12884/Mulch House Stakeout

Mulch House Stakeout
Date of Scene:	24 March 2021
Location:	East Park Side (Crime Alley), Old Gotham
Synopsis:	Phoebe and Batman stake out an old apartment building. But it's a trap!
Cast of Characters:	Shredder, Sparrowhawk, Batman

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Shredder has posed:
    The rumble of thunder can be heard crawling through the city like a town crier, informing the citizens of the impending storm. The old apartment building has been mostly quiet since Batman discovered the suspicious pile of mulch. It doesn't seem to be used THAT frequently. Of course, the civil war between the Foot and the rest of the criminal minds in Gotham seems to have quieted in the last few weeks, so there's that. Perhaps that's a storm building as well.

    A brown 70's Ford pickup comes rolling into the parking lot, flattening some of the unkempt weeds that poke through the cracks in the concrete as it rolls on bad shocks toward the back of the complex. The dim light shows that there's a black tarp bunched up in the tuck bed.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Sparrowhawk, in her dark gray hood and domino, was monitoring the situation. She and Red Robin have been taking turns on guard duty, and she had been sitting, shielded against the winds and the threat of rain by air conditioning units. Her proximity alert comes up on her mask's HUD, and with pursed lips she shifts her weight, perched on the edge of an overseeing building, watching the pickup roll in.

    Turning and listening to the crunch of gravel, broken concrete and those poor plants beneath the tires as she made her way along the rooftop to the back of the complex, she sends an alert out that there was movement.

    The 'baby bat' doesn't move to engage or get any closer than the rooftops yet.

Batman has posed:
There is a flutter of cowl as Batman lands next to Sparrowhawk, his eyes glowing behind his mask as his voice comes out in a low rumbling growl. "Alfred, get me eyes inside with the cameras we planted earlier." He turns his head towards the youngest member of the bat family, then back down towards the truck.

"Follow my lead and do as I say. Back me up if need be, but your job is a lookout. Make sure there is no surprises. Alfred will be in your ear as well. We have eyes across this entire block and the roofs. If Alfred catches something that you don't, he'll let you know."

"Don't fuck up." There is a silent 'fwip' as he uses a grappling hook to sail across the street to the top of the apartment rooftop, landing silently in a crouched state. He had kept the door to the roof 'unlocked' after he busted the bolts earlier and makes his way towards it. This time, he has a laser cutter with him in his belt just in case it was reapplied.

Shredder has posed:
    The truck rolls down into the parking garage for the apartment under the building, and turns around so that it faces the storage door. A man with a not so recently shaved head steps out of the drivers side, and another with ratty hair steps out on the passenger.

    The lock is in just the same state that it was left, the door is even still open, flopping back and forth as a gust of wind strikes the building witha cold blast as the storm's presence starts to fill the air, bringing the scent of rain and cold to the spring night. On a building next door, a dark figure appears, barely visible in the night, also looking over the truck below from the neighboring rooftop.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    To her benefit, she was expecting Red Robin and not Batman, but she doesn't startle when it's Batman's voice and not the familiar (and *lighter*) tone of Robin (or Nightwing, Oracle over her shoulder, or really anyone else. She's still clearly intimidated by Batman). She does stiffen a moment, though, turning her gaze momentarily There's a quiet nod of acknowledgement from Sparrowhawk, and she monitors the situation, switching over her HUD to pick up heat, turning her focus first to the bed of the truck, then the surrounding rooftop sbefore her own grapple goes off.

    Swing, a little flip to use up the excess energy, and stick the landing.

    Nightwing would be *so* proud.

Batman has posed:
As he attaches a grappling hook to the ceiling, Batman reaches out to grab Beacon by the waist and pulls her close. "Hold on." From there, they zipline their way down to the first floor swiftly and silently, landing quietly like a cat. He lets her go and gives a slight tug to release it with a 'zip'. As he catches it and reattaches it to his belt, he starts forward as he motions her to keep close.

He and Tim set up cameras all throughout the complex to catch any movement, heat signatures and to provide a 3D model of up to date interiors. If something moved, he would know it. He makes his way for the lower levels, giving a motion to Phoebe to keep eyes on their backside.

As he moves forward, he taps the visor on his mask to night vision.

Shredder has posed:
    There is movement. On the third floor, three heat signatures are present, and an electrical signal exists for each of them. They are stationed at separate areas of the floor near windows, but each is easily within range of the staircase. A signal seems to be sent from the next building. No words, just two beeps, so it would seem there is little to translate.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    "Figure was on the roof accross from us, monitoring with heat signature." Sparrowhawk had said, before she was picked up, held close to Batman, and swings accross. She withdraws a pair of matte gray balls from her utility pack, and keeps an eye and ear out on their six as they move.

