10000/Knightfall: Dark Christmas

Knightfall: Dark Christmas
Date of Scene:	11 November 2019
Location:	Columbia Point, Burnley
Synopsis:	The Heroes of Gotham unite atop the GCPD Headquarters to save their city.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Oracle, Spoiler, Carrie Kelley, Red Robin, Shadow, Wonder Woman, Robin (Wayne), Jim Gordon
Tinyplot:	Knightfall

---

Batman has posed:
As Gotham City's bloody Christmas Eve has worn on, more information has filtered back to the Bat Family - gathered by their own operatives, the police, and even local media. At first, it had appeared to be isolated riots and terrorist attacks across the city with sightings of distinct individuals leading the soldiers and rioters - seven of them in total. It soon became apparent the groups were working together, with each of these seven 'leaders' acting more like commanders in an army.

An army that has invaded and occupied Gotham.

It's past midnight now, and while there are pockets of resistance throughout the city the enemy soldiers appear to have captured and held several important locations. None are getting in or out. Atop the ten-storey tall headquarters of the Gotham City Police Department, the Bat-Signal shines its defiant light out over the city and the beacon has been activated. The computerised alert goes out across the communications gear warn by the vigilantes of Batman's ilk.

<<All available operatives - priority one alert. Regroup at GCPD-One.>>

The rooftop itself is quiet, though Gotham's finest have manned the parapets with assault weapons and glare down at the savage streets below. The fighting is nearby. The roar of the Enemy's guns, the distant growl of an attack helicopter - all of it hangs over the place like a pall.

Oracle has posed:
Babs has been on double and triple duty with Gotham under seige. Safe above it in her fortress of technologitude, she mans the massive computer that gives her her namesake: The Oracle Array. Leaning back in the chair, pinching at the bridge of her nose, and rumbing her fingertips up into the corners of her eyes beneath her red framed glasses.

She's been running reference checks across known commanders and facial recognition for the better part of twenty hours and if it weren't for coffee, would have fallen into a coma twelve ago. <Alright ramblers... I'm starting to get some information back from my information dive. We've got a mercenary outfit leading these bunch of yahoos, but I've only got loose identification on one of them. Goes by Merlyn. One of the best archers on the planet, and that's straight off the Justice League database. The outfit itself is called 'Jeti Kanduu Adamdar'.. Seven Men of Death.. or Blood.. might be Seven men of Hashish, for all the translators are bouncing around, but they're definitely based out of Central Asia, which begs the quesiton why the hell are they in Gotham because the Chinese food isn't even that good here.>

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl slides a foot underneath her yellow metallic bo staff where it lies on the ground. Flipping it up and into her hand, she wipes the end on the clothing of an unconscious man on the ground, cleaning blood from it. He and his friends are cuffed together and their assault weapons tossed aside into a dumpster.

"Ok, now, time to give me some answers," she says to the lone conscious one as she walks over to crouch at his feet. "Sometimes I have my friend Orphan here for this. Usually people get creeped out by the way she looks at them and talk before I get to rough them up. But she's not here now. So I'm kind of looking forward to this," the blond Batgirl says, cracking her knuckles as if preparing to get to work on the man who already has a beaut of a bruise forming around one eye.

Batgirl's head tilts at the comms alert. "Well, it's your lucky day it looks like," she says, straightening up and then kicking him in the side of the head to put him under. "Ok, not THAT lucky," she corrects before responding to the comms.

<< Batgirl on the way. If there's anyone available for bad guy pickup, have a quarter bound in the alley next to Sunshine Laundry on Elm. Also? Mmmm, Chinese food. >>

She jogs off towards where she left her Batcycle, hopping on and zooming off. Soon arriving at the headquarters and making her way up to the roof.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
After the incident at the garden party. After Carrie's mother had died, and her father was taken off by the EMT's with his current condition left unknown, there hadn't been time for her to mourn or worry. There were too many reports rolling in of incidents in the city as things started to take form from the apparent generals that had taken over the various sections of the city.

A grim determination had settled over her and those who ran into Kestrel tonight found that the usual hesitation she had when it came to hurting them was gone. Whatever it was that had held her back, made her think she was less of a fighter than the others, was forgotten entirely. She was savage, brutal, efficient, and did it all with a frenetic energy that made it seem as if she were dancing while taking them down.

Numerous were left bound up for pickup later by GCPD, all taken down to the point that even if their friends had found them first, they would be of no use in helping them further in these skirmishes. Three in question are hoisted upside down and left to dangle by a secured line when Oracle comes over the comms with the update.

<< On my way. >>

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake has been out keeping his assigned area as clean as he could but as things get more and more hectic he is seeing it is more and more an uphill battle. He is strongly considering calling in the outsiders when the call to report in comes. He will see what happens here before making that decision. So he finds himself in the Red bird speeding to the GPD HQ, but along the way he realizes he will not make it in the car, and leaves it locked and secured, before taking to the roof tops to head the last bit of the way to the meeting location.

Shadow has posed:
    Between the riots and the wreckage, the streets are mostly clear, save for a last few drivers and cabbies that got caught in the crossfire and are trying to get the hell to safety as quickly as possible. And nobody really has time to care about one of the few cars that are still driving at a normal pace, even if they'd be able to notice it.

    "You sure about this, Boss? This looks more like a war zone than your regular kind of mob operation..." Benny asks.

    In the back, Natasha nods as she pulls her coat around her. "The Bat wouldn't call for help if he didn't need it -- and he wouldn't call on us if he thought this required an army. That said, you'd best drop me off at the next corner and make your way home -- I'll walk from here."

    The cab barely slows as it passes the next curb, and not even those still paying attention to the street see the figure that fades into the shadows almost as quickly as it emerged.

