14835/Who's that Lurking in the Shadows

Who's that Lurking in the Shadows
Date of Scene:	22 March 2023
Location:	East Rutherford, Bergen County
Synopsis:	Selina flees from unknown assailants and runs into some bats.
Cast of Characters:	Catwoman, Nightwing, Ivory, Batgirl (Cain), Spoiler, Red Hood

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Catwoman has posed:
Late night, or early morning - one of the two finds the Catwoman running and leaping over buildings in the half light of twilight, looking to be in a hurry - is someone chasing her? The sound of guns firing behind her answers that and somewhere nearby, a few men in black lurk in the shadows, trailing effortlessly after her as they try to catch her..

Clearly they are more skilled than your average cop as she seems to be breathing a bit hard, and is clutching her shoulder like it's been injured. But wait, who is the real bad guy here?!

Nightwing has posed:
The end of a patrol. Nightwing is exhausted after a night leaping and swinging. While it has become very routine for him over the years spent in vigilante service to Gotham City, it still leaves him with far more aches than he's comfortable with as the years progress. Not that he's old.. "Stop thinking about it, it's fine." He murmurs to himself where he's perched above gotham. One arm laid across he bent knee, the other knee down on the cold stone.

He's just about to return home when he hears the familiar clap hiss of gunfire. "Always when it's time to eat..." He groans, pushes up, and snaps out a grapplegun. Which he fires after leaping out into the street with his arms extended out like a bird about to take flight.

The snap of pressurized air fires the line and sends him swinging in the direction he'd heard the gunfire. Ready to get involved before a much deserved breakfast.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle pulls out her whip, snagging it onto a nearby lamp post as she darts out of the path of fire. She whips around it, landing gracefully on the nearby roof, rolling and ducking into the shelter of a nearby wall to catch her breath. The men in black continue to shoot gunfire, but once she blends in to the darkness, they seem to miss her for a bit, moving on to another building as they continue their sweep.

A chopper flies ahead, moving to pick them up, doing one last final sweep of the nearby building but thankfully it's the wrong building. It seems that they took the bit of Catwoman's small explosive decoy, leaving her to live another day. Now if she can only shrug off any other shadows as easily..

For now, she remains in the shadows of the current building rooftop wall, catching her breath, clutching her bleeding shoulder.

Ivory has posed:
Felines are lazy, people claim. But actually, they are just super good at saving energy, wherever they are. Like on one of those Gargoyles that somehone included at his highrise to catch the neo-gothic look. Thopugh, that's not a cat. It's a white haired human with feline ears and tail, gazing down onto the citizens passing.

The crack of the whip makes the ears twirl back, the head staying gazing down for a few moments. Then they follow the chopper a few moments, then twist to the sound of gravel getting moved.

"I wonder..."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing rolls out of a swing into a one handed, round off, sumersault over an air conditioning unit. It lands her on the edge of a stairwell, in a low crouch, just as the men begin climbing into the helicopter sent to acquire them. Two fingers tap the side of his domino mask, magnifying the view, if only to make out details that he can add to a case file later.

That's a lot of fire power.

He'll need to keep tabs on it.

For now... what were they chasing?

He looks around the building with a long sweep. A defused dark shadow where he crouches amidst other dark shadows as he surveys the building looking for evidence of who might have been the target. And inwardly hoping he's not about to find a body.

Catwoman has posed:
Are they FBI? Some other private organization - the Light, perhaps? Hard to tell. Either way, they certainly do pack some firepower for one individual, and their search is thorough, but they ARE after the world's greatest catburglar afterall..

It takes them a few more sweeps before they give up and fly off into the night sky where the sun is just starting to peak over the steel grey horizon, adding just a touch of golden-rose colored light to the otherwise gloomy half-night sky.

Catwoman remains still as a statue, not moving a muscle until the danger is well gone. And then she steps out into the light, whatever dim lighting the rooftop offers at any rate. She always preferred the shadows. This is probably why.

Glancing around, she does spy a shadow, a flash of white perhaps? And another shadowy figure, though his graceful movements seem familiar. She releases a tense breath and makes no effort to hide from them, watching them both thoughtfully with a slight smirk. Will they join her? Will they try and turn her in? These days she is wary of just about anyone, especially given the circumstances.

Ivory has posed:
More sounds? The ears trace the other feet, then turn the head a little, far enough that the reflective inner coatings of feline eyes catch a black and white vision of the new figuren speaking before they fully turn. "I spy a bird..."

