15053/The Gotham Subway Situation

The Gotham Subway Situation
Date of Scene:	07 May 2023
Location:	Gotham Subway
Synopsis:	An unexpected fight breaks out and puts numerous lives in danger. Skye, Helena, and Kate are on the scene while Rose rediscovers what guilt feels like. Some good might result from the chaos.
Cast of Characters:	Ravager, Quake, Huntress, Batwoman

---

Ravager has posed:
All actions have consequences.

A few years ago while a newly named Ravager was fighting tooth and nail to climb the underground ladder it had resulted in a fight spilling out into the street, herself against another mercenary named Tim McCollin. Only one of them had walked away.

Unknown to Rose, Tim had an older brother named Drake who didn't take to the news well. It had simmered, eating away at the dishonorably discharged Marine turned soldier of fortune. Such anger inevitably turned toward the hunt. Today was supposed to be his day for revenge.

Drake struck first at a Gotham subway platform, opening fire with a submachine gun. From there the battle had escalated rapidly.

A wounded Rose slamming Drake into a tiled support pillar ended the fight but led to further trouble. The column had collapsed onto the tracks. Before she could land the finishing strike on Drake a passing subway had crashed into the wreckage at speed. The resulting chaos was immediate.

Smoke is still in the air. Shouts and screams from bystanders and injured civilians alike compete against various alarms. The subway platform is a ripped up mess while the train itself lay in a tangled heap of twisted metal, every soul onboard affected by the crash. As the dust gradually settles the survivors now all have the same image to focus on: That of Rose Wilson about to strike a man.

Even she can't help but notice. Dozens of people all staring at her. Shock. Anger. Disbelief. Acting like she's the villain, that everything here is entirely her fault.

Maybe it -was- her fault...

The thought has her backing away from Drake. Her injuries won't allow a flat-out run but still she tries.

Quake has posed:
Skye didn't expect to be in the neighbourhood. But..

While Rose was fighting Drake, someone was filming it.

As usual, Skye was flipping through tons of data, wikis, chats, etc, keeping an eye out. Nothing unusual. Some chatter here that she would keep an eye on. Several pages that were creeping up with disinformation. The usual sorts of things. And hitting the highlights was the fight between Rose and..

Checking her files on the man..

Drake. Well dammit. If it weren't SHIELD business it was most certainly the Birds. Maybe even both.

Tucking her tablet away, she headed to the source of the ruckus, hoping to be there before it got even more uglier than that. <<Checking something out. Shouldn't need a back up.>> There, SHIELD was semi-aware. Semi.

Because.. well.. Rose. Dammit.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress hasn't been seen in the city for well over three years, when she disappeared without a trace and without word to the Birds of Prey, her family, or to her employer. All attempts to locate her leading to dead ends. It was abrupt enough that, at the time, it was rumored that Joker made some kind of comment about "eating bird for dinner", though none of his henchmen even seemed to know what the Huntress looked like, so it was an unlikely claim and purely coincidental comment.

...probably.

Turns out, the woman is still alive. Or at the very least an impostor wearing her costume.

Helena has been back in the city a day. A single, not-even-fully-twenty-four-hours day. It felt natural to re-engage with all the sources of information. Some of them belonging to Helena -- as a Bertinelli -- some to Huntress alone. It doesn't take long for reports of gunfire in the subway to reach Helena; it takes longer for her to stare at her costume, unworn for literal years. She has enough self-doubt to wonder if it will even fit.

Turns out, it does. Perfectly. It was made for her. Made for her return. The Huntress isn't sure if that bodes ill or not. Either way, swathed in the black-and-purple outfit, identity masked by form-fitting purple mask, the Huntress stalks through the smoke.

She has no idea what she's walked into. She catches the tail end of a fight -- both participants worse for the wear, narrowed eyes flickering from Drake to Rose. Injured civilians all around. She sweeps towards the nearest train door, prying it open. "Head for the surface. Take the stairs." She more than half keeps an eye on the combatants, but it's obvious where her priorities lie.

Batwoman has posed:
Cause and effect.

It's a tangled daisy chain of decisions that's led Rose Wilson to be here in Gotham's subway, that's led Drake McCollin to choose now, in so public a place to attack her.

And it's the tail end consequence of all those decisions that drags Katherine Rebecca Kane into Rose Wilson's world.

The truth is -- she'd heard the daughter of Slade Wilson was in Birds of Prey custody before all this. -Then- she heard the woman was released without so much as a how-do-you-do. Kate would love to believe in the best of people.

She's also been around the block enough times to expect the worst.

It's why she asked her father, Colonel Jacob Kane, to try to keep tabs on Rose Wilson while she was in the city. And it's why, as she gets the report from the colonel over her cowl's transponder, Batwoman's response is the twisting of ruby lips in a grimace that feels inevitable.