     >> Understood, Oracle. Do what you can. I'll see if we can't find someone to question. <<

    The precinct HQ is still a block away -- but while the Shadow isn't quite as adept with grapple slinging as most of the Bat-clan, the rooftops are as good as a flat road as far as a traceuse is concerned... >> I'm on my way. Should be there in a few minutes. <<

Wonder Woman has posed:
From the sky, a barely visible shape pierces the clouds over Gotham and slips lower into the atmosphere above the city. As it gets closer and closer to the ground it becomes even less visible until its entirely and completely lost to the naked eye. The scream of its alien engines can be heard however as it sweeps above the buildings of the city.

As the screams of the invisible craft echo above the GCPD building, a lone figure drops out of nowhere, she falls at a controlled pace toward the rooftop wher ethe Bat-signal shines bright and she comes to land beside it.

In shining armor, Diana Prince lands upon the HQ building, her armored boots planted firmly upon the surface of the roof. She lets her gaze sweep over the area, taking in the sights and sounds of this city, her sword and shield already held in her hands and her dark hair whipping about her otherwise bared muscular shoulders.

<"Wonder Woman, checking in.">

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     There was work to be done. And Robin had to keep at it. After the incident at West Chelsea Hill, he'd been mostly to himself, fighting the aggressors until he receives the message over comms.

  He crossed paths with Carrie once or twice after the incident, but he did not bring it up. Over the years of knowing her, he did not show that he had cared enough to know. He just kept at it, gathering groups of criminals for pickup.

  <<Understood.>> Robin gathered himself, and grappled himself for a glide, the bats could cover the city in a matter of minutes with one good grapple glide. <<Advisable to resupply on GCPD roof, Goliath is following.>> The crimson bat dragon followed like the faithful companion he was, of course. Damian landed on the roof, his cape and tunic were burned, and cut, and even his face had been roughed up, dried blood spattered his face, some of it his, some of it other people's.

  Goliath landed as well, giving an opportunity for everyone to reload. The bat dragon looked to Damian with some concern, and sniffed at him as he grabbed more batarangs and flash grenades.

Batman has posed:
The officers of Gotham's thin blue line give a cursory look and nod to the vigilantes as they arrive. On another night, they might try to question them - the braver ones might even try to arrest them. But there's something unspoken in the air tonight. A bond that draws Gotham's masked vigilantes and its uniformed police officers together and unifies them against the elements of chaos and destruction that threaten it.

As Robin, Batgirl and Red Robin arrive on the rooftop, one of the officers - a gruff and stocky man in his fifties they would recognise as Sergeant Ollie Hauger - approaches the pair. He opens his mouth to speak when Wonder Woman suddenly descends from the sky, and that is enough to give even a hardened veteran of Gotham's street pause. His mouth hangs open slightly, turning almost instinctively to address the commanding presence that is Diana - while still glancing to the other heroes present.

"We had a chopper in the sky, but they downed it somewhere down in Red Hook," he explains, "We need someone to check if those men are still alive. They're not gonna last five minutes out there without help - this damn city's tearin' itself apart."

He glances now towards the Robins and Batgirl, a slight frown on his face and a savage streak of bitterness in his voice: "If the city fallin' into Hell isn't enough to bring him out, what is?"

Some of the gathered officers pause to look at Goliath, eyes wide at the dragon acting more like a pet dog than a fearsome beast of folklore.

"McClure, Gadbois," Sergeant Hauger calls to two uniformed officers, drawing them over from the parapet, "Get on the horn with New York and see if they can spare anything - and check with the Mayor's off-"

THUNK!

Hauger staggers backwards, clutching at a black-plumed arrow that now sprouts from his left shoulder. Blood courses through his fingers, a look of anguish on his weathered face as he staggers back a few steps and collapses onto a pile of ammunition crates hastily set up near the Bat-Signal.

"Incoming!" cries a voice of alarm, and then the darkness erupts with the sound of gunfire as the shadowy streets below seem to light up with the fire of assault weapons and more arrows whistling through the night air.

Oracle has posed:
<I have GCPD inbound for pickup on your beacon Batgirl.> Oracle states dutifully, rerouting them around some of the congestion of assault choppers and thick gangs of rioters that clog some of the streets. <Batwing is in the air for emergency evac, just give the word and I'll stick her in.>

Then hell breaks loose on the roof of the GCPD building.

Alarm bells go off in Babs head, her father is there somewhere, but she can't let that leak into her voice. Not with Carrie just having become super orphaned within the last twenty four hours. <Looks like we're getting our first taste of one of the seven deadly bois. Arrows, so looks like we've got Merlyn up on the GCPD roof...>

Calm as a cuccumber despite the irrational fear rising in her gut.

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl arrives and nods towards her teammates as they arrive, or were already there. She walks over to Goliath, replacing the batarangs, sticky bombs, smoke and flash pellets, and everything else she's expended tonight from the load he brought. "Thanks Robin. It's been a long night, needed this."

There's a bruise at the corner of her lip, and her costume has a few rips in it, some of them with blood around them though whatever wounds she took are no longer flowing.

The arrow hits and the gunfire breaks out. Batgirl whirls around, taking only a second before reacting. "Flashbangs, eyes down!" she calls out loudly and grabs four flashbangs on fuses from Goliath's stores. She tosses one in each direction from the rooftop, timing it to blow up in the air just past the building's edge, and hopefully temporarily blinding any gunmen, or archers, who happened to be aiming that way, to cut down on the fire they are taking.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake had resuppied in the Red bird. He was going to give the cop some type of answer to the question he asked, but as things went sideways, there would be time for talking later. He moves to the cop who was hit, spreading his cap over him to make sure he takes no more arrows, as he checks the man to see if the arrow can be removed and also if it is poisoned. He will keep his back to the flash bang, and give the cop first aid, trying to make sure none are lost here tonight.

