1490/Late Night in the Garden

Late Night in the Garden
Date of Scene:	07 July 2017
Location:	Gotham
Synopsis:	Batgirl meets Green Arrow for the first time and mistakes him for a potential threat.
Cast of Characters:	Green Arrow, Batgirl (Cain)

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Green Arrow has posed:
Several pairs of footsteps echo through the night in this part of Gotham. The sounds they make shift from heavy slaps of rubber on concrete to muffled thuds as a trio of runners veers into the Gotham Gardens.

The last of the runners looks over his shoulder, huffing. There's a soft whistling sound followed by a large thump as the man falls to the ground. A second thump heralds a large duffel bag hitting the ground beside him.

Something moves in the trees.

The second of the runners fires a pistol blindly over her head, and she stumbles from the distraction, the weight of her own duffel bag throwing her off-balance slightly. She recovers, even as another arrow whizzes through the space where she'd just been.

The third of the runners sprints hard, cutting a straight path through the gardens' flower beds.

More movement in the trees.

Several blocks away, GCPD cruisers attempt to begin blocking off the area in response to a heist in a parcel-service hub.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Poor third runner. He should've never cut into that pat through the flower beds. Of course, that's where Batgirl had already read his body movements to carry him. And she is literally dropping -right- in front of him from the rooftop above. And before he can even register anything more than the dark shape of cape, and darkness, the figure - far shorter and far less bulky than Batman is slamming a hand into the man's throat. It's not hard enough to crush his larynx, but it is hard enough to rob him of breath, and ability to react. She is fluid as she moves, ceaseless, perfect movement and momentum. The movement of the shadow follows through with the throat-chop so that her other hand slams into his solar plexus, and she's sweeping past him to slam her leg into the back of his, sending him down to the ground. A dip, and chop to the forehead knocks him unconscious, all in the matter of a second. Maybe 2.
    Then, the black shape is moving into the trees, into the deeper shadow as well, moving towards the second runner. The third man's duffel bag is left where it lay, along with the man himself. Batgirl knows the cops will pick him up before he awakens.

Green Arrow has posed:
As the remaining runner continues firing into the trees as she runs--a shot here, a shot there--a figure drops from above to the ground below, somersaulting and jumping into the underbrush to avoid the wild gunfire.

Green Arrow is, appropriately, all in green, except for a stripe of red along his upper left arm from where a bullet grazed him.

He nocks and draws an arrow, slowing in his run just slightly to aim at the runner ... when he spies another, barely noticeable, hint of movement in the trees. The archer falls to a knee and attempts to track this other figure for several moments before returning his attention to the runner gaining distance on him. Looking back and forth, the Arrow fires a shot toward the fleeing woman. It pins the duffel bag to a tree trunk, and the runner yelps involuntarily as she's suddenly halted.

The GCPD sirens, meanwhile, are still far too slow and distant to be immediately useful.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Something fast whistles, barely audible in the air, and the woman's head slams backwards as a dark shape connects, solidly with it in a deceptively slow curve. She slumps to the ground, unconscious and out.
    The Green Arrow should, perhaps, not taken his eyes off that new figure. For suddenly she is in front of him, appearing out of the shadows of the brush nearby with barely a rustle of the greenery about her.
    She knows how to disarm an archer. Merlyn taught her well. Utilizing the moment of surprise to her advantage, or trying, she snares the bow of the Green Arrow in one hand, while twisting away, and aiming a well-placed kick extended for the flexor on the main hand hoding the bow at the same time.
    She knows he was not intending to kill. She could see that much. But she does not know who this man is. And, he's on her territory. She's been trained by Batman. And she isn't going to take chances.

Green Arrow has posed:
As if the sudden appearance of this mysterious vigilante wasn't surprising enough, the Green Arrow finds himself having to try and twist with his new opponent when she grabs his weapon.

Just then, of course, she kicks his hand, and he reels back, his momentum disrupted.

"Alright," the emerald archer says, shaking and flexing his hand, "it's gonna be that kind of party, then."

He quickly jumps forward, kicking at the woman's knees and shins with a pair of rapid movements. As he does so, he attempst to follow up the kicks with a jab to the throat.

"Should've guessed they'd bought competent help," Starling's resident crime-fighter grunts.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    In the darkness, Batgirl might seem little more than the dark shadow, the cloak obscuring what little bright yellow there is, momentarily. With a quick motion she tosses the bow aside, far, towards the runner she'd just knocked unconscious with a batarang.
    The man is practiced. She can tell. Skilled, even. He is clearly not a one-trick-pony, his stealth, his accuracy, and now his martial prowess.
    But she can read him like a book, as she can most everyone. It's as if she knows what he's going to do before his body can react and do it. Her foot rising up to counter each kick, twisting at just the right angle to completely deflect him.
    She twists to the side to allow his jab to her throat to miss, countering with a flat-handed slam into his solar plexus to knock him back, and take some of the breath out of him.
    As this happens, she takes a more offensive stance, and now the bright yellow bat-sigil against her chest can be seen, along with the yellow of the utility belt. This is not the red-headed Batgirl of yesteryear.
    Instead, her cowl is pitch black, as the rest of her costume and cape. Where there ought to be eyes are simply black patches, and where there ought to be a mouth and chin, a sewn patchwork of black material has completely covered. No flesh, at all, shows on the girl. If anything, as small as she is, her costume may in fact be more terror inducing than the Bat's himself.
    But she does not persue the attack. She waits, to see what Green Arrow will do.
    But she is more than ready.