Turning fully, they stretch, the torso leaning backwards over the chasm behind, balancing it out with the arms, then sending a little wink at them. "I think I know that costume... Seen it in a cave."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing hmms quietly to himself and slides down from his perch instead of taking some more flashy form of descent. His attention is on the retreating men in black, but as they depart after their search earns nothing, he turns to continue his own.

Which is when white lense covered gaze falls upon Selina slinking herself from the shadows on an adjacent building. "Well that tracks." He murmurs to himself, half jogging the distance with an effortless hop to clear the expanse between two buildings.

He doesn't appear to approaching with any threat... but who can really know with the Gotham Knights? They don't need a whole lot of forewarning do they? Then there's Ivory... He inclines his head in greeting to the white haired figure, but eyes fall upon Selina with a thumb at the copter making for the golden glow of the horizon.

"Friends of yours?"

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle smirks at Ivory, their bright white outfit standing out starkly against the half-darkness. "Ivory. What are you doing out here so late, kitty cat?" she seems to relax at the sight of them, knowing them well enough to not perceive them as a threat.

The Gotham knights however, that's another matter. Batman has accepted her into the fold, but what of his..Allies? She tenses slightly as Nightwing makes himself known, hand gripping the whip although that shoulder wound looks bad, and she's still winded from before. Probably not up for a second battle.

"If you mean my feline friend, yes.." she glances towards the sky at the rapidly retreating chopper, now a distant light in the sky. "As for the men in black, definitely no friends of mine.." she arches a brow at Nightwing. "And what about you, have you come to...Arrest me? Or talk?" a snide smirk creeps up on her lips, defiant til her last breath..

Ivory has posed:
Stretching once more, Ivory steps off the gargoyle towards the other two, offering a tiny bow to the Catwoman, a little chuckle on the lips. Stopping at about two arms length, they cant the head, looking for the helicopter. "Not my friends either. I don't like Helicopters. Noisy, loud..."

They have spent time at the mansion, learned some things, but... you couldn't call Ivory a part of that bat family. At least not properly, because no name or anything was attached to them.

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing peers at the WOUNDED SHOULDER with a level stare, and blows out a long sigh. Whateer his personal opinions on the newest additions to the trusted members of the clan might be, he doesn't seem inclined to throw down at this late hour. At least not with a wounded kitten.

His hands sit on his hips, just below his waist, and his brow furrows above his domino mask where the dark hair curls across his forehead. A little shaggier than usual, but it's a vibe.

After a second he shakes his head, "Just promise me you didn't steal state secrets or something." He muses with a glance over at Ivory. His hand drops to one of his many pouches. Slowly so Selina doesn't think he's grabbing a smokebomb or other such gadget, and shows it to her.. It's a small device with a nossel and cartridge. "Liquid bandage. If you let me take a look at your shoulder?" One step closer.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle nods to Ivory. "Me neither.." she mutters. But most of her attention is upon Nightwing, and when he mentions 'State Secrets', she tenses visibly, half-turning away and sighs. "I...Cannot guarantee that, as much as I would like to." the smirk is gone, replaced by a more serious demeanor. She's all business now, there's no time for fooling around if she values her life.

The spray is eyed warily, maybe a bit desperately, but does she dare? Catwoman stays on the spot, hands clenched slightly still, still tense, ready for fight or flight, depending on his response. "I can promise you that I have changed, that I swore an oath to Batman that I would only steal from villains who deserved it. However, what happened in the past...I.."

She sighs glancing skywards. "If I could even remember What happened...I just want to..Put things right. I never intended for people to get hurt.."

Ivory has posed:
Instead of waiting for Selina to take the flask of liquid bandage, Ivory reaches over to statch it from his hand to inspect the can, turning it in the hand twice, then testing a little on their wrist. Sniffing at the substance, they shrug and offer it to Selina again.

"Smells a little like superglue, but doesn't sting like the real thing. Let me guess, a super strong medical variant?" they offer, with a smile, adding a claw to the offered items.

"Sorry, but I guess you need to ruin that piece of clothing. No way to save it. Shall I assist to get to the skin?"

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing still has the device held up, moving his hand back when Ivory tries to snatch it from his grip, and he is still glancing at that wound while Selina speaks. "I get you're a cat, but pretend to have manors. Snatching things from peoples hands you don't know is rude. Be an adult." A brow curls up over his mask at Ivory, then a glance back Selina, "So those guys weren't a government agency and you didn't steal the launch codes for nuclear weapons.." He extends his hands in a motion of acceptance, "Alright, I can work with that." It is definitely a tense ceasefire between them. Another step towards Catwoman and Ivory, though his path is clearly meant for the dark clad of the pair of feline themed individuals.

