10173/To Catch A Cat

To Catch A Cat
Date of Scene:	24 November 2019
Location:	Central Heights, Old Gotham
Synopsis:	Villains Catman and Cheshire rob the Gotham Diamond Exchange, but their caper is foiled by Red Hood, Batgirl, Kestrel and Lucifer.
Cast of Characters:	Red Hood, Spoiler, Lucifer, Carrie Kelley, Robin (Wayne)
Cast of NPCs:	Oracle
Tinyplot:	Coventry Murders

---

Red Hood has posed:
It was getting close to go time on dealing with Mom so that meant speaking to Lucifer again, and for once it wasn't happening at Club Lux, not because the club wasn't awesome but when things were getting set up they were all closer to downtown Gotham than to Bludhaven, so the meet was set for an out of the way corner of Central Heights.

Arriving first, Red Hood brings his bike to a stop, the whine of it's electric engine echoing in the alley before fading away to nothing.

<< Red Hood to Batgirl, I'm at the spot, move your butt, and be on your guard with this guy, like I said >>

He'd forgone the whole little joy buzzer device thing he'd done when he and Kate met up with Lucifer, neither of them had the presence of mind to use them anyhow, so, now they were just relying on... will?... good sense? Something? Either way, things were close to coming to a head with Mom, they needed this meet and if Steph was going to be coming along it was best it she had a chance to meet Lucifer before hand.

Spoiler has posed:
The Economics 201 final had gone better than Stephanie expected. Good enough she'd accepted an invite to go out with some of the other students from class afterwards to celebrate. Though it meant checking the time on her phone continually and worried about getting out of there on time to make the meet. Which of course turned into her running late.

Now her Batcycle is zooming through the city, the electric engine surprisingly silent as she raises along a course charted by the Batcomputer as being ideal for avoiding traffic. << Almost there! >> she replies over comms, and true to her word, the caped female crimefighter pulls up alongside Red Hood a scant thirty seconds later, her cape and blond hair both streaming a bit behind her until they settle as the bike comes to a stop.

"Demon hunting with Lucifer. Seriously, if we posted a wanted ad for these jobs, no one would believe them," she quips to Red Hood as she looks over to him.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer's glossy Corvette Stingray convertible is a thing of beauty. It is a sleekly modern steel silver, glinting without a speck of dust, without sign of scratch or ding. The nearly mirrored finish bounces light in streaks of colors and tones from the lights of the night city around them. The top is open: a testament to how little Lucifer cares for being cold on this crystal clear night.

He parks neatly: in front of a fire hydrant illegally, and hops out of his car. He did see them, of course. There's a bright smile on his features; he doesn't come over right away: his attention is on lighting a cigarette first, the light cupped inside his hands. He swings his car door shut, then, and then heads over towards the bikes.

Lucifer is all smiles and relaxed manner; it is a similar strut that a drug lord would do, walking confidently into a den of his henchmen. Lucifer himself is dressed in a sleek black suit with a warm, expensive black overcoat on over it. Still, a red silky button-up shows at his neck.

"Hello hello," Lucifer greets on his way over, dark eyes flowing from Red Hood to Batgirl, as if he were finally getting to meet the girlfriend of Red he's heard so much about. Lucifer's beauty is sort of weirdly unnatural, like a successful round of cosmetic surgery. "Our team just grows and grows. I would be Lucifer. 'Batgirl', I expect?" Lucifer has an aura of comfort, ease: it's just easy to accept him and move along. It gently eases away inhibitions: shame is so unnecessary. Must be the face?

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood is in his full garb today, helmet closed over his face, the guns, the knives the whole nine. Minus that red bat symbol he'd been sporting lately, that is conspicuously missing.

When Batgirl joins him Red Hood gives a nod, "Right?" Red Hood says amusment coming through even with the distortion of the mask. "And I thought things were weird in Gotham when all we had to deal with were guys dressed like clowns, literary characters and animals."

Turning his head with the arrival of the Stingray, Red Hood informs Batgirl, "That's our guy, knows how to make an entrance, right?" he remarks as he steps off his bike to go meet the man himself.

"Seems like it, I have a hard time keeping track of who everyone is sometimes," Red Hood quips about their growing team. "But this is definitely Batgirl, and we've got a Kestrel on the way as well," he says before doing the proper introduction thing. "Batgirl, Lucifer, Lucifer, Batgirl."

Spoiler has posed:
The blond Batgirl watches as Lucifer emerges from the gleaming car and saunters over towards them. "Does he ever," she tells Red Hood quietly. She can't help but note the new arrival is rather easy on the eyes. Even if she tends to go for a little more muscular, like a gymnast's build, he still-

Damn it Steph. Concentrate!

Batgirl gives the tiniest shake of her head to clear the thoughts away. "That would be me, yes," she says, adding her confirmation to Red Hood's. "Appreciate your assistance in matters," she says towards Lucifer, the cowled head studying him, and her eyes hidden for the moment as the built in screens are darkened to conceal their color. "Especially with them as... unusual as they are. So is this sort of thing a bit more common for you?" she queries.

