8180/Work Trip

Work Trip
Date of Scene:	05 July 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Nadia and Spider-Man stop a crime! Batman disappears with the evidence.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Spider-Man, Wasp (Pym)

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Batman has posed:
<Are you enjoying your vacation, sir?>

The rooftop the Dark Knight has picked is not that far off the ground - five floors at the most - but it provides sufficient vantage of the streets below. When a familiar, British voice rings through the earpiece of his cowl a twitch tugging at the corner of his mouth is the only sign it was even heard.

<Setting your sights on the Great White Way? I hear Hamilton is smashing.>

Batman leans forward slightly on the roof, looking down to the street below only partly illuminated by grimy yellow streetlamps. Some parts of New York share that problem with Gotham, it seems. It's quiet now, but he's waiting. Watching.

<Perhaps a hot dog at Gray's Pap->

"You're watching the feed from the cowl-cam," the Bat says flatly, eyes still fixed below. It isn't a question.

<Yes, sir. When I suggested a holiday, soaking up bullets in a different area code wasn't what I had in mind.>

Spider-Man has posed:
Spidey is higher up, swinging through the city on weblines, and singing show tunes. As you do.

"Welcome to a land that's way under, down under."

That is, he's singing until he just happens to spy from his little eye something that looks a lot like the Prowler crawling across the edge of a roof. "What have we here!" Mid swing, Spider-man releases and swings in Batman's direction. Clung to the side of a stairwell access staring forward/up at Bats.

"Hey buddy, I don't think this business validates."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Down at street level a teenage girl wanders the streets by herself.

Seemingly without a care in the world at least to the casual observer.

To those with a more discerning eye the teenager in question seems to be moving around with all the care and tradecraft of a covert operative. At least when she isn't peering into store windows with an expression of curiosity and delight on her face.

And while Nadia Pym might have been warned about the dangers of the city after dark there are some times when a scientist just needs a change of scenary to really help the ideas get flowing.

Batman has posed:
It is as though Alfred can sense when Batman needs to devote his full attention to the environment, as the jibes stop instantly as soon as the Dark Knight turns his head. He makes no effort to conceal himself. As loathes as he is to admit it, this is not the first time he's been caught out on a rooftop. Although usually they would have the common courtesy to start trying to crush his skull into a fine powder. He glances over one shoulder, his voice low and the pointed ears of his cowl now clearly visible.

"Quiet," he insists, his voice barely above a whisper but full of as much intent as if he had yelled. He lifts a gloved hand, pointing down into the street below.

The building nearest to Nadia appears to have been caught mid-gentrification, half-clad in plastic sheeting and scaffolding. Despite being obviously deserted after the workers have called it quitting time, angry voices begin to rise from within to be heard even over the dull roar of an evening in Manhattan.

"-some kind of idiot? Huh?!"

Another voice replies, less easy to make out.

Spider-Man has posed:
In his defense, Spider-Man has as a lot of experience stumbling upon people. It isn't like he's a super slouth or anything, really it was just a matter of luck and good timing! Now he's clinging to the wall staring at the black clad figure that is definitely not Prowler with narrowed mask eyeholes. "You're not Prowler." He murmurs, to his credit, a little quieter.

Not that he has any intention of agreeing to to the quiet command for quiet.

He still listens now, though.

Crawling closer to Bats to peek down into the street. His hands are folded over the edge of the roof, low to the gravel, so as to present a smaller viewable surface if anyone were to glance up at him. Whatever he hears doesn't seem that threatening, at least not compared to the last few times he's had to put his fighting gloves on, and he glances up at Batman skeptically. "Are you the building inspector? Oh, I get it, trying to catch them breaking city building ordinances... devilish. I'll go check it out, those hurricane clips better be up to code or there's going to be hell to pay!"

Spider-Man bundles his legs up beneath him like he's about to leap over the street towards the building the dark knightmare was watching.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
The building with the loud voices, obviously under some sort of construction, draws Nadia's interest. "Hello?" she asks, earnestly but rather loudly as she pulls at the plastic sheeting to try get a better look inside. "I'm not sure you're allowed to be here at night. Is everything okay?"

"I could call for an ambulance if someone is injured."

Batman has posed:
Batman lifts an arm, darting it out to plant a hand firmly on the Webslinger's shoulder. He makes no effort to properly restrain him or hold him in place. The point is there, but there is no real weight to it. The hand is simply a silent suggestion that makes two single points without a single word being spoken.