"If Batman has accepted you, does it even matter what I think?" There's no initial venom behind the question, though there is some heat. Which grows increasingly more so when he continues, "Batman is the boss, right? The rest of us are just pawns on the board. Surround himself with whoever he wants, everyone else be damned."

Now that he's close enough, provide she's not slipping back. He reaches for a small firstaid kit, "But if you say you're trying to do better, then.. I'm glad. Truly. If I can help, I will.. just.." He sighs and shakes his head, unfolding the kit to pull out the necessary equipment to sterilize the wound and get it appropriately bandaged.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle blinks in surprise at Ivory's sudden movement, frowning a bit. "Ivory..." she says simply but nods, glancing at her shoulder wound and sighs, "Just patched this up but I suppose it can't be helped.."

Looking back at Nightwing, she shrugs, "Not exactly launch codes..Well, I hope not. Like I said, my head is fuzzy on the details. Some kind of blueprints for a sattelite, I think. But, it's...Complicated? If I even had them I'd give 'em back, get 'em off my tail but alas.."

Talk of pawns on a chessboard has her scowling a bit. "I'm sure you're more to him than pawns. Thought you were his family, perhaps more so than me and Harles." she smirks just a tad, relaxing as she watches him pull stuff out of his first aid kit. Really, she should start travelling with one herself.

Ivory has posed:
"Hey, I might be direct, but I know how to get a scared cat to tale the medicine she needs. Show her it's not dangerous." Ivory offers back, shrugging a little at Nightwing. "Plus, I am not known to have arrested her like, a couple times. So benefit that I don't willingly harm her."

"Anyway, we can deal with those headhunters after we patched you up. Patching the cloth I can do later, though really, should get something fresh after that amount of blood. That doesn't wash out nicely. And now... mind holding still as we fix you up? Might hurt a little."

Nightwing has posed:
"Without putting to fine a point on it, I didn't arrest her for jay walking." Nightwing points out for Ivory, "And I'm not arresting her now, so save it." Is he terse? Yes. Though he does offer up an apologetic smile to the anthromorph, "Sorry.. This is a tense situation for me too. I get it, she's your friend, but in my experiences it hasn't always ended pleasant for me either."

With his gaze settling back on Selina, "But we're working it out."

As he applies the bandage to her wound after giving it a cleaning. Lastly applying the liquid bandage. He blows out a low sigh and shrugs, "Not really a conversation I want to have this close to dawn and definitely not before I've eaten breakfast. Suffice to say, I have doubts. Which I'll discuss with him." The items, those not used, are placed back in the pouch. Nightwing taking a step back away with his hands out, showing he's not going to pounce upon either of them.

Catwoman has posed:
It's either late evening or very early morning, with just a streak of light now poking through the dark skyline. Catwoman had recently been pursued by men in black lurking across rooftops before she hid, leaving them to fly off in their chopper. But not before they wounded her.

She clutches her shoulder as Ivory and Nightwing join her, the former a trusted friend, the latter not quite trusting her yet. She smiles faintly at Ivory, "It's ok, I think he's here to help." to Nightwing she nods grimly, "I understand, trust has to be earned right? Then I will earn your trust as I earned his.." As he mends her shoulder, she winces a bit, tense as he is but trusting him enough to let him do his work.

"But this is a start..Thank you.."

Ivory has posed:
Ivory sighs as they finish up patching the shoulder, then helps to gather the used tools back. "Now, what happened tonight? I mean, that doesn't look nice and even with the bandage, that needs a little more attention."

Eying over Nightwing twice, Ivory finally shrugs, feline ears on the head swiveling to pick up where the helicopter might have gone to.

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing finishes patching Selina up, peering between her and Ivory from behind the white lense of his domino mask. Once finished, he slips the remaining supplies into a pouch of his utility belt and steps back away from them with his hands out to the side. "Yeah." Apprehension. She had said whatever she stole was from bad people, but there's a lot to process.

His focus isn't on the morality of stealing from people who may have stolen it themselves. "What did you mean." He asks, pointing to Selina, "That Batman might care for /us/ as much as you and Harley?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Cassandra Cain had recently been sparring downstairs and has emerged from the Cave to head up towards the showers and an evening spent watching Netflix and tryign to get some sense of actual human culture so she doesn't seem like such an alien. A futile effort, she knows, but it will at least help her bond with her fellow vigilantes. She hopes.

She's wearing a black dancer's leotard and a pair of sweatpants, her black hair recently tripped and pulled into a tight topknot on her head. She pauses, perfectly still, as she comes across Selina, Ivory and Dick. "Trouble?" she says sharply, her body tensing on alert as she steps forward.