She cycles through her optics while recording the conversation. Still unsure about this Lucifer fellow, now that she has something better than binoculars from the local sporting goods store for equipment, she tries to make use of it, gathering the scans for Oracle to go over later.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
It's only a few moments after Lucifer pulls up in the Stingray that another car turns the corner onto this street. It's a classic: A 1970 era Corvette in a glossy black. The windows hold enough of a tint to make it impossible to see within. Neatly tucking in beside the Stingray the lights give a little flash-wink before cutting out entirely so as to not risk blinding anyone. When the door opens, Kestrel steps out draping her arm over the top of the window.

"Here I was afraid I might miss the party," she jokes as she steps around hip-checking the door shut behind her. The attire she wears is dissimilar from any of the other Bats except perhaps for the fact that it had the same tailor in regards to body armor. Hers is a brick red, and black, and there's no real symbols other than the v-neck dip of red at her collarbone. It's carried down to her hips as well. No cape here, just freedom of movement and a belt slung low.

The familiar faces of Red Hood and Batgirl are nodded to even as she approaches eyeing this Lucifer person she's heard so much, and so little, about. A low whistle is blown between her lips. "Nice suit." It's followed by a thumbsup that is perhaps just a bit... juvenile? She did seem the youngest out of these three costumed folks. Or maybe it was just the scourge of her ginger hair making her seem perpetually young.

Lucifer has posed:
"These unique names make it easier; had you said you were Jack and Sarah and expecting Colleen, I might not //bother// to remember those. These are proper superhero names." Lucifer's very pleased, it's all said in a complimentary tone. "Though I am feeling a little out of place, should I come up with a codename?" Lucifer asks with a broad, teasing grin aimed sideways at Red Hood. How silly indeed, to suggest 'Lucifer' isn't a code name. Lucifer's so funny. Or maybe slightly disconcerting.

"Common? Mmmm, I do wish it otherwise //quite// often, but yes. I have an extensive working knowledge of many magical characters and objects. Quite enough to bore you should you require a nap. Certainly bores me enough for that." Lucifer winks briefly at Batgirl, his smile sleekly charming. And growing. Lucifer's smiles have a cloyingly sweet quality, while also being intense.

"I tease: slumber in my company is never the case, to be honest." Honest and arrogantly playful.

Lucifer relaxes his position on his heels a little more, continuing to enjoy his smoke. But Carrie has arrived, and Lucifer swings his attention around to her. It might feel like the others are now relieved of the high-beam of his stare. He opens his coat some as she mentions the suit, to allow her to see it more fully, with a pleased beam at her. "Nice armor. I do suspect you'll all need it," Lucifer answers, upbeat. He checked over the whole of her.

"Kestrel, then? Lucifer," he says, offering his free hand, the smile only ramping up: it IS possible to crank that grin up past normal smiling amounts.

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood looks over at Batgirl as she takes in Lucifer's arrival and even though his face is covered by the helmet, there's an amused tilt to his head as he snaps his fingers infront of her face.

"Focus, BG, focus," he tells her soto voice before Lucifer's standing with them and Kestrel arrives.

The Kestrelmobile gets an approving nod, he'd seen it before but this was the first time he'd seen it on the road.

As for Lucifer's remarks, there's a heh about the slumber remark but mostly Red Hood focuses on the armour one, "He's not joking these demons are no joke, but we'll have him," a nod for Lucifer. "And some magical help as well."

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl gives Red Hood a sardonic grin for the finger snapping, even if it wasn't out of place. And he did warn her after all. The arrival of Kestrel in attire and vehicle that are new, from Batgirl's standpoint, earn a nod of approval in the redhead's direction.

Still, despite all of that, Stephanie finds herself grinning at Lucifer's words. Granted she's usually a smiler, but this is more charmed smile than most people get. "I had a roommate who had that quality too. Though I'm doubting yours has to do with snoring," she says.

She clears her throat a bit then. Charmed, but not enough to erase entirely her unease. "So when Momma demon and the baby demons are defeated, what exactly happens here from your standpoint? Does the area stay demon free? Or is there just a vacuum then. There's a saying about vacuums."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Kestrel doesn't say 'nice' about the suit again when Lucifer shifts to reveal it. At least not out loud. Her eyes do indeed dip up and over to get a better look before she catches herself at such, ahem, unprofessional behaivor. Without even thinking about it she reaches out to accept the extended hand expecting a shake, and intending to give that herself with one gloved hand. Nevermind the fact that she'd opted for the raised, serrated blades along the outside going up toward her elbow like some of the Batsuits. It was effective and useful. A bit punk, too.

"I feel like I missed something," she mutters glancing to Batgirl and Redhood with a shrug. "Good to meet you though, Lucifer. And yeah, I agree, demons aren't an idle matter. I've... seen enough to know that personally." A small shudder is evident even as she tries to keep her expression neutral. She'd seen some stuff once upon a time. Stuff she tries not to recall often.

"Anyhow. Whose ass needs kicking?"

Lucifer has posed:
"Is this your preferred meeting spot, truly? I really am happy to host these gatherings at Lux, with drinks, couches, dancing, and central heating," Lucifer offers to Red Hood, having chosen him as 'leader' due to his arranging this little get together. He isn't pressuring: not really. He probably just likes hosting. His shake of Carrie's hand suggests just that; this is a man that likes to greet people, stare into their eyes.

Finding Stephanie grinning back at him, though, Lucifer moves towards her: just to the edge of her personal space bubble, not into it. But the incline of his head is overly friendly, as if they'd known each other for many years, and any kind of teasing was open game. "No, entirely other sounds. Should you want to find out if I snore, though, we can arrange it," Lucifer offers. There's entirely an open door there: he isn't going to back out of that offer and pretend he was kidding.

