14646/Spiders and Bats

Spiders and Bats
Date of Scene:	27 December 2022
Location:	Los Pollos Hermanos, Fort Joseph
Synopsis:	Batman and Arana fight some roided-up baddies
Cast of Characters:	Arana, Batman

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Arana has posed:
Ana Corazon crashes through the front window. She takes out two tables and a rack of glasses, skidding to a stop underneath a sign advertising 'peligro de salsa picante - very hot sauce, caution'. Which of course spills, sending itself into her hair.

The group of teens outside the window laugh, their MGH coursing through their systems. They seem to be wearing gang colours, red swastikas mixed with asian symbols (does not work thematically at ALL), and one of them starts to step into the restaurant.

Ana sighs. She liked this restaurant.

Pushing herself to her feet, the lady gets into a fighting stance again. "Hey hermanos, can we -please- take it outside? These cabrons deserve less property damage." She has a strong Mexican accent of her own, which explains a few things. But the spider-man tee-shirt and the goggles and backpack? Not exactly standard issue heroing gear.

She's got a kickboxer's stance, but her left arm is a bit low. Probably sprained it in the fall. Is this a spider-type?

Bruce, if he's on the ball and about, would know her outfit. She's gone by Arana in the past, but not a heck of a lot else. Small-time only.

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne is always on the ball. He practically invented the ball. He's friggin' Batman, after all. Albeit outside of his usual kind of haunts.

He'd been trailing the bad guys inquestion when they rolled up on Arana. Easy enough to find her in his database - no personal interactions, but he's at least catalogued basic power displays of some sort to give him an idea of her potential. In theory, she shouldn't need him to intervene at all.

But he's in the mood to bust some heads. And he already spent an hour tailing these guys.

And so one of the thugs is swallowed up by a black cape that emerges from the shadows, wrapping around him and then dumping him unconscious on the ground as Batman emerges to his full height, staring down the remaining bad guys.

"You should give up. Now."

Arana has posed:
It's a good start. Batman has the oomph that 'random mexican girl' lacks, and the teens turn to look in his direction. Mouths drop open, and one kid actually does. He runs, he runs like his little heart is going to burst! Probably the smart one.

"Get h..!" one says, or starts to say before said mexican comes at him, running, and jumps into a leaping kick! It lands, it's got form. It does absolutely jack.

She's weak, she's -really- weak. Normal human, no tricks or gizmos; it barely makes him stop his sentence. He's jacked right up and that was 'slightly trained'.

What the heck?

There is one thing that stands right the heck out though. After her kick, she ..no, it was weird. Even during the kick, her balance was something different. She landed on one hand, and rolled back to her feet. That kind of flailure (not a misspelling) should have had her on her ass.

She's got ...balance enhancements?

Aaand that seems to be about it, because as the guy turns and grabs at her, she tries to evade and gets caught. In one grab, as if she expected to get away. You've seen this before.

She's used to having powers, and this is her first goddamn fight without them.

"GET HIM!" the guy holding Arana by the throat yells, putting things back into action mode. At which point one guy throws a brick at Batman, hard enough to put it right through an entire vehicle, and another one kicks a mailbox off its moorings at him!

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne has seen such abilities before, with varying degrees of success. Even with enhancement, some people didn't have what it takes to cut it in the field. They'd land on their feet, but weren't much more than gymnasts displaying a skill. Not crimefighters. Not warriors. This girl, at least, had the edge it took to get things done.

When he sees her get overpowered and grabbed, his hand flicks out from under the cloak and a batarang flies, striking her attacker in the nose and breaking it cleanly at the bridge. He ducks the brick and, seeing the collateral damage it caused, re-assesses his enemy.

Which is why the next batarang he throws at the guy has a high-level taser charge.

Arana has posed:
Ana is choking under the grab, air still being KINDA necessary. You know, it's one of those things you still want, even as an adult. Her vision is graying out (he's really effing strong!) and she's considering breaking his elbow when it loosens. She didn't see why exactly, but you take that kind of opportunity.

She lashes out with a foot, tagging the guy right between the legs, and then wraps her legs around his arm. Wrenching herself free from his grasp, she twists the guy's wrist, her entire body going into the motion, and she manages to create something good.

Snap.

She drops just as the taser charge lands, the guy's left hand broken in two places. Perfect landing, she's getting into position for an uppercut...when the guy just drops, the taser lighting up his synapses.

Did you try turning it off and on again? Yes, yes he did.

That's when the guy who ran? He drops, onto the street, his mouth foaming.

Nobody touched him.

Wut the heck.

Batman has posed:
Batman eliminates the men attacking him, blocking and striking with almost eerie ease. He's honed, focused and not beaten up for once, which means he's way out of the league of your average street loon. The last one he drops a gas pellet in the guy's mouth, covering his lips as it explodes and fills his senses with narcotic, green gas leaking from the corners of his mouth as Batman lets him slide to the ground.

He turns his cowled visage towards the spider-heroine, head cocked, "Any injury?" he asks sharply. "You, not them. I presume they're hurt."

Arana has posed:
Ana is rubbing her throat as she watches the elimination of the unnecessary elements. Aka, the bad guys. She looks roughed up, but not much more. "Estoy bien, sir," she says with a slice of humility. "You made it look easy." She looks around, at the damage done because she couldnt stop them, and winces visibly.