Watch. See.

He keeps his eyes fixed on Nadia for the moment. A variable he hadn't planned for. Her deliberate movements and her head on a swivel suggest training. Still, even the highly-trained can go down in a crossfire they aren't expecting. His other hand lifts from where it rests on his knee, producing something slim and matte black with a menacing edge in the shape of a bat. A batarang.

In the building, the voices hush down immediately once Nadia calls to them. There is what sounds like the scuffling of feet. People falling over one another. Suddenly, an angry shout cuts through the quiet and then someone is running. Heavy footsteps squeak across bare concrete. A man in a black hooded sweatshirt bursts out of the door right next to Nadia, clutching a silvery metallic briefcase to his chest. He looks at her for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape, glancing both ways down the street as he tries to decide which way to run.

Spider-Man has posed:
Three things, actually.

Spidey was about to jump from the edge of the roof and, while he might not have smashed in the front door, he definitely wasn't going to engage in Batman's form of stealth. Then there's a hand on his shoulder. Sure, there wasn't any malice or malcontent inherent in that touch, but usually he'd have sensed someone about to grab him long before they ever actually grabbed him.

Both of his white eyes go wide and he glances up at Batman in something like surprise. "Whoa.. how'd you do that?" It's probably a weird question, since it's only a touch to the shoulder, but for Spider-Man who's use to having the fastest reflexes in the room, it's no small deal.

Suffice that things are happening down in the street.

Here Pete was worrying about the wrong things.

"Oh! Hold that answer! I'm really interested, but I'm going to go stop running badguys. Nice bladed throwing weapon that looks like a Ba- whhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaat.... You're Batman?!" Eyes wide again, mask stretched unnecessarily wide where his mouth is hanging open. "Oh man, oh man, I can't wait to tell literally anyone I speak to in the nex- badguys, be right back."

Spidey leaps this time and fires a webline to swing towards the street, "Dude." To the hoodie guy who should have made a decisions faster. "Batman is up there." Pointing at the edge of the roof, "Spider-Man is right here..." Pointing at himself.

"You're so boned."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
When a strange man bursts out from the door right next to her Nadia reacts purely on instinct. His attire, build and the briefcase all scream suspicious. So she takes a springing half step to cover the distance and slams her elbow into his throat.

If the blow lands it'll be hard enough to stun, but not enough to cause lasting injury. But either way she steps back claps her hands to her mouth. With a hint of a Russian accent she asks "Oh gosh I'm so sorry are you okay?"

Then her head snaps to the side as Spiderman lands. "Don't arrest me it was an accident. He startled me."

Batman has posed:
When the bad guy starts running, Batman simply turns to regard Spider-Man impassively. He makes no further move to stop him nor say anything. He just watches him dive down to face the man. As Spider-Man dives off the building and into the fray, the Bat rises to his feet. Over his headset, a familiar voice pipes up again.

<What a charming young man.>

Batman only grunts in reply. He half turns in a fluid motion, the batarang leaving his hand and whispering through the air with unerring precision. It strikes the sole streetlamp over the heads of Nadia, Spider-Man and the Briefcase Kid and it shatters. Now only the ambient light of the City remains, casting an eerie gloom over the street. The kind of darkness that is the Batman's home.

As the light breaks, Nadia's elbow finds the Briefcase Kid's throat and he lets out a strangulated cry and falls to the ground. His eyes widen as he looks at Spider-Man and he points at the roof. Batman, too? Screw this. The Kid throws the briefcase to one side and simply grasps his throat, willing the air to come back.

There's a sharp crack from inside the building. A harsh zipping sound through the air and then a nearby car window breaks, the alarm beginning to wail as the break lights flash on and off. The street alternating between dim red illumination and grey darkness. Before long, several men armed with what look to be handguns pour out into the street.

Spider-Man has posed:
"Great Gogalli Moghali!" Spider-Man exclaims when Nadia straight up punk arms breifcase kid in the throat with her elbow. Both of his own hands come up as if HE is surroundering, which he's not, and looks from the kid to the other femaler kid with the crisp forearm strikes. "Arrest? Wh-... me? Why? Nevermind why, HOW? New York has a pretty strict citizens arrest law and it doesn't fancy vigilantes."

The thrown briefcase is lazily webbed back into Spidey's hand, then up on the wall above him so that he doesn't have to worry too much about it in what is quickly becoming a party with all them armed guards, blaring car alarms, and blinking red lights in the darkness.