But then demon questions. Lucifer clearly is less interested in the topic movement but also doesn't resist. He breathes out a plume of smoke from his cigarette through his nose, and drops the used stub to the ground. "You make a good point about the vacuum: /if/ there are normally demons here. If so? I'll just fill it with friendly demons, I suppose. Ones that are here with permission. Not ones that are in time out for uncontrolled murder-sprees."

"That said," the devil continues, "I don't think there should be /any/ unrestrained demons here in Gotham, in an ideal case." Lucifer leaves the ass-kicking question to Red Hood: he's more interested in trying to continue to hold Stephanie's eye, now.

Red Hood has posed:
There's a shake of Red Hood's helmet at the continued checking out of Lucifer. "It's like Nightwing but worse," he mutters under his breath.

"We usually meet on rooftops," Red Hood supplies to Lucifer's queston. "But you're not wrong about Lux being more fun, but we were all in the area," the vigilante gives a shrug.

He opts not to touch on the whole snorring subject, with an eyeroll that comes through in his body language despite the expressionless helmet covering his face.

"Annnyhow, we're looking at taking down the demon we've been calling 'Mom' and putting an end to this demon business," he says sounding a touch relieved that taking out Mom /would/ end the demon business. "As for asses that need kicking, depends, Lucifer, you think we're enough to take on Mom or do we need some back up?" he asks doing his best to keep the conversation on the rails.

Yes, Jason was on-task, something was clearly very wrong with this situation.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie is trying to stay on task. Batgirl is stilling sitting astride her Batcycle as Lucifer moves over closer to her. "I don't imagine that you do," she says to Lucifer slowly. The movement of Red Hood's head shaking draws her out of wherever her thoughts might have been drifting. And giving her just a small bit of color to her cheeks as she says, "Though if we're talking sleep apnea tests, I could recommend-"

Stephanie's attempt to cover the moment with humor is interrupted by the voice of Oracle coming over their comms system. << I have alarms at the Gotham Diamond Exchange. Gunmen led by a man an orangish Batman outfit, and a woman who clawed a guard and left him convulsing. I'm working on video now. Gotham PD are responding, but this sounds more like our kind of gig. >>

Lucifer may not have heard that, but it cuts Stephane off, her head tilting to the side a bit as she focuses on the message. Her own reply can be heard though as she doesn't try to keep her voice down. << Roger that on our way. >> Batgirl looks back to Lucifer and says, "There's a bit of a robbery we need to take care of, sorry to cut this meet and greet and planning session short," she says as she starts up her Batcycle.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Just for the record," Kestrel pipes up, "I am totally for central heating in the future." Not that it was really an option right now after all. Even as Lucifer sidles up to Batgirl, she watches. It was hard not to. At least her mask mostly hid her eyes? There's enough of a tip of her head in their direction though that it's hard not to stare openly, even when Jason starts to speak. She's listening at least.

A quick, firm shake of her head comes trying to snap her own mind back into the game when they talk of this demon named Mom. Looking back to Red Hood she flashes a grin. "Nah, Nightwing's different. He's more like the boy next door you want to..." She trails off lifting a fist to cough into. "Admire." Yeah she'll go with that. Turning nearly as red as her mask she opts to glance up at the sky with a nod. "Rooftops, yeah. Sometimes restaraunts. You get hungry doing this kind of thing. I mean, criminals don't really seem to care that we need to take breaks aaaand..."

A quick sigh is exhaled as she, too, gets the report in her earpiece. "I rest my case on that."

The other two were already near their vehicles while her own was over at the curb. She's already jogging backwards toward it with a quick look cast between Hood and Batgirl. "Meet you there?" She calls out even though it really wasn't in doubt that she would.

Lucifer has posed:
"We'll turn it up a few degrees just for you, Kestrel. No need for bulky armor, either," Lucifer answers, enjoying the play. "I've only seen one of you in action, but if we assume everyone here is a fighter much like yourself? It should be fine, Red," Lucifer answers Red Hood, as he takes in Stephanine and Carrie's gear with a look that isn't entirely on armor. Lucifer himself seems entirely unarmed.

He had started to smile in amusement at Batgirl's sleep apnea comments, but then she's clearly getting a phone call or something. So are the others. Lucifer is left to raise his eyebrow and watch them, until he's told what's going on. In the sense of it being a robbery, anyway.

"Oh, really? I didn't see a Bat-signal," teases Lucifer, watching the trio mobilize, and perking up. "Now I'll definitely get to see you in action," Lucifer says, jubilant, like a child getting to go to a parade. How fun! Apparently they now have a civilian (or whatever Lucifer is) tag-along. Are they going to have to protect the eccentric club owner? Maybe!

Lucifer follows Carrie closely, going to his car, as well -- though his eyes move to Carrie's back. Or her butt. Or whatever. No cape in the way.

"Carpool?" he suggests. Like they're going to the mall.

Red Hood has posed:
"Ugh, thanks, Kes, really needed that image," Red Hood says as Carrie goes into details about Nightwing's appeal. "I can't believe /I'm/ saying this, but can we focus on the job..."

Then Oracle's in their ears with word about an orange Batman...