Shadow has posed:
    As the flashbangs briefly turn night into day, those who are still paying attention see a shadow rushing across the nearby rooftop. As it clears the ledge it appears to vanish into the returning darkness, but then coalesces and solidifies into the form of a tall figure vaulting between the buildings, long coat and cloak billowing out behind them.

    Despite the distance, they manage to reach the ledge with room to spare, turning the momentum into a quick roll and standing up without even dislodging their hat.

    "Gotham has its problems, but this is beyond all proportions. Why them? Why here? And why /now/?"

    The Shadow looks at the other assembled, blazing blue eyes weighing each of them in turn before regarding the surroundings.

Jim Gordon has posed:
The door to the roof of the building is flung open, and James Gordon joins the others there. His coat flaps about his ankles as he cradles his pistol, squinting against the sudden flashbang. Thankfully, he looked JUST in time. He reaches up to adjust his glasses, and the older man grunts to himself. He turns to take in all of the chaos with a stern frown.

The man might be in his fifties, but he has the sturdy build of a much younger man. "Not a single quiet Christmas. Not -one-. Just wanted a quiet dinner with my kid and we've got..."

He trails off, glancing about. "...Wonder Woman? Huh. You're slumming," he frunts softly. "...But we're happy to have you." He then turns to survey it all, and he begins directing the police officer. He's a charismatic man, and there's a reason he's gotten where he is. He might not have super powers, but he knows what he is doing.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana approaches the officers as they look to her, she lowers her chin to stare back at them with an even look. "I will go to the helicopter." She announces then. "I will save those men before it is too late." When Jim arrives, Diana's gaze sweeps over to him. She gives him and his words a single nod. "Manhattan is just a short jump across the river, yes? Call it neighborly of me to be here." She's kidding of course, as was he, a bit of friendly banter.

When the attacks begin though, she averts her gaze to the danger. "I must go. I will get to Red Hook to find the helicopter!" She turns then and starts to run at full tilt toward the edge of the building, one step following another until she leaps up onto the edge and jumps up into the, high and far off in the direction of that borough of the city!

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian gives Goliath a hearty thumping pat on his flank, furry and red as it was. He would give the beast so many fish after this was over.

  Robin had looked at Wonder Woman as she showed up, giving the warrior a nod as she joined the fray. He didn't have time to hero worship. This was all business, like Batman would be. The original Batman. "This is a coordinated attack. From whom, I cannot be certain. But I have a theory, Shadow."

  Until there was an arrow loosed at Hauer, sticking into the man like he had seen so many times before. Immediately he switches his mask to thermal vision, searching out the bowman. The pops of gunfire ring out around the GCPD, hails of arrows fly through the air and fly towards the rooftop. <<Oracle, use the Batwing to get us eyes over the scene. I want to know where these bastards are...>> Robin has stood defiantly against the barrage of gunfire and arrows. Covering his mask against Batgirl's flash bangs, when it was safe to lower his cape, an black fletched arrow had been loosed, undulating midair, and flying for Damian's face.

Batman has posed:
The sergeant under Red Robin's care seems wounded, but not fatally so. A preliminary check for poisons or toxins of some kind don't turn up anything, and the only issue appears to be the shoulder muscle now punctured by the arrow. He grunts with pain, lifting his forearm up to block his eyes as the flash bang goes off. A moment later he shoves ineffectively at Tim's shoulder, growling with pain under his breath.

"Go help them," he insists, biting back the pain, "I'll be - ugh! I'll be fine."

When the Commissioner arrives, the other officers get a dose of confidence from his presence. They ready their weapons, taking cover and preparing to fire. Down in the street, voices raise in communication with one another as the flashbangs go off. Different languages, by the sound of them. All from the Asian continent.

"Koz Kalgila!"

"Amkha tala!"

"Men jarohat oldim!"

Then the arrow, hissing through the air at Robin's face. It is but a few feet away when it is stopped, snatched out of the air by a hand clad in a black, armored gauntlet. The hand draws it away, and the Batman emerges from the shadows. The arrow still clasped in his fist, he snaps it in two with the smallest motion of his thumb and lets the two halves clatter to the ground.

His uniform is new. Armored. More protection. More advanced than what he had normally worn. He stands at the foot of the Bat-Signal, the glowing white eyelets of his cowl taking in the assembly before he turns his attention fully to the Shadow.

"They're here for me."

Oracle has posed:
Babs grabs the stick that controls the Batwing and angles it down in a hover above GCPD to get a bats eye view of the rooftop, <Feeding you scans, Robin...> When she sees the shadowy armored Batman gripping an arrow ment for her tiny little brother... and her father stepping out into this mess.

"Well this just got dramatic..."

Spoiler has posed:
"Thank you, Wonder Woman," Batgirl says as Diana Prince heads off to save the men in the helicopter, able to get there far more safely and quickly than many of them would be able to.

Batgirl moves over to the edge of the rooftop, peering down below, zooming in to spot some of the people firing up at them from below. As she hears the voices, she calls back, "I don't think we ordered any of that." She pulls a disk launcher from her utility belt, extending a stock and rotating a scope up out of it and into position.

She leans over the edge of the rooftop, sighting on someone and sending a little disk flying down to the street below. When it hits, freeze gas erupts, enough to form ice around their legs and lock them in place.

She lifts the weapon up, leaning it against her shoulder. "I hope that didn't sound racist! I really didn't mean it that way!"