Green Arrow has posed:
"You can't be seri--*HUUUUUNNNGHHHH*"

Green Arrow's statement is prematurely punctuated by the sound of most of his breath rushing out of his body. He falls back against a tree and then nearly slips down to fall on his butt. He's barely able to keep himself from doing so, but he's certainly out of step and trying to re-inflate his lungs.

He waves a finger toward the bat insignia on his opponent's chest and stares at her with suspicious eyes.

"Not ... *HUNGHH* ... enemy ... *UUUUGHH* ... criminal ... crime-fighter ... *HUUUAAHHH*," he chokes out, trying to bring himself, mostly unsuccessfully, into a defensive posture.

"That ... move ... familiar?" Green Arrow huffs, shaking his head. "Hard ... place ..."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Slowly, she lowers her stance. It's not his words she believes, it's his posture. The subtle, micro movements his body tells her as he speaks the words. He's telling the truth. It does not appear she is going to attack him any further, but neither does an apology seem to be offered. At least, not in words.
    Instead, she turns from him. She walks over to where the girl was, is. And she picks up first her batarang. It is tucked back into the notch on her utility belt with the other few. Then, she picks up Arrow's bow, and walks back over to him.
    She holds it out, and speaks two, firm words. Serious. Almost threatning. Warning, perhaps. "No kill."

Green Arrow has posed:
The archer nods, slowly, as he takes his bow back. He's breathing more easily, even if his face still shows a pained expression. "Was ... never my plan," he says, shaking his head. "They're thieves, not murderers."

"Also," Green Arrow adds, pointing again to the bat on the woman's chest, "I don't think I'm /so/ stupid as to kill someone in /this/ city." He takes a deep breath. "Should've guessed there's a small army of you, though. Not a bad idea..." the archer muses, drifting off for a moment. "Maybe that's something to emulate."

He slips the bow into a quiver on his back and checks his wounded arm. "Luckily, I think it missed anything important. Figured the trees would provide enough cover to keep anyone from aiming well. I didn't count on the 'spray and pray' approach while retreating."

Green Arrow clears his throat. "I don't suppose you're working on the same case, are you? I'm tracing some potential lines of activity involving the League of Assassins. I can't help but feel like you might have some ... experience? ... with them."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Again, she reads the truth of his words. She relaxes a fraction more, and eschews all ideas or intent to continue any measure of combat against him. She knows Batman won't be happy someone else is in Gotham, hunting. But, he is obeying Batman's rules. So, there's that.
    She instead gestures to him. And, she treks back to the fallen woman. The last to go down. She had instantly recognized that the woman was the leader of the gang. If he was following clues, and that led him to this gang? She would have it.
    The duffel is ignored. Batgirl bends to one knee, and begins to smoothly, coldly, efficiently rifle through the girls pockets. She turns up a burner phone, with a pre-programmed number in it.
    And, she oddly hands it directly to Green Arrow. Along with a set of keys she finds in the jackt pocket. To a house? A car? Something Batman would probably never, in a lifetime, do.
    She rises back up to her small, lethal stature. And finally she nods, once. She knew her father was associated with the League. She knew a bit about them. And she knew Batman knew more, but refused to tell her.

Green Arrow has posed:
Accepting the various 'gifts' handed to him as Batgirl looks through the woman's pockets, Green Arrow studies the phone and purses his lips.

"Well, thanks for not continuing to try and take me down," he says quietly. "With any luck, I'll be out of your territory soon. Believe me--I don't want to be here any longer than I have to. No offense," he adds quickly. "But I figure you don't want me to be here, either. I get that."

The Arrow looks to his impromptu partner. "I bet Batman can't ever get a word in edgewise with you, can he?" The hint of a smile appears at the corner of his mouth.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    It's the body language, this time, rather than the words that give his intent away. She realizes his words were, in fact, a joke. That, even, perhaps, he's trying to make nice with her. She considers the man for a long moment, then, she points to the sewn-over mouth on her mask, as if to silently say it's not -just- there to scare the crap out of people.
    She tilts her head towards the sound of the police, in the distance, registering that they're still a bit off. And, she opens the duffel that is still pinned to the tree, then. To see if something other than money is within it.

Green Arrow has posed:
"Fair enough," Green Arrow says as the woman turns back to the duffel bag.

He makes off into the night--albeit not as quietly or as smoothly as Batman, or even Batgirl herself, would.

The duffel bag contains a set of packages, each of which has as its sender QUEENS CONSOLIDATED out of Starling City. The recipients seem to be assorted and unrelated, with no two the same.

The light weight of each suggests electronics (confirmed by any scrutiny of one or more packages).

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    It's too bad Batgirl can't read. And, that Green Arrow has now departed. She takes one of the smaller packages, fixes it to her utility belt for Batman to examine at his leisure. Which will probably be tonight, since he never sleeps. And then she is casting her grappling hook up into the skyline, to hoist herself and disappear as well.
    She does not try to find the Green Arrow again. She can only hope that the leads she's given him, if leads at all, will keep him out of Gotham before Batman finds him. She has a feeling he'll be harder on the Green Arrow than she was.