"Dammit."

Already out on patrol, Batwoman is a smear of deep blacks and bright reds as she swiftly maneuvers through the familiar Gotham rooftops towards the subway system currently belching smoke and screams. She'll arrive soon enough. She can only hope that others were closer.

And that things aren't too far gone by the time she gets there.

Ravager has posed:
Eyes in the Skye Johnson gets a head-start with the unfolding chaos. Yeeeaaah... There aren't many girls fitting Rose's description and various sources pick up enough of her for a confirmed hit. Only recently out of the healthcare system following a run-in with Batman and she's already stirring up major trouble? Can't leave that girl alone for a minute!

Dazed and confused, Helena provides a voice for the interrupted commuters to follow. Some have already gone to their phones to record what remains of the scene. No doubt a major news network will be alerted and on the way soon, not to mention a mixed bag of various city officials.

One of the subway survivors is a boy in his late teens who gives Huntress a double-take, asking "Which Bat are you?" He really seems to be clueless! Most of the others don't look too much, they just want to get out of there.

Batwoman's another who gets some advance notice, though the fight's already over before she can show up. Neither Drake nor Rose had wasted any time and Drake had unexpectedly been out of his league.

The stairwell is quickly filling with people shuffling their way to the surface, looking slightly ghost-like with the dust now clinging to them. Sirens are echoing in the distance, likely minutes away.

Rose already knows they'll be on site soon. Rather than escape to the surface with the others she slinks further into the underground network of Gotham, trailing a thin pattern of blood on the grimy tile floors as she stumbles past various shops and vendor stalls. There are other ways out of here but it'll be a quick hike..and she's not moving so quick anymore.

Quake has posed:
As it was Skye was at a coffee shop almost around the corner of the subway. What were the odds of that? Pretty good. While Skye didn't *plan* to check in Rose, she was sorta in the neighbourhood having a coffee just for 'fun'. Which if you knew Skye was very unusual for her. She preferred sitting in her living room, or the break room at the Trisk. (Occasionally in her office, but very rarely.) Not coffee shops (anymore!). And certainly not one close enough to Gotham.

To be frank: Skye was worried about Rose. And with good reason it would seem.

Taking assessment when she arrives, she sees Drake. Someone is directing people out of the subway station. But nowhere was Rose. Either she was in the crash of the poeple trying to get out of there, and fast! Or.. she was still down here, hiding.

Either way, something had to be done with Drake. Thankfully she had the handy dandy SHIELD issued twist ties and wrapped him up.

Huntress has posed:
It feels strange. Not just the costume, but being back here in Gotham. Saving people. It's like stretching a long-unused muscle again. It stirs something in the Huntress that she can't quite name yet but later will recognize reluctantly as feeling of being /home/.

Which Bat is she? She scowls unintentionally at the teenager, perhaps even scaring the boy. Not a stretch to assume someone helping civilians, masked as she is, might be a Bat, but the Huntress doesn't seem to appreciate the immediate attribution. "Get moving, kid," she growls.

The smoke stings her eyes, but she keeps moving, encouraging -- goading, where necessary -- people to vacate the subway rather than stand around and record. Some won't be dissuaded, of course. For now she focuses on levering some of the twisted metal out of the way to make a safe passage for those who would've been in the front carriage to climb through.

By the time she's done, the injured woman who was battling with the unconscious man is gone -- and Skye's zip-tying the injured man, which earns a surprised lift of brows. She doesn't recognize Skye, though. No reason she should: they never got a chance to meet when she was in the city last, and unlike Skye she doesn't have ready access to SHIELD's files. "Who is he?" she asks, as she strides near, her cape swirling behind her. "And who's the woman?" the tilt of her head suggests the one who's fled, also unrecognized by the Huntress.

Batwoman has posed:
People spill out of the subway station, choking out the major artery of its entrance. Fortunately --

Gotham's vigilantes have never really had a habit for going for conventional entry points.

True to the namesake, when Batwoman appears at the scene of the chaos, she just sort of -- appears. Suddenly, there's a tall, pale woman dressed in black and red kneeling near Skye and her zip-tied suspect, considering the unconscious man with a sublimely masked poker face.

The computer uplink in her cowl identifies the man soon enough. Drake McCollin. Former Marine. Current mercenary. Brother of... oh.

"... Dammit," she mutters again, because it bears repeating, before she rises back up onto her feet once more.

Two questions linger in the air. She leaves the first to Daisy - after all, she went through the trouble of tying up the man in question.

As for the second...

"Rose Wilson," is Batwoman's level response for the Huntress, lensed eyes turn from Drake's prone body, towards the tunnel's distance. Behind her cowl, Kate's brows furrow as she catches sight of a tiny trail of crimson tracing its telltale trail.