She turns to look towards a cop beside her. "Sounded racist didn't it?" she asks. "Yeah, kind of," he agrees. She waves down to the street again. "Really sorry!" Then fires at someone else, freezing him in place.

The arrival of Batman gives a little surge of emotion. "Any plans, or is it general, go kick ass?" sshe asks.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake looks back over as the bat appears, and a smile can be seen cross his face for a moment. He will put a bandage on the cops shoulder and says "Hold it there." he will then move back looking around. He stands looking the opposite way of Batman though, making sure they have eyes in as many different directions as possible. He pulls a few batarangs out held ready to throw but not thrown yet.

Shadow has posed:
    If the Shadow is even remotely surprised at the supposedly-dead Batman's presence, the figure gives no sign of it, merely nodding at the revelation. "Of course they would be," they comment. "Any specific reason?"

    When Stephanie speaks up, the figure turns to regard her. "Too many asses, not enough hours in the night. If we want this dealt with, we'll need to take out the hands that move them rather than the pawns."

Jim Gordon has posed:
You'd think somebody like Gordon would be in over his head in this kind of situation, but he's been a cop in Gotham for thirty years. If you do something like that without ending up either dead or corrupt...it takes something. The kind of something that helps lead cops in the face of an invasion, in fact.

"Calloway, Hawthorne! Northwest corner! O'Reilly and Sullivan! You two take Bailey, Zedd and Harrison to the southeast. Caroline, it's time to use that med experience. There's an emergency first-aid kit a floor down. Yeah, you know the one. Setup triage for anyone up here that's injured right here by the door. MOVE PEOPLE!"

Gordon's tie whips about him as he finishes giving those orders. He glances towards Batman and pauses for a moment before he gives a stiff, pleased nod. "You've handled worse then this, Batman."

"...Right?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana soars through the air, not directly flying entirely the whole trip, but also landing on top of buildings and racing across them to leap between one to the next!

The big gaps she spans with ease, leaping through the air or outright flying like a bullet from a gun!

When she arrives at Red Hook she uses her heightened senses to search the sounds, the sights... she zeros in on the source of the downed copter, even able to see the smoke rising from the street corner it landed upon.

The Princess leaps through the air, landing on a rooftop water tower before she lunges downward and on her approach she can spy the GCPD Crew from the helicopter, under siege from ground forces all around them! The Officers are pinned down and shouting for assistance, enemy fire coming at them from all sides as a group of baddies sweep toward the helicopter crew to finish them off...

Until a golden yellow lasso wraps about the ankles of the center standing assailant, and YANKS them backward through the air, causing them to flip end over end and smash through a window of an old laundry mat!

Diana arrives in that person's place now, and she gets to work. The enemies turn to face off with her, on either sides. The first is bashed with shield resulting in a loud metal *THUD* followed but a sweeping low kick that is sent toward the enemy positioned behind her! Both attackers drop hard to the pavement and Diana lunges upward above the Helicopter crew to the windows where more of the enemies are starting a descent on rappel cables!

A battle ensues on the side of the building, dangling soldiers, now targeting Wonder Woman who is running along the side of the building, smashing, kicking and punching anyone and everyone who dares try and stop her!

Only... it is all interupted.

Red Hook is suddenly, and entirely engulfed in a massive EXPLOSION!

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian's own white eyelets had flared against the short sight of the arrow headed right for him. When Batman's hand snatched the projectile out of the air.

  Damian simply tuts his tongue against his teeth. "About time." He comments, not phased at the sudden appearance of his father.

  "Does this mean I get a new suit too?" He asks, looking over the new Batsuit. Stephanie's comments only garner a slight scowl, and a correction. "It's chatter. field directions. And swears."

  Damian joins next to Batman, and asides to him. "Arrows, Asian languages, a coordinated strike on Gotham..." Bruce should see where this was going, and it had Damian pissed. All that was missing was a Lazarus Pit and swordplay. He was up for the option to escort the League right to the gates of Hell.

  Diana's hijinks in Red Hook definitely get noticed, the fireball from that area had turned the sky an eerie color of orange. "Wonder Woman..." He was a little upset he was missing out on the fun there.

Batman has posed:
"Keep your people on a defensive footing," Batman answers the Commissioner's question with an imperative, "Whatever they want, they wouldn't have sent most of their forces here if it wasn't important. It's vital that they don't get it - whatever it is. These soldiers are well-trained, and the mercenaries they're working for are some of the most dangerous in the world. We'll get through this, Jim."

He glances towards Robin, grunts, ignoring the comment about the costume but nodding at the second realization: "The League of Assassins."

That said, the Dark Knight quickly scales the pedestal upon which the Bat-Signal is situated and peers out into the gloom. Even as the bullets and arrows fly, he stands there - almost daring something to hit him. Yet the projectiles sail past him, and he steps down unphased.

"We've got - "

The explosion in Red Hook stops him cold, and he moves immediately to the southern parapet facing that neighborhood to the immediate south. He isn't gentle about shoving one of the officers out of the way, eyes wide beneath the mask as he stares off towards the rising plume of smoke and flame in the distance.

"Diana ... "

He turns quickly, just in time for several grapnel lines to rise from the street below, clatter across the rooftop and then hook themselves into secure positions against the parapets. Clouds of white smoke erupt from pellets thrown up after them, the rooftop suddenly becoming a hazy mess as his cowl's eyelets switch to thermographic vsion.

"They're coming up. Get ready."

Spoiler has posed:
As the clouds of smoke billow about the edges of the building and some of the police fall back. Batgirl rushes forward to the edge, leaning out and pulling a trio of batarangs, each thrown in quick succession at people climbing up from below.