"Oh thank god," Jason says as he gets on his bike and revs it into gear. "We'll circle around to Lux after, talk about Mom," he says to Luci, too focused on the chase to notice the club owner is keen to join them. Though he does nod to Kestrel about meeting her there. After that? Red Hood is off in a blur of red and black.

Spoiler has posed:
The traffic is rather light at this time of night despite it being Saturday. The vehicles are able to make good time, the car circling around corners like it was on rails, while the Batcycles nimbly weave in and out of the few cars that get in their way.

Up ahead the towering structure that houses the Gotham Diamond exchange can be seen. The building stands out in part for the fact there is smoke billowing out of a window. In the streets before the doors are a number of dark SUVs. Two men are standing guard by them, each armed with what looks like an assault riffle. A stream of other people are hurrying out of the doors, carrying bags as they head for the vehicles. Amongst them is indeed someone who looks very much like Batman, but for an orangish colored suit. Following him is a woman dressed in green, with a bit of flare and an awful lot of revealed skin for this time of year.

<< I have an identity on our perps. It's Catman, and Cheshire. You know it's bad enough Catman has to use a name so close to Batman's. But did he have to make his costume look that close too? What, a Cat-utility backpack wouldn't have done instead of a belt? >> Oracle sends over comms.

Batgirl eyes the firepower carried by the henchmen who might number as many as a dozen. << Looks like a lot of guns so make sure our club owner stays safe. >> As the motorcycles and older style Batmobile close in, the SUVs all burn rubber, their high performance engines quickly accelerating away from the building.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carpool? What? There's not much time to think though as Kestrel skids to a halt in front of the driver side door. If he intended to come, she couldn't stop him if he drove his own vehicle. At least she could keep an eye on him this way if he rode with her. The door is yanked open to duck inside even as she answers, "Come on then!" with a certain impatient cheer. He hadn't done anything to annoy her yet; she was just in a hurry.

As soon as she's in her seat she speaks... to the car. "Initiate passenger protocol," she intones which earns a series of lights illuminating on the dash that had nothing to do with the engine oil life or tire pressure. In fact the entire interior of the vehicle didn't look anything like the classic exterior: There were knobs, buttons, switches, and even an overlay onto the windshield itself showing a real-time feed of traffic updates in red laser lines. "Don't touch anything. This is an expensive toy and I don't know how to fix it all yet," she requests waiting only so long as it takes for Lucifer to get in the passenger seat to shift into gear and back into the main street with a squeal of tires. The doors shut themselves with a little hiss of pressurized air like some space ship airlock from a sci-fi movie.

"Stay in the car when we get there. You can watch plenty and this thing is bullet proof. No need to get blood on your lapels. Oh, and hold on."

With that she careens through the streets at break neck speeds in a way that would be dangerous to civilian life if it weren't for the constant updates that let her know when to shift lanes, avoid traffic lights, judge the amount of speed she needs to get through that red light without crashing into someone. It was all very scientific clearly.

As soon as the incident is in sight she just guns it aiming for a curb to get enough ramp to launch slightly into the air with a sharp sideways turn of the wheel so that she skids to a halt right in front of one of those SUVs to block their path to leave. She MIGHT have swung the trunk end a bit wide to thump up against a gunman in the way, too, unless he was smart enough to move.

Lucifer has posed:
"Don't drive safely on account of /me/," Lucifer teases. He got in quickly, though he's looking around the interior of the car as if he were on a fancy new rollercoaster. His whole behavior is sort of like a tourist, as if the experience weren't dangerous. Many people get that feeling in a cab that's driving like a maniac: somehow it's all fine, the driver must be a professional, know what they're doing.

Lucifer doesn't bother with his seatbelt at all, and is looking at all the gizmos and buttons.

Telling Lucifer 'no' is not going to work, either: as soon as she's paying clear attention to driving he has his meddlesome fingers on the console: but he isn't doing anything harmful. Yet.

"Is this a weapons menu? /Very/ sexy," Lucifer says, thrilled. When she takes the corner hard he does lift a hand to brace against the roof. And he does definitely look up when she launches the car airborne. On the upside, he makes no complaints nor does he discourage her crazy driving.

Lucifer taps the rear tire blades. There's a scream from outside of the car from someone that was approaching. "Very sexy."

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood recognizes the woman in green before Oracle gives them her name. << Jade >> he breathes over comms before he realizes he's got a hot mic. << She used to date my boy Arsenal. So, calling dibs on Cheshire. >> It'd make a fun story for Roy, you know, as long as nobody ends up dead.

Speaking of not ending up dead, one of the gunmen opens fire and Red Hood flattens himself against the bike as the shots wiz overhead. Red Hood draws and fires even as he dekes left to clear the way for Kestrel's car to roar past him as the SUVs take off.

As the car zooms past, Red Hood draws a pistol, takes aim, and fires at the tire of the second SUV, the high caliber round ripping through rubber and sending the thing fish tailing as the driver tries to maintain control. He lifts his gun again, instinct pushing him to target the driver, take them out, finish this, but he pulls up short blasting the side mirror off instead as he puts on the speed trying to close the distance.

Spoiler has posed:
The gun-toting goon that Kestrel slams with the back side of the car goes flying, landing on the concrete and ungracefully tumbling to a stop. The SUV that she's cut off starts to back away at high speed, the driver showing some skills as he flips the wheel and brakes, sliding the front of the car around the direction he was previously backing, saving some of that speed to help him start to pull away driving forward now. The passenger window lowers and a gunman leans out to being firing at Kestrel's vehicle.

