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Post by The Batman on Jun 19, 2012 2:09:23 GMT -5
As he drove to his safe house on his motorcycle, he listened to the GCPD dispatch. He grit his teeth hearing the things going on. The city had gone to hell...moreso than usual. He was going to have to get back in the game and fast. He found himself almost grateful for the dip in the Lazarus Pit of Ra's al Ghul. He had no idea how long he'd been gone and lack of said dip may have meant his body would have needed some vigorous training to prepare himself again. Instead, he felt the burning power running through his veins, he was in his most peak shape, and then some. He wasn't sure if he was at Venom levels, but he knew the effects gave increased strength for a period of time until it wore out. He sighed. it would wear out. What then? Would he need to submerge himself again as Ra's often had to do? He shook his head clearing his head. It would be dealt with when the time came. Right now, he had a base to establish, and quickly.
As he approached the cemetery, he flicked the muffle on his bike to quiet the engine sound and not attract anyone who may have been near by. The moon shone brightly, and he could still get in under the veil of night. He tapped a button on the bike which matched the gate's security lock and it opened for him. He drove in quietly and made his way to his parent's grave. He paused his bike and looked at their graves, remembering their reunion in the light.
The Wayne graveside monument was immense. Most would say it was just the wealthy throwing money around erecting needless tributes to the dead. Bruce looked around the cemetery and once he was sure no one was around, he hit another button on his bike. The bottom platform which held the large angel opened at the side quietly, and a ramp lowered downward. He dove into the opening and into his new lair, closing the monument behind him.
The ramp descended nearly 100 feet and led into a large room which appeared as a small version of the Batcave. There was a small lab, a bunk area, a gathering of medical equipment, a kitchen area, and an area for a computer. He now regretted putting aside installing the computer, but he brought his laptop which was highly sophisticated on its own accord. It linked back to the cave computer, and he could access all it's databases from it. It would have to work for now.
He took his gear and laid it on a table in the lab area then walked to the kitchen where he had a stockpile of dry rations and water. he got something to eat and drink and set up his computer. He noticed that no one had tried to access the computer yet which he found slightly awkward. He checked the date and let out a slight gasp of shock as to how long he'd been gone. he then immediately checked on who was escaped from Arkham and he clenched his jaw at the list.
It seemed that he was going to be busy, and for once, he welcomed it. He checked the security hatched to the base, all were good. The safe house connected to the abandoned subway and he would use that access to get into the city. He walked over again to the table and sorted out his gear. He would work within the shadows and felt the hooded cloak would suffice. He couldn't bring himself to take the uniform. Not yet. The power that brought him to life also brought a rage of losing his parents again that was churning, and Batman had his one rule. So he would be sure that Batman would not break that rule, but he already had, and he was pretty sure it wouldn't end there. His crusade begins again, and this time there were no rules. The memory of that fateful night was fresh once more. The cold-hearted killer who took them, loomed over his recollection. The countless faces who died because he couldn't bring himself to do things that needed done taunted him. Their blood was on his hands, he'd always known it but never completely accepted it. It was something locked away. The Joker new though. he knew all too well that guilt was building up in Batman. He never ceased to remind him of it too. That laugh.....the laugh he heard as the Pit did it's work echoed in his head. Bruce put a hand to his forehead.
"Stop it......stop...laughing...."
It seemed to only get louder.
"STOP IT!!!"
Yet even louder taunting him pounding in his head. Bruce slammed his fist down on the table denting it and sneering, closing his eyes tightly he fought to silence it and gradually it went away. When he opened his eyes everything he saw was tinted red. He stood up straight and looked around slowly.
"It's time."
Soon he was racing through the subway tunnel on the bike in his gear.
He was returning to Gotham City.
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 19, 2012 23:35:54 GMT -5
"Too hot, too hot, too hot, stupid!"
Stormy was sliding down the side of the Wayne Corp skyscraper trying to dig her fingers into the seamlessly paned windows to slow herself down. She managed to catch the ledge with one hand. She had already caused an alarm to go off.