The blond crimefighter gives a sudden cry of pain as a knife flies up from below, sharp enough to slide her arm through her costume. She falls back just as a man leaps up onto the edge of the roof. His athletic build is shown off by a tight, sleeveless shirt with vertical black and white stripes like a sports referee. He has white paint on his face and wears a little smiley face badge on his shirt.

"Bats make greast targets for throwing knives!" he exclaims as he launches a knife with first one hand and then the other at the retreating Batgirl. She pulls her bo staff, telescoping it and knocking the first knife out of the air, though the second she only knicks and it hits her shoulder but thankfully not blade first after the deflection.

"Razorburn," Batgirl says, recognizing him from her criminology studies. "You know I figured they always called you that because you always had some nice cool aftershave on," she tells him. Batgirl gives a sniff and a wrinkle of her nose. "Definitely not for that reason.

She launches forward on the attack before he can target any of the cops. Her bo staff makes a yellow blur which Razorburn blocks with a knife held along his wrist. He slashes at Batgirl, and as she dodges back he chases forward, throwing a knife that she is forced to duck, and then following it up with a high kick that catches Batgirl on her chin, knocking her onto her back and then lunging to stab her while she's down!

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will see the man in the green shirt with the hook come down hook first at him. Red Robin sends his batarangs at him. These send Matson's hook off to the side, slashing a part of RR's cape. Red Robin's staff comes up into play and the two start the dance. Matson is a skilled fighter not many could stand up to him, but Red Robin was trained by Batman and Lady Shiva. The whistling staff moving with blinding speed. Sparks fly as metal means metal back and forth they go. Red gets a scratch here and there, blood spilling from the minor hits he has taken. Red Robin seems to slip, and Matson comes in with the hook. Sadly for Mason, the slip was intentional, and Red sidesteps the slash and the claw scrapes against the bat symbol. A pellet is brought up, and hits the claw and signal. Matson finds he clued to the signal, and as he tries to jerk himself free, he leaves himself open and with a quick double slap of the staff on each side of the head, the man is out. Red robin stands there catching his breath a brief moment, to look to see if anyone needs help.

Jim Gordon has posed:
Gordon's distracted with w section of Gotham -exploding-. "No!" He turns to watch the smoke rise from Red Hook, his eyes wide behind his glasses. "Commissioner! Commissioner what do we-," starts one of the cops, only to be interrupted by Gordon. "You heard the Batman! On the defensive! They don't get in here!" Behind him, the cop he ordered has setup a small triage area...which basically means she's hastily but skillfully patching up injured people by the entrance to the staircase. It's better then nothing, though.

And that is when a muscled man with a black mask rolls onto the rooftop. He's wearing a long trenchcoat with a white X across his torso, and a stylized white design on his black mask. The man levels two heavy semi-automatics and spits fire in the direction of Gordon and the other cops by the door. Gordon's arm is very lightly winged before the man acts swiftly, shoving two other cops to the floor. "Damnit! Stay down! Protect the wounded and that damn door!"

Gordon hunkers down behind the bat signal as a few more rapid-fire shots kick off sparks near his head. He growls under his breath and steps out to take a shot, only to have the gun shot out of his hand, the weapon skidding across the rooftop. Gordon ducks back, his hand bloodied but not ruined. He furrows his brow and waits, counting shots erupting from the man's weapons. As the weapons stop firing, Gordon comes out from behind the signal again.

"Know who you're messing with, boy?," the Commissioner growls, closing the distance and squaring up like a boxer. "Runner-up in the Armed Forces Boxing Championship runner-up in '97." The man drops the guns as Gordon closes the distance, and he takes a firm swing. Gordon is hit across the face and spits blood, taking a few steps back. "Just runner-up?," the man asks, the sneer under his mask obvious.

Gordon grunts, and the old man spits blood aside before he comes around and catches the man with a sound sucker-punch, followed by a jaw-cracking uppercut. "Won it '99 jack-ass. And my kid's spends all her time on a computer and she hits harder then that." He follows up the uppercut by stepping in and catching the man in the side of the head with a haymaker, sending him unconcious to the ground.

Gordon stumbles back, trying to catch his breath. "I need a cigarette," the battered Commissioner grunts as he plucks his cracked glasses from his face, tucking them into a pocket with a slightly shaking hand with bloodied knuckles.

Wonder Woman has posed:
The smoke, cinder and chaos around Red Hook has shaken the entire city. Everyone in Gotham has either heard the blast, or seen it, and they've all felt it too.

But out of the smoke and chaos, Diana emerges, covered in sooth debris and other city grime. She lands atop a building unaffected by the explosion and she drops her shield to the ground, followed by her sword. She turns to look back on the remains of Red Hook with a look of utter concern and anger across her features.

Her chance to process the carnage is short-lived however, as from behind her, an unexpected assailant arrives.. and with a *WHIP CRACK* a long cord of black wrapped leather snaps around Diana's throat!

The Princess is pulled backward a foot or so before another *WHIP-CRACK* sends the Princess down onto her back...

Two booted feet step beside her on the dirty roof of the building near to Red Hook. A woman looks down at the Princess and just smirks at her. "Did your little city blow up? What a shame." The woman with the two long bullwhips taunts!

Shadow has posed:
    The Shadow turns to the parapet just as a man dressed in loose black cloth climbs over it, one hand already holding a dagger and drawing a second once he no longer needs to hold the grapple rope. He leaps forward, body uncoiling like a spring as he lashes out at the cloaked figure, which flows away and around his strike with a mocking laugh.

    Strike after strike goes wide as his target never quite seems to be where he expects them to be, his lunges becoming more and more erratic as the mocking laughter grates at his frustration, until he badly overextends himself, and the Shadow moves inside his guard before he can so much as think of pulling back, a high spinning back kick heading straight for his face.