<< Alright then I'll go after Catman. >> Batgirl replies. She weaves her bike up onto the sidewalk to zoom past Kestrel's car and the SUV she's stopped. The man hit by Kestrel is just starting to get to his hands and knees. Batgirl gives him a boot to the face on her way past, knocking him down again.

Catman rolls down his window and leans out of the SUV to look back. "Batman's little sidekicks. Oh this is going to be fun!" he shouts to those in his car. A wealthy man who considered becoming a costumed hero, Thomas Blake instead chose villainy rather than live in Batman's shadow. The chance to go up against these foes has him salivating.

Batgirl guns her engine and starts to close, but Catman opens fire with a pistol, making her weave and lose a little speed to avoid being hit.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"I just told you not to touch anything!" Kestrel blurts out only realizing how much like Batman she sounded with that remark. Even if it was honest. Still, the unexpected extension of the wheel blades did manage to thunk into the leg of a guy who had been trying to come up on the other side while the SUV wheels around trying to escape. At the very least, while in the car, Lucifer could hear the feed from all the comms coming through so he isn't entirely left out of the conversation at this point.

Unfortunately her yelling is also transfered via comms to the rest of the team currently engaged.

"Catman, what, is he Catwoman's little brother with bad fashion sense or something? I've got the stragglers I guess," she decides while kicking her door open.

"Stay here, Lucifer! And be careful with the buttons, we don't want to risk killing anyone!"

Maiming is clearly okay though as she flips out an extendable baton to do an impressive baseball swing right at the groin of one gun toter who goes down VERY fast.

Lucifer has posed:
"I'm not /trying/ to kill anyone," Lucifer answers, surprised and offended by her feeling the need to say that. "Honestly, I avoid it whenever possible."

"I do not kill, but I /do/ drive, I'll back you up, Lady Kestrel." Which means exactly what it sounds like it means: he starts to climb over the middle console into the driver's seat that Kestrel vacated: it's awkward, he's not small, and will take a minute to get situated...

"Hello friends," Lucifer says into the comm, from the car in a muffled way, while he climbs over. "I've missed some of the information. Why are we interrupting their armed costume party? Did they do something naughty, aside from discharging weapons recklessly in public?"

Red Hood has posed:
There's a snicker at the sound of Kestrel chiding Lucifer over the comms, << Batman is that you? >> he calls out with a grin coming through in his voice. << And no need to limit yourself to stragglers, I'm not greedy, just want to get a couple of punches in on Aresenal's ex! >>

The sound of gunshots draws Red Hood's attention, << Not only does he steal Batman's suit but my guns >> he exclaims of Catman taking his eyes off the road. It's costly, as when he turns back forward a masked woman is already leaping from one of the SUV's towards him, hands raised like claws.

"Shit!" Red Hood exclaims, there was nothing for it, he let go of the bike leaping as he drew his grapple gun and fired, leaving the bike as Cheshire drives her claws into the seat. For a moment the bike wobbles, like it and the criminal were about the crash to the concrete, before in an impressive display of acrobatics Cheshire flipped around took over the controls and kept on driving, swinging around to try and deal with Batgirl.

"Son of a bitch," Red Hood curses, clinging to the side of a building as he starts to clamber up for a better vantage point.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Running interception." Responds a familiar voice. Robin was on the job, the electric motorcycle known as the Redbird screamed behind the SUV making a run for it.

  Robin's cape billowed with the fast movement, flapping violently in the created wind. The two in the back seat opened their windows and started to shoot at the young vigilante. It only served to anger Damian further.

  The Redbird swerved for cover, and Damian kept at it, pursuing the SUV in the process of dodging the bullets being shot from the back. A thumb lifted the cover off of a safety switch, arming the button below and as it is depressed, Robin is launched forwards and upwards, high enough to shoot a batclaw into the roof. For a while, the cape on Robin's back is made rigid, sending Damian up into the air like a paraglider.

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl hears Red Hood over the comms. << Woah there is another quarter in the swear jar! Also hey Robin welcome to the party. >> she replies. Catman has unloaded his clip, dropping the gun back inside and instead pulling something else from his utility belt.

<< Hey he's got something that looks a lot like one of our grapple g- >> Batgirl gets out before she sees Catman shoot a grapple at a passing light pole, and then throw the gun to the other side of the street where it wraps itself around a parking meter, leaving a high-tensile strength line right at about the height of Batgirl's head!

She ducks in the nick of time, her Batcycle's windshield getting shredded and the bike shuddering at the impact and throwing Stephanie free.

She hits a control on her utility belt and extra, low-friction armor slides into place about her knees. She lands on it, sliding up the street like a soccer player after a goal.

Behind her, Stephanie's Batcycle wobbles and then recovers, the wheels having to rotate in a way impossible on a normal bike. The Batcycle is momentarily sideways but the wheels turned to both be pointing up the street the way it was traveling. It races back forward like that, catching up to Batgirl who lifts one leg to get it over the seat and is soon back on the bike, which pivots, the wheels rotating back forward to a normal position.