Batman has posed:
Pressing his lips into a thin line of frustration at the news, Batman sweeps his gaze through the apartment. "Three on the third level." He says in a raspy breath to her. "Most likley going to call in reinforcements." He says as he continues forward slowly. He reaches into his belt, sliding out a pair of pellets. He crushes them in his hand and lobs them backwards. Thick smoke swirls out behind the pair and upwards. For those who will run into it will find it quite painful for the eyes and throat. Pepperspray smoke bombs.

"Prepare yourself. Swap to nightvision." His fists curl up tightly, gloves crinkling under the knuckles as he pushes through the doors to the parking area. It's wider open, more room to move.

Shredder has posed:
     As the Dark Knight and Sparrowhawk reach the third level, there is a quick reaction from the three. Two of them close in from the sides, making their way quickly to the staircase. Batman isn't the only one who throws something, though. At about that same time, one of them chucks their own small bomb which follows the pair down to the bottom. This is the thing with the electrical signal. There's a quick electric hum that whirs up before a small snap. Is that it? Well, yes. That's it for anything electric in the area, as the EMP bursts anything electronic within about 20 feet. Sure, that means that most of the cameras still work, but if you can't receive the info, it may be of little value. One thing that might be clear, though. If they were expecting to use something of this nature, it means they were also probably expecting someone from the Bat family. This isn't a stakeout. This is a trap.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    It's just a change on her domino, a small tap to the side of her head, switching to night vision, the green-and-blue switching as they decend -- and Balm spots the trailing item, eyebrows rising and then -- snap!

    Her visions bathed in darkness from the EMP as the domino's system tries to restart, and she withdraws her own extending staff from her side. She listens for footsteps. She registers the sounds around her, trying to determine which was Batman and which was... not.

    Either way, there was a fight to be had, and the young woman was *Ready*.

Batman has posed:
Tapping the side of his mask to return to normal vision, Batman whirls around to face the others as his cowl ripples in the dark. A slight grin forms along his face from under the mask as he reaches behind him to draw forth a pair of batarangs, curved and sharp. He steps in front of Beacon, nudging her to the side with one free hand as his other whips around, sending the blades silently through the shadows towards one of the moving targets. He has pinpoint accuracy after years of practice and knowing how to lead a target.

"Back to back."

He commands to Sparrowhawk as he slips out a small flashbang capsule into his hand. When the enemy gets close, he will use it to stun and blind them with a white hot flash. The type that is meant to melt the retina.

Shredder has posed:
    Several seconds pass, and there's no sound. Nothing approaches in the dark. In fact, enough time passes, that many people would become slightly less prepared for a strike, no doubt that is the intent, to make the alertness fade slightly. Or maybe they are waiting for the pepper bomb to dissapate.

    Another sound comes there at the bottom of the stairwell. It sounds like a cracking eggshell, and a noxious fume fills the bottom of the stairwell, enough to cause an instant gag from those who smell it. Poison gas.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Back to back, the shorter Sparrowhawk is ready for a fight -- was not quite as prepared for gas.

    Luckily, that's a quick fix. The noxious fumes make her reach back to her pack, clipping her rebreather into place as she gives a quiet cough to clear her throat, relaxing her stance momentarily, still following Batman' lead.

Batman has posed:
Flipping his cowl upwards to cover his mouth for a brief moment, Batman attaches a breathing aparatus to his mask. It's black carbon fiber to match the rest of his body armor. Throwing his hand out to release the flash bombs, they explode rapidly to create a blitz of light to give them a chance to see their surroundings as he nudges her back into the parking garage. "Come on. Into the open. This way they have no angles to hide behind. Force them into a choke point." He growls out to her lowly.

In his hand appears a curved blade, one which his knuckles can slide into. "I'm already in a bad mood." He hisses in a muffled tone behind his mask. Once they are threw the doorway, his free hand slips out a small explosive that he lobs to the doorframe as it starts to blink a few times. The moment anyone passes through, it will detonate.

"Come on." He growls as he starts deeper into the parking garage.

Shredder has posed:
    As the doorway opens, a shuriken whistles through the air toward Phoebe, but not from within the door, it's from the garage. Meanwhile the two thugs from the truck take a rather less elegant approach. They were still standing by the truck, but they've each produced automatic rifles, so that when the Batman appears, the silence is broken by the hail of bullets rat-tatting and echoing through the parking garage with deafening loudness.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Phoebe is right on Batman's tail as she follows close behind, listening to her domino trying to restart again before she gives it a flick. The screen covering her eyes retract and she's able to see, making her way into the garage, shifting to take point ahead of Batman -- her eyes clear from the flashes easier, and she slips into the garage -- more open room More ability to swing her staff and give a good fight.