    With panic-born strength he manages to halt himself, throwing his entire torso backward to get away from that kick... Only for it to whistle past his face without making contact as the Shadow drops into a crouch, maintaining the momentum of the spin for a leg sweep that knocks the man off his feet and flat onto the roof -- and by the time his eyes are tracking again, he's just in time to see a gloved fist come at his face and bounce the back of his head off the rooftop a second time in five seconds, and he takes a trip to slumberland.

    The Shadow straightens, looking around to see if anyone else needs assistance, then suddenly ducks their head, one hand going to their ear, listening to a message.

    "... Understood. I'll take care of it." The hand drops and the Shadow turns to Batman before continuing. "Oracle traced the signal that detonated that explosive. There are several more charges in place, and the man holding the detonator has orders to trigger them all if he so much as sees anyone. I'll handle them."

    With that, the Shadow heads for the rapelling line that the recent attackers had so considerately launch into place, fading from view even before they clear the parapet...

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Working in smoke was something Damian had been used to. Thermal vision switches on and Robin had watched a slender figure land on the GCPD roof.

  Damian hopped in, striking quickly, his blows being blocked by long claws from the fellow's hands, left, right, jab, cross, and even a leg sweep only caught the wild-haired man off guard for a second. He performed a kip-up just as easily as Damian had swept him off his feet.

  The wild-haired man swung his claws and started to lay into Damian psychologically. "Ibn al Xu'ffasch, betrayer of your blood, your training has waned." This had been when the claws slashed against Robin's tunic, now leaving strips of cloth held to Robin by his R badge and his utility belt. One of those hands had grasped his cape and threw the boy with relative ease away.

  Damian had made a quick retreat, dropping the scraps of tunic and revealing the black armored under suit that had been underneath it.

  "I was betrayed first!" He yells, palming a sharpened batarang in his right hand and now, without his cape and tunic, he jumped back in, the bat signal was used as a jumping platform, taking to the air, he landed on Maduvu's shoulders and punching the man's head with a flurry of quick jabs, then jumping back off of him, planting the clawed man to the ground, if only for a moment.

Batman has posed:
Batman turns briefly to listen to the Shadow, simply nodding in response. He lifts a finger to his ear, hooking into the communications network utilized by the Bat-Family.

<<Red Hood - isolate the signal Oracle is sending you now. You need to disarm those bombs. Shadow is taking out the triggerman.>>

The orders given, the Dark Knight turns once again to face the Four of the Seven Men of Death as they storm the building's rooftop. But before he can engage, a voice with a thick Central Asian accent booms from somewhere in the smoke. A moment later a figure emerges, broad and muscular - towering over even the tall and imposing figure that is Batman.

"It is over," the man intones, voice muffled by an ornate and horned mask he wears, "Your city is in flames, soon to be ashes. Your petty victories here will count for nothing when I leave you bloodied and broken."

The large man cracks his knuckles, rolling his head from side to side on his shoulders.

"I will succeed where the Man of Steel failed, Detective."

The Bat remains still for a moment, the flash of his white teeth visible in the gloom as he snarls.

"Ubu."

There are no more words. No further pronouncements of doom and destruction. The Dark Knight moves with swiftness, spear-tackling the man into the artificial fog. They vanish, toppling over one another. It is then that the rooftop is stormed once more, soldiers clad in black - armed with rifles and swords - pouring up and over the parapets to engage those not already fighting.

Spoiler has posed:
The remnants of white smoke covering the initial assault still whip about the top of the building on the cold winter winds. Batgirl's head sways a bit as if maybe she bounced it off the rooftop when she was knocked off her feet by Razorburn's kick and landed hard. Those swirls of smoke seem to frame the murderous villain as he charges forward, a knife held in both hands overhead. Aiming to propel the razor-sharp knife with such force it will penetrate her, body armor, sternum, and heart, in one blow.

Batgirl looks woozy, causing the man to grin in anticipation as he lunges and starts to swing down towards her. Which is just the moment that Batgirl grabs her bo staff, one end braced in her armpit while the other end lifts to catch Razorburn in the chest.

What results is like a pole vaulter, with Batgirl further telescoping the staff to add some distance. Razor burn is flung past her, arcing fifteen feet high through the air before crashing down head first into the Batsignal. He slams into the Bat logo face first, knocked out cold. As Razorburn's body slowly slides down the angled face of the spotlight, the Batman symbol shining on the clouds above momentarily dims with extra shadow. The villain falls free, and the symbol shines on the clouds brightly, as if with renewed life.

"That was too close. I think it left me quipless," Batgirl says as she rises to her feet. "A real close shave," she adds then laughs. "Ok, not completely quipless."

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake will want to head and help his friends, but there are the league's assassins swarming. He trusts his friends, he knows they have had training akin to his own. He knows the boys in blue need the help more now. While Gotham PD may have some of the toughest cops around these are members of the league. Red Robin moves in to help them. His own staff a blur. Hitting the first of the assassins, and knocking him back into the next. The fight is a blur, Tim is fighting with all he has, and will end up over extending himself tossing two batarangs at two assassins behind one of the police officers. This leaves Tim open where one of the assassins is bring the sword down onto Red Robin, and the Cop repays the rescue with a shot to the assassin. The bat family may not like guns, but police officers have to use them. Red Robin and the Officer look at one another the moment of saving one another acknowledged and they nod to one another, and back into the fight they both go.

Wonder Woman has posed:
On her back with the devastation still unfolding all around her near the disaster in Red Hook, Diana reaches a hand up to rip the whip cord off of her throat while the woman who grips the twin whips takes a step back, though still holds a big grin upon her lips.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen." The woman continues to taunt the Princess as she watches her move to stand up. Another snapping crack of a whip enforces Diana to stay low, to avoid the hissing swing of the corded leather that breaks the sound barrier just above her head.