<< Ok I never really thought that simulation would come in handy! >> she says. Meanwhile, Cheshire is closing in on her from behind, gaining ground quickly.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Kestrel didn't really need to worry about whether or not she'd hurt the club owner's feelings with that remark, but it doesn't help when Jason chimes in teasingly calling her Batman for reprimanding him either. "Just meant you don't know what all the buttons do and it could happen by accident," she explains even as he shimmies over to the driver side of the car.

So far her first night out with the car was turning out greeeeeeeeeat.

Whirling around she lobs a batarang (Kestrel-rang?) at another two of the on-foot sorts before feeling the immobile situation was handled. It was the ones on the run that were the issue now. She turns to dash back toward the car toward the passenger side only to declar, "Window down!"

The window SHUNKS down just in time for her to literally jump in through it feet first to sit mostly outside the car. Her hand gives a quick bang on the roof along with a call of, "Step on it then, we need to catch up!" From this vantage point she could use her long range weapon of choice... a slingshot. To be fair she was lobbing off more than rocks with it though. Small explosive pellets that leave shrapnel behind to try and pop tires, or just break windshields, even.

Lucifer has posed:
"Seatbelt," singsongs the devilishly smiling man that absolutely is not wearing one, though the car probably is trying to put one on him, and he'll be too busy to fight with it about safety. "Hold onto your butt. I would, but alas, steering."

And Lucifer is, he guns the car sharply, with an "Ooooh," at the engine's response. Batmobile indeed; he's instantly encouraging the car to take off like a rocket, with a few 'fun' swerves as he gets a feel for it, taking himself and Kestrel between the mess of various cars that are now tangled in what has become a chase.

Lucifer refers to the on-screen navigation - the one that shows where the allies are on bikes, and makes a quick judgment, veering through a McDonalds' parking lot to cut across around a turn that might have been too sharp at this speed. The drive through was empty, but there's no stopping for a snack.

They emerge right next to Stephanie's recovering bike, and Lucifer jerks the wheel to not sideswipe her.

Red Hood has posed:
<< Yeah, yeah, I am practically funding this operation from the fucking swear jar >> Red Hood replies, throwing in the curse there for effect more than any anger, he's too busy weighing angles and trying to sort out how he was going to do the crazy thing that popped into his brain.

<< Screw it >> he decides, as grips the roof of the building, fires his grapple again and swings back out over the street.

It's a minor miracle he doesn't hit someone. Flying past Damian in mid-air, half-running across the roof of the Kestrel-mobile as it pulls up beside Batgirl's bike, then letting go of the grapple gun, he bounds off the back of Batgirl's bike and flies towards Cheshire as she closes claws ready to rend Batgirl.

Cheshire he does hit, in mid-air, knocking them both to the concrete as the bike zooms past before crashing into the shrubs by the McDonalds. There's no time for Cheshire to claw Red Hood, or Red Hood to do more than drag Cheshire to the ground with him before they hit, turning end over end over end until they're flung apart by the momentum. Red Hood stands, slowly, painfully, "Don't touch my bike," he warns Cheshire, as she too begins to rise.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     The Redbird keeps on the SUV, a small turret popping up off the back and pelting people with rubber bullets. Robin starts to reel himself in, pulling himself onto the SUV.

  While those in the back seat are distracted by the autonomous motorcycle, Robin pulls himself onto the roof, and with a single move, he flips and pulls himself through the window, kicking the ARs out of the hand of one thug, then the other. Of course, the fight in the SUV has just started, and luckily there was a small vigilante that moved easier in the confined space than others.

  Misguided fists try to hit the boy, while the driver starts to swerve around erratically. Damian himself counters with flying fists of his own, blocking with speed as the two in the backseat try to defeat who they thought was just a kid. But of course, Robin was not just a kid, he was a Robin.

  "You really should use the seatbelts." He comments, pulling each door latch inside and split-kicks, sending the two goons out and onto the pavement, bloodying up their bodies with impact and momentum.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown holds her bike steady for Red Hood when she sees him heading across the roof of Kestrel's Batmobile and towards her own Batcycle with the broken windshield. She swivels her head after his leap, glancing back to see Red Hood knock Cheshire from the pursuing bike. She continues, shouting back towards the now stationary adversaries.

"Toe pick!"

Her obligatory callback delivered, Batgirl gives Kestrel a thumbs up. Ahead is the SUV of Catman, plus another one full of gun-toting henchmen. Batgirl guns her engine, blond hair and egg shell purple cape streaming behind her as the high performance bike gains quick on Catman's SUV. Batgirl brings her feet up to the seat, crouched on it as the bike crashes into the back of the SUV going at least 20 mph faster.

Batgirl launches into the air, landing on the vehicles roof, her bo staff suddenly extending in her hand as she hits a stud on it. She drives it down through the roof of the SUV right above the driver, landing the end of it in right in his groin. The SUV abruptly swerves, doing a full 180 before the back end slams into a parked car and halts the escaping vehicle, if leaving the occupants to be dealt with as they start to stagger out of the opening doors.

Stephanie goes flying forward, hitting the concrete in a tumbling roll meant to limit the bruises.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
There really was no time to put on a seatbelt in spite of the reminder to do so from Lucifer. Which is precisely why Kestrel wraps her legs around the back of the seat locking on to hold herself further in place as he takes off at breakneck speeds that do almost send her flying if not for her impromptu leg hold. The trip through the drivethru was rather heart pounding as she tries to regain her composure enough to aim.