Spoiler has posed:
There is the rustle of a cape as another of the Bats arrives to investigate the gunfire. It's Spoiler this time. She swings around wide, eyes scanning out in the deepest darkness that rises before the sun comes up, finding nothing.

Those were some loud guns.

She is absolutely sharp eyed enough to catch the trio on the roof, and her arc hikes her up over the ledge. The grapple retracts with a whir and she neatly replaces it on her belt as she moves quietly to join them like she belongs there. Which, in her mind, she absolutely does. She stands next to Nightwing, her faceless mask making a void under her hood, the white eyes taking in Ivory and Catwoman.

As always, Cass's sudden arrival scares the hell out of her. She turns, at the ready, until she realizes who it is, and relaxes. Cass can tell she's smiling under there, at least until she turns to look at Dick, then back to the other two. "Those were loud guns." Though she flinches almost imperceptibly to everyone (but Cass, and Dick likely knows her well enough) when he says things about Batman maybe caring for the squad as much as Selina and Harley.

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood wasn't here for the start of this party but he hadn't been far away. He had been tracking down a drug lab with a measure of single mindedness usually reserved for a pitbull gnawing on a bone. It was the helicopters flying low over the city as they made their exit from the encounter with Catwoman that pulled his attention away from the drug dealer he was holding by the ankle and dangling over the edge of a ten story rooftop.

Ignoring the (rightfully) terrified man, Hood had listened in to the chatter on the injury to Catwoman.

Not having any personal opinions on her, really, the fact someone saw fit to hunt her down and shoot her strongly suggests there was a need for some extra firepower while Nightwing tried to patch her up.

Looking back to the dealer he turns and drops the man in a heap on the rooftop. "It's your lucky night, Stewie. I was curious what kind of art you'd make on the alley from this height. But it turns out there's something more important than you going on. Next time I see you, we're going to resume this thought exercise."

Disappearing into the night, Red Hood arrives not long after Spoiler, emerging from the shadows. The lenses of his mask glowing a faint red. He thinks it makes him more menancing. And really no one has seen fit to tell him otherwise.

Looking to Catwoman as Nightwing is cleaning up and putting his kit away, Red Hood doesn't bother to speak. The red Bat symbol on his chest should show any who don't know him by name or on sight as being at least an ally. So he watches and listens to catch up on the situation.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle sighs, testing her shoulder once it's mended up, "It's fine, don't worry about it..Those people, they're after me for something I stole before I decided to give up a life of crime.." she frowns, rubbing her temples, "Once I discovered what the blueprints might be for! I wanted no part of them, but..The person who hired me took them from me and.lDid something to my mind to make me forget the details. I came to Batman for help, and to stop this madness.."
rShe smirks at Nightwing, "You are his trusted friend and ally. Harls and me, we're ex criminals he's trying to rehabilitate." of course there's more to it than that but she declines to elaborate..

And then suddenly bats are dropping out of the sky and she frowns, taking a step back, "It seems I have overstayed my welcome..If you don't trust me then fine..I'll just have to find those blueprints on my own..."

Ivory has posed:
"I see..." is all Ivory says as they brush through the hair a moment, freezing when the number of Bats and Birds increases from one to a whole gang.

"Ok gang. Either you trust her, or not, but in either case... You don't get to threaten Cat' on my watch, ok?" If any of the bats knew their fighting... Ivory didn't.

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing nods to her explaination of why the men be after her, peering off in the distance where the helicopter had disappeared some moments before. "I got a pretty good look at the VIN number on the sides of the chopper. I'll patch in with Oracle and see if they can drum up a little more information on where they might be based." It's a small offer and likely wont be of much immediate help, but the long term effects will be much greater.

His hand settle on his hips, peering around as more Knights begin descending from the shadows. While his attention does break to greet them, nodding to both Spoiler and a far more curt nod to Red Hood, it remains largely focused on Selina. "Rehabilitate you. So ask him? Got it." Obviously there's more to it, but Selina has never been very forthright with details.

When she starts backing away, however, he furrows his brow with a glance at Selina, "Nobody is threatening you, call off your attack cat. They're probably responding to the gunfire or the unmarked helicopter that just flew over Gotham." Nodding in the direction it went. "Trust goes both ways. You either believe me or you don't, but I want to help you."