"I'll try and help them set up again.."

But then, the guy on the floor starts to twitch as well. The first one who fell, with the taser hit. "Um, is that normal?" That's two of them now who are acting very weird after going down.

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne frowns as he moves over to stand beside the spider heroine, "No, this isn't typical. Keep your distance," he says, urging her to back away as he keeps his cloak swept in front of them. It might look like a mere cape, but it has cutting edge technology more than capable of protecting them from a wide array of harm. But, then, he wasn't sure what was happening here.

"The easier something looks, in my experience, the more training required to achieve its fluency."

Arana has posed:
Pulling her fingers through her hair, Ana nods. "I'm learning that," she says with a hint of annoyance. Then she hunches down, getting a better look without getting too close.

Unfortunately it's not another attack that happens next, but something much worse. The kid on the ground goes tense, all through his body. And then he goes limp, breathing out one time.

Then he's still. The others are starting to look the same.

They got a bad batch of growth hormone.

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne grasps at Arana's shoulder and moves to pull her back further, "Something's wrong. These guys are...altered, in some way. Abnormal," he said. His mind races, seeking out a dozen substances that could pull off something like this. The one called 'Venom' springs first to mind, but perhaps he has such bad memories of crossing paths with it in the past.

"Here," he says, handing her an extended baton. "That's got a shockstick on it. Just hit the button and zap. If you need it," he says, putting up his hands and preparing to fight once more.

Arana has posed:
But it's not that simple. The tased guy, and the guy who threw the brick, don't get up. They don't even try. They lay there, not breathing, and not moving.

Ana takes the baton, getting ready to fight. The guy who kicked the mailbox starts to move, one elbow rising. His hand goes to the concrete, and he pushes himself up. And falls again, his breathing laboured.

Two dead, one badly hurt. Batman did not do that level of damage.

It's only the last guy, the one who ran, who gets back up. He looks insane, his eyes are white. No irises. And then he yells, but no sound comes out of his mouth.

"Okay, that's creepy," Ana says softly.

Batman has posed:
"I do creepy well," he says.

Batman moves with trained reflexes, throwing a bola fast and low to wrap around the guy's legs, trying to bind him even as he moves in to try and put a kick to his head. Might not be enough, but the combination of force and taking his balance might be enough to catch him off guard. Who knew what this guyw as jacked up on?

The deaths concern him. He didn't do enough to kill them. Gonna need to look at those autopsies.

Arana has posed:
She's not being any help at all. She's no hero, there's nothing she can contribute. This is BATMAN. Wait.

Ana isn't looking at the threat. She's looking at the guy on the ground. Then she's leaping, jumping for ...

For Batman.

"NO!" She leaps, trying to grab at his cape, to drag him back. To keep him from hitting the guy. The guy who is standing, breathing, as the bola wraps about him and kind of hangs there.

If she gets the chance, she points to the guy on the ground. "Don't hit him. Impacts cause the death reaction." The guy has a green-lined bruise, with swelling, right where the batarang struck. AND SO DO THE OTHERS.

Any touch, anything rough, will kill them.

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne gets knocked away for a moment before he strikes the man. Seeing hte reaction apparently starting to begin, swelling up threateningly, he nods, "Good catch. Let's get clear. EVERYBODY OUT!" he calls, making sure the civilians know to get their distance, too. He may be a terrifying creature of the night, but he's also a member of the Justice League and a known hero. They'll listen. Probably.

He keeps his cape up and using it to help shield Ana further as the two of them try to get out of the place before the baddies blow up.

Arana has posed:
And with that, the situation is disarmed. It didn't look like it would, but..? The one remaining guy stands there until he stops. Then he sinks to his knees, and passes out.

And that's it. It's over. He lives. One of his friends lives, but in critical condition. And Arana stands there, next to Batman, as the ambulances arrive to take them away.

"I'm so confused," she says softly. "But I think that was almost a win."

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne looks for a long moment, "Anytime you can walk away, it's a win," he says. He makes sure the guy's cuffed, just in case he gets any fancy ideas, but does it carefully before he sends him on his way.

"You're not bad. But you're not at a hundred percent, I take it? You seemed...off-balance," he says.

Arana has posed:
Weird way to put it, Ana thinks. She ruffles her own hair a bit, then shrugs. "I get by," she says. Cocky response, but not one that's helpful. It suits her age though. The Robins were like that once. "Why, did you like being my sidekick that much?"

She grins a bit, but then she winces and rubs her throat. Ow, apparently. "My papa's going to kill me. I keep coming home bruised these days." Yes, she's clearly lost her abilities. Doesn't take the world's greatest detective to suss that out.

She sighs, then looks at a wall. "Not gonna cut it anymore, is it? I'm not enough."

Batman has posed:
Bruce Wayne looks at her for a long moment, "You don't need powers to do what we do. Just will. And the ability to put it to good use," he says.

He reaches into his utility belt and hands her a black card that looks blank, embossed over matte black. "There's a number on there. When you find it, call it. And maybe we can see about improving your training," he says.

Arana has posed:
Ana says something in Spanish that her mother would have washed out her mouth with soap over. She did not learn that in church. She looks at the card for a good three seconds, then lifts her gaze up toward Batman.

Assuming he's still there.

Batman has posed:
And, of course, he is not, the wind blowing through the half-empty restaurant and the sirens shining in the broken glass.