"It just go really dramatic out here."

Spidey backbends down into a crouch beside Nadia and stands up with his knuckles cracking at the armed guards, counting them out loud. "One, two, three..." However many there are, "I'm worried to think what all you grown men were doing in a building with the little guy-" Thumbing back at the younger man gasping for air "- but I am certain you should be ashammed about it. What say we put the guns down and we go get a smoothie? Because you for sure didn't bring enough men for this fight."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
With the sudden appearance of superheroes, the kid with a mysterious briefcase and the sudden shattering of the only nearby street light Nadia's professional paranoia kicks in. "I think we should d..." she starts to say in the moments before the gunfire starts. "..uck."

Of course she doesn't exactly duck herself. Instead she seems to simply shrink, down to a tenth of her usual size, in the blink of an eye even as the bullets zip over her head.

Thankfully after her last unexpected run in with New York street crime she's prepared her regular clothing with enough Pym particles to allow her to shrink.

"Is that web stuff the same as Ghost Spider uses? Every time I run into her I keep meaning to ask how it's made..." She muses aloud. "Although I guess this isn't really the time."

Batman has posed:
"Hey, it's Spidey!" one of the gunmen calls, sounding as though he's about to ask for a selfie or an autograph or something. Hey, even as a gun-toting psychopath it isn't every day you get to meet Spider-Man. The surreal moment is cut lamentably short as one of the gunmen's less starstruck compatriots takes a few pot-shots at the Wall-Crawler. So much for bonding over celebrity status.

The gunman nearest Nadia swings the hand holding the pistol at her, aiming to strike her in the face only to find her shrink out of the way. He blinks his eyes a couple of times, turning to look at his compatriots only to be met with a gloved fist firing like a piston out of the darkness. Struck across the jaw with a savage crack, the man goes down and his handgun is plucked out of the air and left to clatter to the pavement in several pieces.

However the Batman arrived, it wasn't with the same fanfare as Spider-Man. Instead, it is as though the shadows coalesced and he stepped out of them.

Spider-Man has posed:
Spider-Man glances back at Nadia just before she shrinks and his eyes wide, they turn a little too, as if he's smiling beneath the mask. "It's actually a pretty interesting story." Spidey starts about his web-fluid, "After I got my po- oh right yeah, I should focus... besides, I want them to see me.." He chirps happily, strutting a little as one of the gunmen call out that Spidey has arrived. The vigilantes hands go out as if to say; That's me and flick towards himself, "You got a cellphone or something? We can hit a selfie. Wont make you very popular in lockup, but it's always important to make memories before serving hard time."

Why would Spidey want them to see him? Aside from having an overactive need for attention?

CRACK.

Batman's punch from the shadows. "You really need to work on your situational awareness guys." Said in a murmur as the darkness around them starts literally attacking. Not that he's just going to stand there and take it, either. His wrist snaps forward to fire a webline right in the pot-shotty gunmans face, "Oops.. dang, sorry. I forget how these things work sometimes." Another line with his other hand goes for the goons ankles so as to yank them out from under him with a hard fall tot he pavement.

Any other shots will miss, Spidey can sense the bullets and ducks beneath them, first right, then left, as he closes in quickly with a leap off his turning right leg to come around towards fanclub goons temple. "You were my favorite." All the way around, web pulling him up into the air in a drawn out backflip that ends with him pointed down at the remaining goons, with a pair of lines pulling him back when fired at the concrete.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
While Nadia might seem dainty and vulnerable at her diminished size thanks to a little super science and a lot of genetic engineering she's simply compressed her usual strength and most of her mass into a more compact form.

So when she springs into action it's with a remarkable burst of speed, ducking under a gunmans legs and whirling around to kick him in the back of the knee.

Even as the man's knee buckles and he starts to fall forward she makes a follow up strike. What can only be described as an eye watering 'low blow'.

Batman has posed:
There is something about goons of all varieties. A skyrocketing level of optimism that could be measured from orbit. They can look at people in fancy costumes exhibiting strange and astounding super powers, yet always think 'yeah, I can probably take them.'

They can't.

The first gunman goes down with a web-coated face, immediately dropping his gun and lifting his hands to scratch at the sticky substance. The next experiences and illegal strike from Nadia, thankfully only semi-conscious as he crumbles to the ground in a heap. The two beneath Spider-Man flips their compatriot into the air, a look of almost wonder on their faces before he comes hurtling back down into them and sends them tumbling in a groaning heap.