"... Deathstroke's daughter."

Batwoman turns her attention onto Helena; red locks spill over her shoulder as she regards the other vigilante.

"Been a while," she offers, before ruby red lips quirk up with the hint of amusement despite the situation. "So which Bat -are- you?"

Never underestimate a Bat's ability to hear the most embarrassing things.

Fortunately, she doesn't linger on it; instead -- the vigilante cants her head towards the blood pattern leading -away- from the exit.

"This way. I doubt she's gotten far."

And with that Batwoman moves, swiftly. Regardless of anything else... they need to find her before someone else does.

Ravager has posed:
How convenient Skye would happen to have been here at just the right moment! It's almost like she knew Rose was making arrangements to leave Gotham and head back to her new apartment in Metropolis. It would have made sense, Ravager had always operated in New York City until a recent relocation to the neighboring city of tomorrow. Really it's more of a mystery as to why she showed up in Gotham in the first place. Now it's like the city doesn't want to let her go. Maybe it holds a grudge after the failed hit?

Drake doesn't put up a fight. He's not conscious enough to notice the zipties. He's just a bloodied speedbump for the immediate future, soon to end up in the back of some manner of marked vehicle.

Helena could have picked the right time to come back to the city in uniform, though..really, it's Gotham. Crazy bad stuff is happening all the time. At least there aren't a bunch of baddies to beat up, even though that might have been a more comfortable way for her to return to the Huntress role.

The teen looks put off by her response. "The grumpy one. That's original." He doesn't linger, likely sparing him from getting smacked.

The subway operator and front car passengers took the crash the hardest but so far everyone seems to still be moving. Now that the path is clear they're able to crawl out to the platform as well.

Batwoman does as a Bat does and simply appears in the middle of the scene, for once not having to deal with the hourly crisis on her own. Figuring out where Rose disappeared to isn't difficult with a helpful tech-based hand. Catching up to the wounded girl should certainly be easier. Judging by the trail left behind she had taken a couple of bullets. Healing factor or not, trying to walk around with the extra metal is no picnic.

Quake has posed:
As she puts the man's hands in the zipties (not taking too much care with them), Skye looks up trying to place Helena. Grunting, "He's pretty criminal all things considered. I would just leave him for the cops." She really didn't want to find a way to creatively lie to her boss. And for Drake? He wasn't worth it.

More a Birds kind of thing.

As for the girl..

"The girl I have business with. I've been keeping her in my radar." Apparently not enough. "..Or that." Batwoman made Skye being secretive unnecessary. "Yeah, it's Rose. I thought she might think about the consequences before trying it again. I guess not. Does anyone know what went down here before we showed up?"

She could follow the tapes after - but right now they didn't have the time to.

Skye follows Batwoman, trying to figure out where Rose is by her heartbeat. Hey. you got? Use it.

Huntress has posed:
Perhaps unintentionally, Helena stands with her legs wide, hands on her hips, classic superhero style. In no way, shame or form would she ever self-identify or self-describe as such, however. It's just a posture that is both authoritative and when necessary, intimidating. Not that she's trying to do that to anyone other than that annoying teenager though.

Her eyes slant downwards the unconscious man again when Skye explains his a criminal. It's like something shifts immediately; her interest waning down to almost nothing. "If he lives, that's where he belongs."

The revelation of the fleeing woman's name has Huntress sharply glancing at Batwoman. Not for the name -- it's not one she recognizes immediately -- but for recognition of the cowled woman's voice. It's only when Batman adds /Deathstroke/ that the dark-haired woman seems to recognize it.

"Batwoman." A beat, as eyes narrow at that barb, however well-timed as it comes on the heels of the teenager's too-accurate articulation of the Huntress' mood. "The one that bites and draws blood," she half-snaps back -- towards the teenager or her fellow vigilante or both, only somewhat playing along. The irritation is real: she always did have a temper, and it seems her years away haven't cooled that any.

Her irritation is apparent in the way she stalks, cape swirling around her, as she effortlessly speeds up her pace to keep up with the other two women. Seems she hasn't been slacking in keeping up her training at least.

Batwoman has posed:
"And here everyone keeps thinking -I'm- the vampire bat."

Huntress' grumpiness is a powerful thing; Batwoman, at least, manages to take it in stride, no doubt thanks in no small part to sheer experience in dealing with grumpiness. Still -- it's good to see her back, all the same.

You can never be too overstaffed, dealing with Gotham's insanity.

Rose leaves a helpful trail of darkening red to track, and it's that track that Batwoman follows in a steady sprint through the subway system, long scarlet hair whipping behind her. Still -- Rose is -also- an accomplished mercenary trained by debatably the deadliest in the world, and so Kate keeps her eyes peeled and ears open as she goes, on full alert in case the young kill machine has concocted some clever trick or another to avoid pursuers.