She had broken in to leave a cryptic message in the office of Lucius Fox, however she must have tripped some hidden alarm. She left a piece of her code and a notice for a place and time if he so wished to.
Stormy managed to catch herself on a ledge, hanging by one hand. She growled as she managed to maneuver her busted up left arm to the ledge. She looked down. She had jumped off several buildings, but this was the tallest in the city, indeed.
She looked about her, accessing her immediate surroundings.
"Best course of action..... hmmm"
Stormy pulled her legs up so she could plant them on the side of the building. With powerful force she pushed herself backward, allowing herself to flip backward so she could be face down as she descended to the Earth. Thankfully she had been able to cross the street when she pushed and allowed herself a smooth landing on a building only a few stories shorter. She landed in a readied crouch and looked around her.
Stormy stood to full height and dusted herself off a bit. She looked down at her vibrantly white spats.
"Not one scuff mark."
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Post by The Batman on Jun 19, 2012 23:49:18 GMT -5
He had installed several secret entrances into the abandoned tunnels for ease and safety. He parked his bike at one and climbed off it as his ear piece to the computer chimed an alarm alert at Wayne Tower. Bruce frowned, not really wanting to get involved in his family business so soon, but he had to protect his assets. He pushed a lever that opened access outside and he carefully stepped out while pulling the hood over his head. It's shadow hid his features, and what it didn't the night's shadows did the rest.
The doorway closed behind him with a muffled clank and he pulled out his grapple firing it into the air. Soon it had lifted him high over the rooftops and he used it's momentum to swing to a ledge where he could look around. He immediately missed the glider capabilities of the cape his old uniform, but he'd have to make do.
Wayne Tower was a few blocks away. he estimated by swinging with the grapple he'd get there in about 3 minutes. He tapped on his wrist link to the cave eavesdropping on police chatter. Units were on their way to the Tower. he'd probably have to wait until they were done investigating before he could get in and look around.
He growled and fired a cable and began to make his way to Wayne Tower, scenarios running through is mind as to who it could have been. Ra's or Talia was at the top of the list naturally.
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 0:12:24 GMT -5
Just as stormy looked up she saw a shadow getting up to Wayne tower where she had just been. She thought for a moment, but then the need to return was obvious. Could be a tail or one of Luthor's people, or both. Stormy jogged back some and then turned in a hard sprint. As she got to the ledge of the building she would leap up. She watched the city below for a second but by the time she looked back up she was crashing into the same ledge she just jumped off of.
"I gotta get better at this part." she grunted to herself as she coughed from the impact of her chest against the hard building.
Soon she climbed up onto the ledge and rocketed herself upward again to get to the top ledge. She caught it, one handed. She growled from the pain in her left arm as she slapped her left hand onto the ledge. She began to pull herself up, rolling onto the rooftop.
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 0:20:41 GMT -5
On his final descent to the Tower he spied a figure making its way to the rooftop. He narrowed his eyes and in mid drop he hurled several shuriken at them, landed and rolled into the shadows of the roof.
His voice was deep and gruff, gravely as the grave as he addressed them. It bounced off the units and antennae on the building, masking his location.
"You have exactly 5 seconds before I see how high you bounce after I drop you off this rooftop."
He also stayed on the move finding a more advantageous attack point from the blackness of the night.
"Who are you, and what are you after?"
He blinked, his contacts zooming and taking photos of the individual feeding them back to the cave for analysis. He could tell now she was female, and fairly young. He didn't recognize her and would have to start a new file. If she lived.
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 0:32:06 GMT -5
Stormy stood, dusting herself off. Her left arm bent at the elbow and against her body. She raised a brow to him under her mask.
"Nothing, just dropping something by. And who the hell are you? Looking to steal from the good Mr. Wayne or you one of Luthor's boys."
Stormy pulled her knife off her thight with her right hand, she was left handed, however.
"I don't have a problem putting you in a hospital under someone else's name with no tongue to tell them who you really are."