The last guy does the sensible thing and drops his guns. Throwing his hands up in the air. The Batman simply looms over him for a second, everything about his body language suggesting he may just break the man's jaw regardless. But then he simply turns away, gesturing to them and then Spider-Man.

"Webs." Congratulations, honorary Spider-Robin.

He peers at the shrunken Nadia for a moment, magnifying lenses within his cowl checking her miniaturised form for any wounds. Satisfied she's unharmed, he turns back to the Briefcase Kid and crouches over him. Whatever he's doing, his body and cape obscures it from view.

Spider-Man has posed:
Spidey rolls backwards out of the rocket double punch and into a bouncing foot to foot hop with his hands up in a traditional, comical, boxers pose. "That's it?" Looking around, barely even getting an adrenoline rush from the short spat. Both hands come up helplessly when the looming shadow of Bats towers over the last remaining goon like a harbinger of pain.

With congratulatory webs, Parker gives Batman the double thumbs up and turns those hands to point at the goon who escaped a broken jaw by milimeters. "Get down on the ground." His voice deliberately heavy, deeper, and not even remotely menacing. He's trying to sound like Bats, isn't that adorable?

"Oh! Briefcase." Spider-Man backflips to the wall and crawls over along it to snatch the case from where he webbed it, sitting lotus style, horizontal above the doorway, to try and find the latch to get inside.

"Also, super crazy shrink powers." To Nadia, thumbs up for her, "We all made a good team right? I think so... now, what's.. in.. here..." Turning it over endlessly like he's never worked a briefcase before.

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia Pym takes a few steps to the side, then reverts to her regular size in the blink of an eye. "Is he... is he stealing from the bad guys?" she wonders aloud, glancing at Spiderman "Aren't we supposed to stop that sort of thing?"

"Wait are /you/ stealing from them as well?" she exclaims when Spidey starts opening the briefcase. "If so that changes everything.. I've been meaning to find a good way to fund a lab and if I can just reclaim stolen money from criminals...."

Her brow furrows thoughtfully. "Oh I'm Nadia by the way. Nice to meet you both."

Batman has posed:
When Batman stands up and steps away from the Briefcase Kid, the Kid's hands are bound in cable ties. As he rises, he pulls a key from a small chain around his neck and yanks it free. The key in hand, he steps over towards Spider-Man and looks pointedly at him for a moment.

"The briefcase." There's no rudeness or demanding anger in his voice. Just a simple, flat baritone. His Batman voice. Emotion rarely creeps into it when he isn't trying to induce fear, and right now he simply wants what he came for.

As he waits for Spidey to hand it over, he holds the key up so it can glitter momentarily as it catches the blinking light from the car's flashing brake lights: "This isn't stealing." If you say so, Batman.

Spider-Man has posed:
Spider-Man hasn't figured out the lock by the time Batman comes over with the key, mostly on account of he's looking more at Nadia now than the object in his hands. "Stealing? Me? Nah.. maybe him, I just met him. Honestly, he doesn't strike me as the thief sort." Wearing all black, creeping around in shadows, tones of high tech gadgets on a belt? Spidey's meter for theft is questionable at best.

"Let me clarify, if he were, I don't think we'd have seen him do it." Because it's not like they're talking about Batman while Batman is crouching ri- oh he's right infront of Spidey now. The wallcrawlers starts a little at the sudden shadowy figure within quiet conversational distance to him. "You have -got- to work on not being so dang sneaky. I have a bad heart." He doesn't.

The suitcase is handed up (perspectively to Spidey) to Bats. "I thought you didn't leave Gotham?"

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia Pym gives Batman a look he's likely extremely familiar with from his time around his proteges. The look of an unconvinced teenager.

Almost to kill time she ducks down, pulls a plastic glove out of her pocket (a brand usually used for scientific work rather than forensics) and then carefully picks up one of the guns to take a better look. Her Red Room training did include various firearms after all. Once she's had a look she puts it back with it's incapacitated owner and has a casual rummage through his pockets. "I wonder if they left anything interesting inside the building? Uhm. What was even going on here? Oh do they have weird gold coins? Because if they do... they might be magic get out of jail free cards..." She hrms. "But you both probably knew about that right?"

Batman has posed:
"I thought nobody could sneak up on you," comes Batman's reply, reaching to take the briefcase and tucking the key away in the same motion. If he intends to open it, he doesn't plan to do it here.