"I have fought a lot of big names, you know." The woman tells Diana as she cracks her second whip at the Princess' chest now, causing Diana to lunge backward to avoid its wrath! "Never have I fought a supposed 'goddess' before though." A smarmy smirk spreads across the whipping woman's visage once more.

"I'm going to be honest here, Diana of Themyscira... I'm a little disappoin---"

Diana lunges at the woman with the twin whips! She's gone from recoiling from a whip crack, to lunging forward in a sudden and fast attack that you'd miss if you blinked!

Where the woman with the two whips once stood, now there is... nothing. Diana full on rammed into her, punched her with both curled-up fists!

Off in the distance, beyond the smoke of Red Hook, a small dot of a figure descends out of the sky... and splashes down into the river between Gotham and Manhattan.

Diana, rocking back and forth on both of her armored boots, squeezes her leather wrapped fists, feeling adrenaline rushing through her from all of this, stares where the woman had been moments before. "Shut up." She lowly speaks her response, all the quipping she feels is necessary in this moment.

The Princess turns then and starts to run toward the fire and flames of Red Hook, to try to find and save those in need. She leaps from the building she's on and descends into the chaos!

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin leapt back into the air, descending back onto the man's chest and with a kick, dealing more damage. It had only been a couple years, but he still remembered the voice. "Ubu." He comments, watching the fracas between Batman and the behemoth of a man.

  For now, Robin continues to fight those making ingresses on the GCPD.

Batman has posed:
As the smoke clears, the fight between Batman and the towering Ubu becomes more easily seen. Atop the platform that supports the Bat-Signal, the fighting is brutal. No acrobatics. No gadgets or gimmickry. It is instead a tight, close-quarters fistfight as the two men struggle with one another. Ubu seems to have the upper hand, the Dark Knight's cowl already dented in places and his lower lip split and bloodied.

"Pathetic," Ubu chides, drawing back his fist and striking Batman in the stomach heavily, "You don the mantle of war once again but are unfit to fight it. Will you break, Detective? Now that your city is soon to be rubble, will you take my place at the Master's side?"

He bears his teeth, striking Batman with a backhand across the face that sends the Dark Knight reeling - sprawled out at the foot of the Bat-Signal.

"Or will you die?!"

The tides of battle begin to turn atop the rooftop. The police are beginning to retreat, and while Gotham's masked vigilantes hold their own the numbers of soldiers only seem to grow. By the Bat-Signal, Ubu lays the boot into the kneeling Batman and sends him toppling to the side.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake continues the fight, his staff being brought up, to block a sword, and seems it has taken one too many hits, and it splits in two. Luckily Red Robin has trained with his older brothers, and while he may not be as good with the style of fighting Nightwing uses he knows it. The fighting does not seem to have an end, but They can not give up. He will take a few more hits along the way as he covers for the officers. He wants to check on his friends, but this fight has gotten to the point he can't tonight anything that is not him or the enemy has to be thought of later, as he fights back, but the lose of blood, and injuries are slowing then young man.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana is unfortunately indisposed still in Red Hook. The devastation there has been too great for her to turn her back on it. There are remains of buildings yet standing that were only partially destroyed by the massive blast that rocked the district... this means there are a lot of people in need of someone with the powers and abilities she has.

Leaping from structure to structure, Diana is searching for survivors in need.

Down below on the streets there are emergency service vehicles, responders and civilians looking to help...

What they find is the Princess coming out of the smoke, the soot and mayhem, caked in it all, bringing with her arm loads of people, back and forth she is traveling, to those helping and to those in need of help...

Something she will likely be doing for some time yet to come.

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl turns back from the defeat of Razorburn only to find more enemies climbing over the rooftop edge, their numbers greater than she wants to count. She darts forward, cape flaring behind her as she delivers a pair of blows with her staff, then whirls to toss a dulled batarang into another attacker's forehead, feeling him.

Another man rams his shoulder into her back, sending Batgirl tumbling amidst a groan of pain. She turns the tumble into a roll back to her feet, whipping a bola that tangles the man's feet. Her bo staff lost, Batgirl throws a pair of batarangs, one electrified that takes a man in the chest and leaves him convulsing on the ground. "Don't taze me, bro," she says, not quite managing it with her normal conviction as more enemies swarm forward towards her.

Not enough room for weapons, she trades punches, kicks, knees and elbows with the attackers, delivering more than she takes. But the blows are starting to add up. She fells a trio of attackers, two men and a woman.

The next up pulls two swords. "Really? What is it with you guys and martial arts and swords. Don't you know what a racist cliche that is?" she says. "Right?" she asks, looking for the cop who gave his input earlier. He's off struggling with someone trying to plunge a knife in him before he can retreat into the building. Batgirl whips a batarang into the cop's attacker but it costs her any chance to prepare for the swordsman. His blades flash with reflected fires as he attacks, Batgirl using the armor in her gloves to block the blows, though some of them are cutting through into her arms.

She grabs a batarang and plunges it into his chest, it goes off and electrifies them both. They both keel over onto their backs. The League of Shadows assassin got the worst of it, Batgirl's costume partially insulated. "Oh Christ that hurt."

Batman has posed:
"It isn't enough to have beaten you," Ubu says, standing above the fallen Dark Knight now - silhouetted by the Bat-Signal that still shines its light on the clouds above, "Not enough to merely kill you. I want you to be shattered. Completely destroyed as you see what I have wrought in this cesspit you treasure so dearly."