Stormy then looked at the knife and put it away.
"And honestly, I'd be delighted to work without a tool."
Stormy stoof her stance, crouched slightly. She looked at the stranger. Her eyes did flash a spot of purple when she first heard his voice, but while she spoke they were green. In the pause and the silence, as she looked upon him, they had gone back to purple. He smelled rather divine.
She was able to see him because her senses were heightened enough that she could smell him and see him, faintly.
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 0:40:29 GMT -5
He scoffed at her accusation. If Luthor was in this town he'd be the first one being paid a visit, as for stealing from Wayne well his response was enough...
"Stealing from them? Hardly."
He smirked almost savagely at her challenge and emerged on the top of an AC unit crouched down slightly to show himself on guard. In the back of his head he heard a faint..
"What are you doing? She's just a kid!"
It was drowned out by that laughter and a voice in his head he could have sworn was whispering in his ear..
"Yes, yes she is, and she's trespassing, she's a vagrant, scum of Gotham she is, and it really would be interesting to see how high she bounced. Kill. Her."
"Yes."
In a feral growl he leaped landing in front of her and giving a full charge his intent to knock them both off the roof. He was practiced enough to catch himself with his grapple, but she must go down. The first to fall victim of the new crusade. The first to be washed away in his oncoming sea of red.
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 0:49:20 GMT -5
Stormy caught him as he came at her. She would have normally just tossed him back from whence he came, but he managed to catch her arm in a way that threw her balance off. He had every intent of knocking her both off, but he was going with her. Her eyes widened, but she just pulled him to her with right arm and managed to catch the ledge with her injured left arm. She roared like a lion as the pain hit her arm like lightening. Her right arm was strong enough to keep him close to her. She looked at him, gritting her teeth, much like he himself probably would. Her own voice turned gruff in midst of the pain.
Her eyes were raging green to the point it was nearly blinding.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? GEEZ, I'm not some kind of robber, I'm just a good soul trying to leave a message for someone-"
She growled as another shot of pain rolled through her arm. She tried to pull them both up but her arm was too shot.
For now, she dangled, but she adamantly kept his arms pinned to his body so he may not move.
"Are you working for Luthor? Last time one of you tailed me I trashed the car and the goons. Now, either you start being all sweet and tell me what's up or I'll make sure when we hit that pavement I've punched you a few times before we even get there."
She whinced from the pain in her arm as it felt like it was on fire.
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 0:58:34 GMT -5
He grasp was much stronger than he anticipated and he fought her hold like a wild animal thrashing in her arms. His contacts flashing red. He paused noticing her screaming in pain and smiled. His reasoning abilities were gone, desiring to do nothing more than obey the voice and the laugh.
"Hurt?"
He thrashed again trying to inflict more pain on her and also distract her enough to be released. His arms were pinned at his sides as he tried to reach one of his pouches, but it was no good.
"How long do you think you can hold onto the ledge.....and me? Drop me if you wish."
He tilted his head in a chuckle.
"I'm already dead."
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 1:08:00 GMT -5
Stormy headbutted him when he began struggling. She was not going to tolerate some asshole, however this situation was not looking good. Despite his d-baggery he still smelled good. Her eyes had transitioned to a low and sultry purple. Her pheromones releasing.
This also affected her own mood accordingly. She pressed a kiss to his lips and then tossed him back onto the rood, grunting through the pain.
"Then, an angel has granted you life once again, asshole" she yelled to him as she lost grip and began to fall. She had her left arm cradled against her as she spun to face the pavement below. She was looking around for a way to go, however, she did not get to push off from the building so she couldn't land on something across the street. Stormy threw her mask off so she could see better. A thick black stripe in make up over her eyes.
She managed to catch a flagpole as she went down, however she couldn't get grip f it, but it slowed her fall for the last four stories. She landed, back to pavement. She was out, for at least a few moments. Her mask drifted down by its feathers, landing, amazingly, askew, over her eyes.