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood watches and listens. He returns the silent nod to Nightwing and to Spoiler before Ivory gets defensive? Over protective? He looks at her for a long moment before turning his attention back to Catwoman. "If you're not commiting a crime, you've got nothing to worry over from us." It's quiet and terse. But given he isn't reaching for his holstered pistols, at least his actions seem to back up his words. Up-nodding toward Nightwing as he deduces the arrivals were because of the gunfire and helicopters he affirms, "What he said. Heard there was an injury." He doesn't advance on Catwoman or Ivory, in fact he leans casually against an AC unit on the rootfop.

Spoiler has posed:
"I'm at least here because of the guns and helicopters," Spoiler says, returning the nod to Nightwing. Her feet slide on the rooftop as she adjusts her body language to be a little less business. A little less threatening.

"I missed the first part of this, 'cause swinging isn't as fast as I wish it was sometimes, but," she says, the blank white eyes looking at Selina, and maybe flickering to Ivory for a second. "You've always walked that line between just being a thief and being more like, well, us. You're not a bad person, I don't think. I know you don't trust us, but Nightwing's right. If you've found something bad, we want to help stop it."

She glances at Jason, only slightly surprised that he said anything at all. Her head tilts a bit, considering him for a moment before she returns her focus to Selina and the matter at hand.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle arches a surprised brow at Nightwing as he calls Ivory 'her attack cat'. Glancing to Ivory she nods, "Ivory, relax, they're friends of Batman..I think we can trust them." she nods to Nightwing, "Probably FBI or the like. I guess those blueprints I stole were more important than I suspected.." she lets out a shaky sigh.

"I..Would give a better explanation if my memories weren't all mixed up and confused, I'm sure Oracle could help too, to get more info on what exactly those blue prints were for. But for now the immediate threat seems to have passed. I'm sure Bats knows where to find me if you have further questions.."

She nods to the other two, a small smile tugging at her lips at Spoiler's assurance, "Thanks kid." she smirks, "Bats has a good crew working for him.."

Ivory has posed:
"I know, but that doesn't mean they can do what they want." Ivory remarks to Selina before flaring at Nightwing, not saying anything to him for a few long moments, but finally nods.

"I'm not... Ok, I am sorry but you can't just call me a cat. I'm still a human, even if I occasionally have cat ears, a tail or eyes."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing looks down.

He is teetering on the razors edge of patience.

Two fingers come up to pinch the bridge of his nose, slowly shaking his head.

Side eye glancing at Ivory.

"If you... nope..." He holds up his hands, "Nope."

He shakes his head and just looks away from them. "Nooooope."

A glance over at Jason, sharing a look with him... a range of emotions flashing across his face until he just sucks some resolve out of the hollow, unmoving mask, and carries on. Attention going back to Selina.

"Okay, that's enough to go on. We'll talk to Oracle, see if she can drum a little more information from what I saw on the side of the chopper." He takes a breath, blows it out slowly.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie can feel Dick's stress from here. She wants to go over to him and try to help him to get his bearings back. She doesn't. Instead, Spoiler draws a breath through her nose and just lets things play out. That's all she can really do. It wouldn't really be appropriate for her to do what she wants to do while on the job.

She says nothing, because she doesn't really have anything to add. It seems this conversation is winding down, and quickly. Which is good because it almost feels like it might -break- down, and that's just not useful for anyone here. She looks at Nightwing, and he can probably feel her attempt at a reassuring smile through her mask. Hopefully.

Red Hood has posed:
Red Hood is smirking behind his mask. That's the advantage of the full face mask. Clearly Tony Stark had arrived on a wise idea. Behind a full face mask no one can see you smirk. Or frown.

As Nightwing struggles with the bent and circular logic going on, Red Hood isn't about to get into the cat-thing. As for the rest of it? Well Nightwing has taken the lead in following up with Oracle. He won't have minded. But he wasn't asked. So he leaves it to the More Socially Adjusted Vigilante Formerly Known As Robin.

As the situation seems to be moving toward a conclusion, he straightens up once more.

"You know how to find me if you need me."

Of course it's the vague, Royal-You. And the tone suggests he doesn't put a lot of stock in such a followup actually occuring.

Looking to Catwoman one last time he offers, at least, "Feel better." Then he's fading into the shadows as only those trained by Batman can usually achieve so easily.

Catwoman has posed:
Selina Kyle bites her lip, gently nudging Ivory, "Come on, let's leave em to do their job. There's nothing else to be done here tonight, but I hope you find more info from oracle.." she smirks and nods to Nightwing and the others, "Appreciated. But for now we must flee. Until next time." she bows stylistically then back flips off the edge of the rooftop, probably snagging her whip on a nearby building or lamp post to slow her descent once she's out of eyeshot.