Then Red Hood skims over the roof, and they're back in line with the SUVs. "I'm gonna need a drink after tonight," she mutters while reaching down to her belt to pull free her grapple. A deep breath is taken as she holds it steady over the roof of the car. With a little squeeze of her thighs for balance she hoists herself upward to get a better angle at the last SUV full of goons. The trigger is pulled sending the grapple hook toward it, but down, so that it bounces beneath the vehicle. Down and then up with the spring loaded spider-like fingers of the grapple clamping when it hits beneath the vehicle.

"Luce! Sharp right!" Clenching her teeth she tightens her grip on the gun holding as the momentum of the vehicle pulls the chord tight so that the handful of small, intertwining pipes that the grapple had held onto pull free of the vehicle leaving it suddenly without brakes, or gas. The smell of gasoline is obvious as it spews out onto the ground as the engine itself revvs down unable to go further without it's fuel.

Lucifer has posed:
"Drinks are on me. ....Sharp right? I've got a similar idea," Lucifer answers cheekily. Lucifer spots Jason and Cheshire squaring off as they zoom past them. He's not really watching where Carrie is aiming: he's looking in his rearview mirror. Lucifer stomps the brake hard, stopping the Batmobile with a lurch, which does make it skid. But instead of turning to the right, he does what amounts to the same result: throwing the car into reverse after the skidding brake. He trusts Kestrel's shot hit, he doesn't ask.

Lucifer drives twisted around now, grinning like he's having the time of his life, one arm over the back of the passenger's seat as he reverses wildly. It looks like he's just going to pass by both Red Hood and Cheshire completely, possibly veering off to get a better vantage, but he doesn't do exactly that.

He twists the wheel, and then suddenly he kicks open his door, attempting to clock Cheshire with the opened door as they streak by. It shouldn't be enough to kill, he's not going fast enough, but it should really give Red Hood an advantage!

"I hope you noticed I did not use your dangerous console, 'Batman,'" Lucifer grins aside at Kestrel while stomping the brake again, to get them back on course going forward.

Red Hood has posed:
There's barely time to snerk at Batgirl's callback before Red Hood is slamming into Cheshire and the concrete one after the other, until they fly apart and come up opposite each other. Cheshire takes a fighting stance, and the Red Hood's hands flash towards his holsters, only to find them empty, his guns flying loose during his fall.

"Shit so much for Indiana Jonesing this one."

But maybe Fast and the Furious was an option? One moment they're squaring off, the next there's the Kestrel-mobile zooming between them the door flying open to hit Cheshire square in the middle and sending her sprawling.

Red Hood, flashes a thumbsup to Lucifer, before diving for one of his lost pistols, coming up just as Cheshire was sitting up. He didn't waste any time on quips he just put a rubber tipped bullet between the eyes of her mask, knocking her flat on her back and seriously out cold.

"That's for all the times I had to listen to Aresenal bitch about your messed up relationship," he tells her, not that he expects she can hear him.

That done he scans the scene looking for opportunities to jump in, and well, to be honest catch his breath for a moment. << Status? Who needs backup? >>

Spoiler has posed:
Batgirl finishes the tumbling roll. She groans a bit as she gets to her feet. There will be bruises. But adrenaline is enough to get her back into motion once Batgirl is on her feet. For she is not the only one moving.

The driver is still in the SUV, passed out against his airbag. But Catman is on his feet and outside of the vehicle. "Girl!" he screams at Batgirl. "You're going to pay for that!"

Batgirl walks towards him, her bo staff lost in the SUV crash. She gives up almost a foot in height to Catman, who is of a size with Batman himself. It doesn't stop the blond crime fighter from stalking towards him. "Oh yeah? And who's going to make me pay? You and what army!?" Batgirl calls back to him.

Catman moves to the backdoor of the SUV and opens it. An immense Siberian tiger stalks out of it, tail lashing after the car accident. "This army!" Catman bellows back.

Batgirl stops where she's at. "Oh. That's... a good army," she agrees reluctantly. Credit where credit is due.

Catman points at Batgirl and says, "Rasputin! Kill!" The tiger surges forward, while Catman grabs two bags of diamonds out of the back of the SUV and begins to make a run for it.

<< Backup! Backup over here!! >> Batgirl answers Red Hood as the tiger leaps right at her!

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Kestrel is very tempted to blurt out a few choice words about how her arms feel after that. The sudden abrupt change of direction that she wasn't anticipating certainly doesn't help any, either, but she just hits the grapple release at that point to let the line go. Better to do that than risk dislodging her shoulder. Might already be dislodged. At least she gets a good view of Cheshire getting door slammed.

"This is why I keep telling you guys don't stick it in the crazy!" she offers up of exes, and the like.

It's lame but the best she can come up with. Rather than think of something better she finally allows herself to slip fully into the car to shift in the passenger seat with legs stretching out in front of her. "Ooh I'm gonna feel that in the morning. And I do not sound like him!" It's all grumped out while she rubs at her arm, but even so, she's got a lopsided grin on. At least she's taking it in stride. "Good job."

Then her eyes focus toward Stephanie and the tiger. Oops. "Okay, as a reward you get to push ONE button. That one." Reaching out she flips up a red cap similar to what one might find on a jet fighter for the missiles. Beneath is another, shiny red button.