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 1:16:29 GMT -5
Her phermones threw him off almost equal to having the wind knocked from him, and being thrown back onto the roof didn't help either. By the time his head had cleared from his chaotic rush of rage mixed with desire, mixed with puzzlement, she was gone. He looked over the ledge scouring the area for her through the various filters in his contacts. He growled to himself and then recalled.
She said she was leaving a message for someone. he tapped into his computer link and accessed the Wayne mainframe through a backdoor, making sure his trail was concealed he searched to see if it was left in the computers and he accessed the security cameras rewinding them to playback from key offices. He found the footage of her in Fox's office.
The cops had gone, so this would be easier. He fired his grapple and launched himself into a wide arc, the downswing hurled him towards the window and he smashed through it into Lucius' office. He quickly searched for her message as his computer searched for it in the mainframe.
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 1:21:50 GMT -5
After a few minutes Stormy would awake. She landed in an alley that no one seemed to be around for the moment.
Stormy groaned in pain. She felt like nothing was too terribly broken, but her entire backside throbbed from the impact. She secured her mask.
Her eyes were going haywire between green and purple. She reached upward but fell back. She thought she could see someone hovering over her, but she realized she might be delirious right now, or at least hallucinating from shock.
She spat a mouthful of blood to her side.
"Asshole" she said under her breath.
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 1:34:09 GMT -5
He spied the paper with her message. He furrowed his brow at it as the voice in his head chuckled.
"What's that supposed to be? She must've been high. no wonder she was so strong. See? She must die!! Ohhhh looky we know where she'll be tomorrow night too!"
Another voice echoed in his head. It was cold and mechanical. Unfeeling as the void.
"Revenge. Cold revenge...."
"It's genetic code. I'll have to take a closer look later, and yes we do."
he folded it and tucked it into his belt. His entry also triggered another alarm so he had to get out quickly before building security showed up. He went to the window's edge and fired his grapple and found a good perch to rest for a moment. His ribs ached from her holding him so tightly. The kevlar didn't protect him very well from that.
"Maybe I should go get the uniform..."
Now rang a third voice, eager to be heard.
"You could flip! Let the coin decide!"
"No! He's over! He's dead! He failed! It's just you now. And us."
The laughter rang in his ears and he flinched.
"Yes."
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Post by Stormy Evening on Jun 20, 2012 1:39:45 GMT -5
Stormy tried to puch herself up but her elbow felt like it was shattered. She roared from the pain, Stormy didn't scream, she roared like an angry lion.
The echo would travel up, surely.
She rolled to her side and spat once again. Her eyes set to purple for the moment, releasing her pheromones again, but they were of a different smell. One of distress.
She coughed up more blood, spitting it on the pavement under her. Part of her thought maybe the best option would be to call detective Bullock, she had his number on her phone. She rolled back into the cracked pavement she landed on and pulled her phone from her pocket, it of course, was severely broken. She balled her hand into a fist around it, making dust of it in anger.
"Asshole."
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Post by The Batman on Jun 20, 2012 1:51:13 GMT -5
The scream did echo up and he stood alert immediately.
"Woooo she's still nearby. We could finish her off. Make an example of her...if y'know what I mean." the voice giggled.
"Rawk! No she was such a pretty little Chickadee! Perhaps we could take her back to the nest and christen this crusade accordlingly! Her lips were like the kiss of a love bird. Wauk! WauK!"
Bruce held his hands to his head and screamed.
"Stop it! Stop it!!"
The voices retreated and he shook his head catching his breath.
"I will decide what to do, and I alone and what we will do is finish this."
He fired his grapple in search of the scream. His lenses soon scouted her out in the alley and he landed expertly at the only way out and smiled with a teasing laugh.
"So you did live. How high did you bounce? i really need to know I have a....friend who is insistent on knowing. I for would just wonder how much blood you lo......"
Her phermones hit him and he stopped in his tracks, the voices in his head screamed in alarm but it was too late. He looked down quietly at her his shadow falling over her body and remained motionless as if tranced.
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