    As she cautiously takes in the garage, she hears the whistle, and she turns, bringing her staff up to try and sweep the shuriken whistling in the air, her stance changing to regard the now dangerous open space, until the rifle rapport goes off.

    There might have been an inelegant word shared, but she's quiet enough to keep it low as she brings her own cape up, the heavy fabric adding armor for the bullets to strike against!

Batman has posed:
"Watch the door." Batman says to Sparrowhawk as he gives a low growl in his throat. He moves forward towards the gunmen, his cowl whipping behind him as he goes. He fires his grapple hook upwards to connect to the ceiling, jerking himself upwards as he soars over the spray of bullets. As he lands between the gunmen, he throws out a quick punch to the throat of one while he whips the blade he had in his hand towards the other, chest high. He moves fluidly like a shadow and as quick as lightning.

"Stay down." He snarls as he throws another punch down into the man in front of him, putting the full fury of his weight behind it. He looks to reward himself with the crack of an oribital cheekbone.

Shredder has posed:
    The man Batman assaults sprays a steady stream of automatic fire tracking up at him as he vaults up to the ceiling. THe man is knocked back onto the hood of the truck,and his firing stops. The second man turns to defend his friend, but is caught across the pectoral with the blade, causing him to reflexively retract at the injury.

    Meanwhile, a second shuriken comes whistling from behind one of the pillars, and behind the Phoebe, the trap goes off, and whoever tried to come in from the rear just found out about it the hard way.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    The door people get an ugly surprise, and Phoebe gives a soft grunt as the second shuriken hits her exposed side She uses the bottom of her staff to dislodge it from the armor, and feels tha tuncomfortable warmth of her own powers working on her. Her eyes narrow, splitting her attention between the door and the pillars before she takes out those matte pellets again, gives them a little toss and a strike with her staff -- the two pellets with a sticky, irritant pepper gas go off at the door from the pellets, and Phoebe gives a spin of her staff and a jaunty, almost flippant salute (,.. maybe Tim is a bad influence), and readies herself for the next wave. Van then Pillar then -- where from next, O Shuriken thrower?

Batman has posed:
As the doorway blows and crumples the walls inwards, Batman kicks the rifles away from the two men, following up with slamming his fist into the last standing man to knock him down. He snarls loudly as he moves forward, whipping out a pair of batblades from beneath his cowel towards the crumbling doorway. He created that choke point for a reason.

"Sparrowhawk, move away from there and postion yourself by a support beam. I'm going to end this. Contact Gordon."

There is rage in the Dark Knight's eyes, his chest rumbling out with a growl. "COME ON!" He challenges.

Shredder has posed:
    The broken door moves again, this time the ninja who threw the shuriken appears from inside that door. A teleporter? Or... is that a different one?The black clad figure bursts forth toward Phoebe, a flipping open of war fans as the ninja slices toward her. The figure from the pillar does not re-emerge, though.
    Meanwhile, from beneath the truck, a tiger hook sword suddenly lashes out in an attempt to snag the Bat's ankle and pull him from his feet. Another one? The multi-pronged attack seems like a dance, ninjas appearing and disappearing. They all are dressed identically, making it difficult to discern exactly how many their number is.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Sparrowhawk was definitely too long a name, Phoebe decides, and she suddenly realizes just what Batman is planning on doing.

    She tilts her own grapple back and fires, giving a jump and she pulls herself back towards the support pillar that someone was launching the shuriken from, and she raises her hand. Bare minimum system restart -- Tim was going to flip at the amount of repair she's going to have to get through.

    A coded call goes out to Gordon. Location. Approximate injured and --

    Well.

    "Always happy to meet a fan?" the crime-fighter attempts to open a dialoge with the fan-baring ninja as she sails to the pillar, her staff extending again to full size as she slides on the concrete floor.

Batman has posed:
As he leaps forward, Batman finds his foot hooked from behind, causing him to hit the ground with a loud crack. There's a snarl from within the pool of cowl as he rolls to his side to distangle his leg in a practiced motion, then kippups back to his feet as he lands. "This isn't a game." He rumbles to his teammate as he puts his fists upwards, looking to engage the ninjs at the truck once more. He moves fluidly like a cat, cracking his neck from side to side.

One hand goes to his belt, taking out a pair of discs, then launches them upwards to the ceiling as they plant themselves. The two dics flare to life, flooding the basement with light to give the pair of heroes more visibility and to try and take away the element of surprise.

"Come out or run away. The result will be the same. I'm taking you down." There is that snarl of grit in his throat. The voice which has scared the shit out of most evil doers. One that his reputation has helped define him.

Shredder has posed:
    The ninjas seem to be not the talkative sort, and poor Phoebe's pun goes unacknowledged, other than to continue to chase Phoebe, quick slashes of the war fan's blades striking toward her as he does.