As soon as he does push it, flames roar out of the front of the car in an elongaged plume that lights up the street. ...And the remnants of the spilled gasoline trail left by the SUV she'd taken out which split the street in half.

Lucifer has posed:
"A red /button/?" Lucifer asks, glancing down at it. He's mostly trying to drive, and was closing his door. "A reward sounds wonderful. You spoil me, Kestrel. If it's rockets or fire, I might kiss you," Lucifer warns her when he hits that button.

It is indeed fire. Hopefully Kestrel is looking at the massive gout of flame and not at Lucifer's face, because the pleasure from the fire showing up? It's well on the maniac extreme level.

Lucifer's eyes, so often black pits, reflect the fire in a glaring otherwordly red and yellow ripples of reflected fire as he orients to make a gnarly warpath of fire headed towards Catman.

Red Hood has posed:
"Hey I'm all about rule one," don't stick it in crazy "Tell that to Aresenal! He was the one who dated her!" Red Hood complains as he limps towards Catman's SUV. "I mean she's got it going on and all..."he says before he lets that thought trail off.

Time and place Jason, time and place...

Right now they're in the time and place to fight tigers apparently.

"I was expecting some goons, BG, not a freaking tiger!" he says about backing up the purple and black clad vigilante, but even as he complains he moves. "Anyone have a really big string toy? Maybe a bag of treats," he squeezes off a couple of shots at the things' feet, not able to bring himself to shoot at the tiger.

That when the flame comes in, "Or you know a flame thrower, that works too!"

He squeezes off a couple shots at Catman while the flames burn trying to create an opening for Batgirl to take him down while Rasputin was driven back by the fire spewing from the Kestrel-mobile.

Spoiler has posed:
The stream of flame hits the gasoline trail, a line of flame racing down it towards the disabled SUV. The henchmen, recent occupants of the vehicle, have just been vacating it when they see the flames charging down the street towards the vehicle. They run, getting just far enough away that when the flames hit the SUV and it explodes, they are thrown clear, most of them staying down afterwards.

The tiger leaps at Batgirl, who gets arm arm up, the blades on her glove while not sharp, are armored, and keep the tiger's mouth from closing fully, though his fangs sink into her forearm, resulting in a cry of pain.

The explosing SUV causes the tiger to release her and shy away. It growls, the fire of the SUV and the little trail along the street bad enough, but then the Batmobile is moving, showering the area with more fire, and bullets are sparking near its feet. The tiger turns and runs, passing between two buildings down an alley at a full sprint.

Batgirl's arm is running wet with blood, but her dominant hand is uninjured and she pulls out a batarang, throwing it at Catman who responds with a catarang, knocking hers out of the air in a shower of sparks that makes him shy back. He wasn't expecting hers to be electrified, and that moment's hesitation makes him slow in countering the second batarang sent his way. This one hits him in the head and staggers him, knocking him to his knees.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Flamethrower," Carrie confirms even though it's quite obvious what it is when the flames ignite. She just barely misses that look on Lucifer's face as her attention was on the street to follow the path of the flames. It's only toward the end when she flashes a grin toward him with a quiet chuckle. "I thought you might like that. I've never gotten to use it myself before." Though in this case it seemed warranted. Just a bit.

"I might take you up on that offer of drinks at some point. For now..." She reaches forward to open the 'glove box' and reveal a keypad which she types into. "GCPD updated about the situation. Alert out for a tiger on the loose. Anyone have Catwoman's number? Seems her kind of thing." Then again it'd be on the news very soon no doubt.

Lucifer has posed:
Lucifer got distracted from his 'threat' to kiss Kestrel by the flame and how fun that was. He's grinning when he pulls the car over nearby to where everything exploded, and climbs out from the parked vehicle while Kestrel's updating the GCPD and the others on the comms. They just arrived, but already he's taking in a fight between Batgirl and Catman: he moves towards Batgirl first.

One of the henchman fires a few shots from his gun towards Batgirl and Lucifer, which gleans an exasperated look from Lucifer, who apparently was not hit. "You've lost; just stay down," he demands towards the man.

Red Hood has posed:
"No clue if Cats has a phone, but once she hears about daimonds and a tiger, she'll make an appearance soon," Red Hood opines, checking to make sure Catman is down, giving a glance as well to Batgirl's arm.

"What he said," Red Hood adds as he draws levels his gun at the remaining goons. "It's over."

As if that weren't enough it sounds like half the cops in downtown were on the way here.

The goons throw down their guns. "Smart move," he looks over to the others the flames reflected off his red helmet. "Time to go?"

Spoiler has posed:
Catman makes one last attempt at escape, pulling out a second grapple gun, but before he can fire it, another batarang knocks it out of his hand, and a second one slams into him and releases a frigid gas which ices over his utility belt and leaves him shivering uncontrollably. Enough time for batcuffs to be slapped on his wrists.

"I got bit by a tiger. This job has the best wounds," Batgirl says, before letting out a mewl of pain. She pulls out a pain killer from her utility belt and injects it, then begins bandaging the wound to slow the bleeding. Though it's going to take far more than just bandages to care for it properly.

The rest of the goons give up at the prospect of being shot, or worse. The police arrive and soon take them into custody.

Batgirl slumps down on the ground, leaning back against Catman's SUV. "So, next time? Maybe we should meet in the club," she agrees.