Ubu stoops, picking the Bat up in one hand by the shoulders and holding him aloft. His strength is titanic, and he gestures to the stretches of Gotham City from which smoke pours towards the sky. The neighborhood of Red Hook to the south that is in flames, a large portion of it sunken into the subterranean tunnels below. The man reaches for the radio on his belt, clicking it on and speaking.

"Detonator. Now."

Nothing.

A pause, and with a grunt of displeasure he clicks the button once more.

"Detonator!" He growls, "I don't know - "

It is then that he turns, finding that Batman has turned in his grasp. No longer facing Gotham but facing his assailant. Though bloodied, his face is now a mask of snarling conviction. The very image of the Dark Knight - the fearsome specter that defends Gotham City. He tilts his head, spitting blood to the metal grating below, and fixes his eyes on the man in the horned mask.

"The Shadow knows."

The Batman strikes. He brings both hands up, cupped palms landing across Ubu's ears. The large man staggers, bringing his hands to his head as nerves erupt with pain. It's all the opening the Bat needs, driving gauntleted fists over and over into the man's stomach. Pummeling him mercilessly. Just as it seems like the masked man is about to regain his footing however, Batman brings one booted foot up and with an aerial kick strikes the man square in the jaw.

He staggers backwards and falls, over the railing and onto the glass of the Bat-Signal's face. There's a shower of sparks, bright flashes of electricity and smoke as Ubu lands and shudders briefly. Then the noise is over, the man still and prostrate atop the broken Bat-Signal. Batman turns, words hissed through clenched, bloodied teeth.

"Get this scum out of my city."

Spoiler has posed:
The night is lit by fires here and there in the distance. But Gotham still stands, the shapes of buildings defiant even as they are lit by distant flames. On the rooftop, the brightness of the Batsignal is gone. Instead sparks jump and flicker, creating a strobe-like effect nearby.

In this darkness and light, Batgirl moves. A flash lights her fist connecting to a jaw. Darkness and then a spark shows a man, his head in in Batgirl's hands as his face meetings her upraised knee. Chaotic sounds in the dark. Sparks of light showing Batgirl running up the wall by the door into the building, then falling back to Superman punch someone in the head from above.

A series of flash pellets go off along the roof's edge, blinding the next wave of attackers. Batgirl jumps up to grab two of them by the heads and then drop, carrying them both down face first into the rooftop.

She's grabbed by the throat and lifted into the air, Batgirl supplying a two-hand chop to the man's ears in the fashion of her mentor. The man collapses, the purple and black caped crusader moving forward, using the momentum of his fall and redirecting it to hurl him into two more attackers. Knocked off their feet, she jumps on them to deliver knock out blows.

Red Robin has posed:
Tim Drake falters to one knee, but keeps fighting back. He looks over and sees the safety equipment on the roof, and with a run and a slide, he ends up next to the rooftop fire house, and yes Tim is bracing it and turning it on using the force to blast the assassins that are not in hand to hand combat with his friends. He braces himself against a wall to help him handle the force, between the force of the water and the cold on this winter night, the league will be buying chicken soup in bulk. It might not be an enema, the PD roof is getting a good hose down.

Wonder Woman has posed:
From above the sound of a screeching alien jet engine can be heard again, but this time, instead of of flying past, it dies quickly, like it just entirely vanished suddenly!

But from seemingly no where, figures begin to emerge from the literal sky. One after another until all eight of them land on the rooftop. All eight of them clad in the metal armors of Amazon Warriors and all of them wielding weapons of ornate craftsmanship...

Diana is indisposed, but the Amazons who live with her here in the States are not.

With the combat continuing, new fighters into the battlefield, with their shields rising, javelin's aiming the women of Themyscira charge into the conflict and begin to bash, strike, stab and slash their way through it, moving in a well organized line charge, they flank their targets, round them up and strike them down with savage perfection!

The sounds of the warrior women fill and add to the ambiance of the madness in Gotham tonight, but they're here to provide Hope and Support to the good people of Gotham. The eight warrior women continue their charge, toward Batgirl, toward Batman and the others, clashing the enemies and leaving a field of downed foes in their wake!

Batman has posed:
Ubu concentrated his forces at the headquarters building, hoping it would be enough to overwhelm the Batman and his allies. But he underestimated their resourcefulness, and now having borne witness to the defeat of their commanders the fight goes out of the soldiers. Their retreat is not haphazard - those that are not beaten by the Bat Family or their allies make an organized withdrawal, though dozens are caught and arrested by GCPD in the process. The spine of their military broken, and the head removed, they can do nothing more than retreat into the shadows ... perhaps to await another chance.

The Heroes of Gotham made their stand here, and they are victorious. Though bruised and beaten, they emerge triumphant. Batman looks down at the unconscious figure of Ubu, and with a jerk of his head spits blood onto the bulk of the immobile man. As he steps down from the platform, he moves first to Robin who himself stands over a slew of unconscious, defeated soldiers. Then to Red Robin, then finally to Batgirl. Satisfied that they are well, he moves now to the Amazons who have made short work of those soldiers still fighting on the roof. He gives them a single nod, and then moves once more to the building's southern ledge.

He stares out towards Red Hook. There's still a question he needs answered. He steps up onto the ledge, pausing there for a moment as the cold winter air catches his cape behind him. Sergeant Hauger, his shoulder still bloodied but bandaged now thanks to Red Robin's first aid, steps up to look to the Dark Knight.

"Does this mean you're back?" he asks, his voice gruff but hopeful - after tonight, he may need to consider a retirement of his own.

The Bat turns his head briefly, staring down at the Sergeant in silence for a moment before he speaks. That deep intonation that is the voice of the Batman. Unmistakable.

"I never left."

And with that, he's gone. A flittering shadow into the roiling streets of Gotham below. The battle may be over.

But the war rages on.