If he takes any issue with Nadia rummaging through pockets, he doesn't voice it. In his line of work, non-violent theft is something he is often forced to turn a blind eye to. Besides, if these fellas wanted to keep their valuables then maybe they shouldn't have shot at them. The Dark Knight's code of honor is uncompromising, but occasionally it soars too high to notice what is going on down in the mud.

"Information," Batman answers, still holding the briefcase and stepping away from Spider-Man and past Nadia, "Information neither party should have."

He glances at the building and for a moment it looks as though he is looking directly through the brickwork at whatever lies within. Isn't Superman meant to be the one with x-ray vision.

"Police are on the way." He leaves it to the pair of them whether they want to deal with the authorities or not.

Spider-Man has posed:
"That foot clan business?" Spidey air quotes, then lowers a hand down to the wall beside him just above the door. It sticks in place as he rolls to the side and dangles down in the open doorway to gaze inside after falling into a crouch. "Maybe. Lots of that in New York recently. They don't fit the typical M.O. though." Jutting his masked chin towards the groaning goons. "Last time I met up with some they looked like a high school football team. Wearing black wigs, it was very theatrical."

Spider-Man slinks inside with a glances around either corner of the door in a low profile crawl along the floor, "Helloooo? Anybody still here hiding in a corner hoping we don't find them?" Glancing back, "I don't think anyone else is here." This to both, "Oh, right. Nice to meet you Nadia, I'm Spider-Man." Waving a greeting because he's totally not a rude butt.

Then once more to Batman, "Me too." As for people sneakig up on him, "I assumed you had a thing that did things wh-... so you're just really sneaky. I don't know how it works." It's disconcerting, but his positive disposition is infectious when there's nothing for him to feel guilty about. "Oh sweet, I'll stick around and give them a statement." The police, thumbs up to Batman. "While you're in New York you should definitely swing by Angelos. Their never frozen meat and fresh baked bread in store are second, literally, to none."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia Pym doesn't seem to be taking anything. Just checking for information, if information happens to be there. It doesn't take a great deal of criminal smarts to leave your ID behind when heading out to do something illegal. "Yes those guys. I thought they were selling the coins to other groups though? It's not something I really looked into just.. I passed on some information from a spooky Shadow to the Avengers one time."

As the topic of the police comes up she lets out a sigh. "I should probably sneak off before the police come. I'm.. rather new to the country and I would rather not have any immigration issues come up. Even if all I did was act in self defense." She offers an apologetic shrug and a wave. "It was nice stopping bad guys with you both. But all this exercise has proven invigorating and I better get back to my math problems while inspiration is striking!"

Batman has posed:
As Nadia and Spider-Man exchange words, the Batman does what he has been doing for a decade. He takes the moment to disappear silently and without fanfare. Should either of them glance back in his direction, they will find that he is simply gone. Even the batarang used to break the light has gone, taken with him wherever it is Dark Knights go between springing forth from the shadows to protect and terrify.

It is only now that the police sirens begin to wail in the distance, and the distance flashes of blue and red suggest they don't have too far to go before they arrive.

Spider-Man has posed:
"Yeah, get out of here, they're going to blame me for all this anyways so you might as well take off." Spidey says to Nadia with a clipped nod, dusting off his hand. "I'd love to hear about your information to the Avengers sometimes..." Forgetting that he's an Avenger is still pretty easy for him. That is still new. "Also math, I like math, but oh on... get out of here you crazy kid." Wrist flicking in the direction of the sidewalk.

"Batman and me will..." Turning to said Caped Shadowman. Who is gone. His mask eyes blink. "That... is so cool." Pointing at the empty space where a Batman was excitedly. "You hear stories, you know? Was he even really here?! Was it a figment of our imaginations brought on by increased toxicity levels in the air? Maybe runoff sewage sending up harmful fumes.. all these questions answered and more..."

Turning back to Nadia, head jerking. "Go on, I got this."

Wasp (Pym) has posed:
Nadia Pym has one quick glance around for Batman, then nods to herself. "Huh he really /is/ good," she admits as she offers one last farewell wave. "And it can't be air pollution unless New York has such bad air it's causing glass to shatter..."

And with that she sets off into the night. Most definately walking away in a mature and grown up fashion rather than skipping with excitement at the whole occurance. Well okay maybe she skips a little bit.