G forces on Helena than a jet aircraft in cruise would have. The car rumbled under her touch, unhappy with coming to a sudden stop, unhappy if it was doing anything but going fast. She ignored it, her mind now only having one thought. One thought that was on repeat:

He's dead.

Alfred must have thought so, too, otherwise why call her? The Huntress had dealt with the League before. She was probably to come out alive each time, let alone claiming any sort of victory. Talia would have listened to Bruce...but only Bruce. And the man wasn't around to reason with her.

"Yeah, send me his details. I'm not that close to one of my lairs, I'm a little...uh, out of the way...had to deal with a...thing."

She only hoped Alfred didn't already know what she was up to before he called. "There is an auxiliary cave close to you, I'll send you the location and unlock it for you."

"How's that help the Huntress, Al? What, Bruce got one of my suits," or made his own version of it for me, "and stored it in various Batcaves around the city just in case I ever--" Helena sighed, and pushed down on the gas pedal, just slightly irritated by it. "--of course he did, what am I even saying? Thanks, Alfred."

Your life better be worth saving Razor Bat.

@Ruby

x x non existent x x

@Ariamella

I'm still ruminating a bit on your plot suggestions, but I also have a few of my own if you were curious enough to check out my IC thread (link in my signature). Let me know if anything catches your attention :)

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

@ProPro & @Psyga315

Sorry for taking so long getting that post done, it was actually a bit of a tough one for me, but I hope it will suffice.

That said, I set the scene for Nightwing to attempt his sneaky snake routine (lots of unintentional rhyming happening), and Anton coincidentally got the head of the League of Assassins on the line (something he may turn out to regret, we'll see).

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

Nykawa Center - Faraway Isle, Gotham

Nykawa Center sat upon a sizable mass of ragged rock formally known as Faraway Isle, presiding over Gotham's East River while casting a foreboding silhouette in the steady mist of rainfall. The structure had originated in the 1930's as a prison, with it's primary appeal being the distance from the mainland, but after a large riot and subsequent fire killed several of the inmates the prison was put out of commission. It wasn't until nearly a two decades after the fire that an astronomer by the name of Toshio Nykawa bought the island with the intent to renovate and reopen it as an astrological science center, thus renaming it Nykawa Center. The new aspiration for the desolate little island would never come to fruition though, as Nykawa and his team of renovators suddenly disappeared without a trace shortly after completing the project. Since then Faraway Isle has garnered a reputation of being cursed and even haunted amongst the more superstitious people of Gotham.

Fortunately for the League, it made for a rather perfect and secluded base of operations, which was not a coincidence. The island was by no means a new acquisition, as Talia's father had secured possession of the land under a pseudonym a decade ago with the intention of turning it into a foothold for the League within Gotham. After the death of Ra's over a year ago Talia established control of the League and enacted plans to develop the Nykawa Center into a fortress for her own means. However, with recent events calling her to Gotham, Talia had to make use of the base before it was finished being reinforced. Despite the unfinished state of the Center, and the considerable protection of a secluded island, there were all manner of high-security measures in place should an enemy of the League discover their presence and choose to pose an attack. So not only was the island hard to get to, it was even more difficult to approach or move around without being seen.

In almost any other scenario she would have taken to one of several safehouses within Gotham that had been utilized by the League in the past, but her current operations were in need of a large facility and a particular degree of privacy that could not be easily achieved within the city limits. Her research was in too critical a stage to abandon or leave unsupervised halfway across the world, so she brought the entire project with her and stationed it within the completed underground sector. While the surface of Nykawa was well guarded with privacy walls, security gates, motion sensors, watch towers, and staffed by some of the most deadly and ruthless assassins the League had to offer on patrol, the real protection was focused on what lay beneath the surface embedded in the dense rock, hidden from prying eyes.

The hour was late when Talia arrived on the small island by way of a private boat, a handful of imposing men accompanying her as she made her way through several gates with armed guards - only some of whom were visible to the naked eye. The main building was impressive in scale and architecture, acting as an advanced training facility, mission control center, and living quarters. Once inside the building Talia dismissed her security detail and made her way to her private office. The office was richly decorated in black lacquer paneling and supple wine upholstery, with a hint of gold filigree detailing etched into the furniture. On the wall farthest from the door and behind the desk stood floor-to-ceiling one-way windows that looked down over a large training room, wherein several League members were sparring.

Talia made her way into a closet hidden behind one of the many lacquered wood panels, reemerging dressed in fitted black slacks and a cream silk blouse before moving to her desk. As if on cue there was a small chirp and a screen beneath the tempered glass desktop sprang to life. She passed her fingers over the touch screen and a voice came through, "Mistress, we're receiving an incoming transmission from an unrecognized source. CCTV recordings of your recent encounter in Gotham City confirmed that an unidentified citizen intercepted the calling card left for the detective. Tracing the number returned the name of Anton Bolton."

A frown found her lips at the news, eyes narrowing as she assessed her options. Who was this Anton Bolton, and why would he opt to call some number found on an unidentifiable card? Talia wasn't concerned the number could be traced back to her, as it was routed through countless random proxies and all technology used by the League was encrypted, but this stranger having any connection to her was vaguely worrisome and had to be dealt with.

"Put it through. And send me the CCTV footage." Placing a small receiver in her ear, she turned it on and waited for the call to be patched through, pressing another button to answer it after the second ring, "Mr. Bolton." Her greeting was cold and sharp, clearly framing her displeasure at receiving a call from someone she did not give permission to contact her. "Perhaps you're unaware, but placing unsolicited calls to a woman is considered poor etiquette. You don't know me, but I will tell you now that I am not someone particularly forgiving of bad manners." There was that tell-tale shadow of a threat dancing through her inflection. Simultaneously, her right hand was pressing more buttons on the touch screen computer embedded within the desk, the footage from the CCTV feed suddenly expanding in holographic form before her as her gaze flickered over the man rushing to Bullock's aid after her departure earlier that evening. Perhaps a good samaritan with a dangerous predilection for curiosity? Talia could have easily dismissed the matter by not answering the call, but for the moment she would aim to slake his curiosity so he might refrain from further foolish examination into what happened to the detective.

{@ProPro & @Psyga315}

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

@Jinny Is there an ETA on the next Talia update?

@ProPro

Hey sorry, I was securing a few plot details before I started writing the post, and now that it's taken care of I'll be working on it tonight!

Gotham City: Shadow of the Bat

@Jinny Jester is just a character that could still be a bit of anything, however he was mentioned as being the leader of the Jokerz in the OP. I wasn't sure if one of the GM's already had plans set for the Jokerz and the Jester, but if not they play a big part in my guy's story and I'd still like to flesh out the gang's leader even if it's not for a secondary character spot. It's still a sandbox and anybody could use him... I just want to actually define who he is and what he's about. The only Jester from DC I can think of has ties to the Golden Age and more recently became a villain against the Freedom Fighters but I doubt it's the same guy...

~KL~

@The Kid Lantern

Toss a group PM to me, @Ruby, and the villains storyteller @LePouvantail.