    As the magnesium burns hit the ceiling, it lights up the garage more thoroughly. The ninja with the hook swords dips back, and comes up on the opposite side of the truck. He responds with a smoke pellet, chucking it at the ceiling. The resulting ploom makes the solid smoke illuminated, a hazy cloud which may not be completely concealing, but does impede vision. Another shuriken comes from him toward the caped crusader, and the ninja leaps up...wait, where'd he go?

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    No one appreciates a good joke in its time.

    The younger fighter braces herself, nimbly moving away from the slashes, some of their blows striking against her armor and causing a high-pitched grinding sound against it as another smoke pellet bursts around them.

    Sparrowhawk brings her staff up and to the side, followed by her body twisting and turning to both push the fans to the side and out of her way -- and following up with a strong throw, using both her and the ninja's momentumn to try and throw the ninja into the side of a van!

Batman has posed:
Snatching the shuriken out of mid-air with a snap of his wrist, Batman lets out a loud rumble in his throat as he lobs it behind him with a clank of metal upon the concrete. He glances down at his reinforced glove with the deep gouging along the material for a brief moment before he backs off to put some space between them and moves closer towards Sparrowhawk.

As his eyes narrow from behind his mask, he shifts his stance and locks his legs, one hand still holding the pair of sharp and curved batarangs. He calculates the rate of the ninja's jump upwards towards the ceiling, then whips his hand around, sending his spinning weapons into the cloud, anticipating the 'fall' so to speak.

Shredder has posed:
    Slash after slash, the ninja advances until suddenly Phoebe turns the table, and he finds himself knocked into the side of the truck, impacting loudly against the truck bed and flipping over into the mulch. That's when there's another attack, this one coming from behind at her, as a flying kick comes careening from the ninja who had been behind the support pillar shows himself.

    Meanwhile...the ninja facing Batman doesn't land. At least not at a rate that should be expected, as he holds himself to the ceiling between supports. When he sees the Bat's anticipation of his landing, though, he changes gears, realizing that he had deceived his foe, at least for the moment, and swings out from his position, launching himself with both feet forward at the Batman.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Up and into the mulch goes Phoebe's Fan.

    Into the mulch, blam!

    And then Player 3 rejoins the fight!

    Phoebe is struck with a Foot to the back, and gives a grunt as she turns, and back-shoulder rolls into a ready position, and springs back up, feeling that cold buzzing in her back. Ribs were broken. That'll take a bit to sort out. Her eyes narrow behind her domino, and she gives her staff a spin before she presses forwards, going for a blitz of strikes against the ninja and to lift them into the truck as well via swiftly applied force upwards to the gonads.

Batman has posed:
When the ninja hits him in the chest with both feet, Batman gets rocked backwards. His body armor absorbs most of the blow, but he can still feel the impact. He hits the ground, sommersaults backwards and rolls to his feet once more. His cowl flips backwards in a rustle as he blurs forward in one smooth motion without hesitating.

He tackles the ninja square across the stomach, landing heavily on the ground and slamming a heavy handed fist square into his masked face. He puts the weight of his shoulder into it without holding back as he lets out a deeper growl of rage in his throat. The Dark Knight is moving on instinct now as another fist slams into the side of his jaw to knock him out.

Sliding his hand into his belt, he slams down a couple of thick smoke bombs which billows upwards around him. The man on the ground that is knocked up is scooped by one arm, followed by another snagging Sparrowhawk by the wrist. It appears the two are making their escape and he is taking a hostage along with him for questioning.

Shredder has posed:
    This ninja deflects and dodges the first couple of blows from Phoebe, given that she is slower from the newly broken ribs. But then one catches him across the jaw, dazing him long enough for the flip attack. As he goes over her head, the other ninja was just recovering from his trip into the mulch, and finds himself struck with his ally, both fo them knocked back into the truck bed again.
    As Batman pummels the young ninja in the face, it only takes a few of such shots before he's unconscious, unable to resist being captured.

Sparrowhawk has posed:
    Sparrowhawk executes the flipping manuver, and then is grabbed by the wrist -- to her credit, the bare-bones HUD that's booted back up does identify Batman, so she does not attempt to hit him, but follows behind him.

Batman has posed:
His shoulder is lowered, slamming through the emergency exit that leads to the outside. The Batmobile which looks more like a sleek tank rolls up and rolls the cockpit back. The ninja is lobbed into the backseat, followed by the seatbelts automatically wrapping him up and keeping him pinned to the seat.

"Get in."

That is growled to Beacon as he leaps into the cockpit, settling in and tapping a few buttons along the dashboard. Once Phoebe gets in, the cockpit slides shut and the vehicle roars off down the street towards one of his many safehouses tucked away deep in the city.