Between her tracking and Quake's clever superpowered tricks, they should have their bases covered. But with Wilsons, you just never know. Still...

Does she know what went down here?

"I've got an idea," is Batwoman's only answer for now.

"But we need to find her before we can assume anything."

With any luck, she won't be in a particularly stabby mood when they do.

Ravager has posed:
Following the crimson road brings diminishing returns; As a healing factor kicks into gear there's less left behind for the trio to follow. Good thing they have other means of finding the wayward Wilson. Skye in particular might make out an accelerated heartrate which is isolated from the commotion but no footsteps to go along with it. Rose must have stopped up ahead.

Having TWO masked vigilantes (and Skye who seems perfectly at ease with the situation) does cause some intimidation factor in those either standing by or departing. Just how bad is it? Are they still in danger?? Even the snarky teen nopes the hell out of there, further spurred on by Helena's parting remark. There could be a serial killer on the loose!

When the trio track Rose down it doesn't seem like there will be much of a fight. Not a physical one, anyway. Batwoman scores a win here, no back-stabbery seems to be afoot. Probably. The white-haired girl is dressed in civilian clothes with no sign of the Ravager's paired longswords and various bodily damages are clearly in the process of mending.

She's leaning back against a wall with a vacant stare right until noticing the others are closing in. A grumbled curse follows but she stands her ground, reaching into pockets for a battered cigarette and lighter while leaning beneath a giant 'no smoking' sign.

There's gonna be words. It aaalways comes down to the damn words. Though sooner or later a person has to stop running. Tough girl act aside, Skye might already be getting a different vibe from Rose today.

As for the two masked vigilantes, those are the ones who really give Rose some concern. After having had an encounter with the ONE Bat...

Quake has posed:
"Let the cops deal with him. He would just be a pain otherwise." The Birds left them for whatever legal system wanted them. And SHIELD wouldn't be impressed (especially if she had to explain to Fury what she'd been out for here originally). Nah, the local cops could take him, and get their kudos besides.

The less she had to explain, the better.

Skye, it should be known, does NOT have a costume. So between them, she looks out of place. The nearest thing she wears is her forearms have particular braces. Otherwise she just looks like anyone off the street. Perhaps dull with her drab colours? But she blends in nicely - which is what a hackster wants to do.

As for Rose, Skye would lay even bets on her being stabby. Just a hunch.

Except..

When they found Rose, something was.. not off.. but different. Curiouser and curiouser.

"You've got to get better at hiding if you don't want to be found."

Huntress has posed:
"I am clearly out of the loop. Have you bitten many people recently?" Huntress asks Batwoman with a bland, low tone even as they're running. She would never, ever admit it a loud, but it's kind of nice to see a friendly-ish cape. To know she has someone to watch her back, at least for this moment. It's uncomfortable, being so long away from working with a team, but familiar and welcoming too. Skye might be an unknown, but the faint grunt Huntress gives seem to agree with the other woman's sentiment that man would just be a pain, and is better left to the cops.

She, too, is wholly alert. Occasionally her eyes flicker down to track the blood, but mostly she's leaving that to the others, focused on other potential traps and dangers ahead.

If anyone understands stabby moods, it's the Huntress. Only she prefers crossbows than knives. Stabbing with a crossbow totally counts! When they encounter Rose, it's clear the cowled vigilante is more than a little surprised to find the white-haired woman reaching not for a weapon but a cigarette. The rumors would have it otherwise. Then again, Helena is just about three-and-some-years out of date on the gossip of the city.

If there's going to be words, it's not coming from the Huntress. She glowers at Rose. She seems a little twitchy, but she doesn't reach for the crossbow mounted on her sleeve. She does, however, circle around so she's loosely blocking the far escape, leaning against the wall to effect a casualness that is in no way conveyed to the rest of her taut, aware body language.

Batwoman has posed:
"-Recently-?"

Silence, for exactly five seconds.

"No."

It's a back-and-forth that's easy to fall back into; to her credit, Batwoman, as unreadably dry as her tone manages to be, delivers that rejoinder with a sense of ease that's as natural as her next breath.

"But never say never."

It's the last, off-handed comment the black-and-scarlet Bat makes before they find themselves face-to-face with the woman of the evening. Eyes concealed by white lenses regard the mercenary thoughtfully, taking in her condition. Civilian clothes. Signature swords nowhere in sight. No weapons at all to be seen, in fact, which doesn't necessarily mean she has none; she knows what happened to good old Tim McCollin. But... it -does- paint a picture that helps fill in the missing blanks of her hypothesis on what happened.

She doesn't say anything, at first: instead, Batwoman lets Skye take point in talking down Ravager while she opts to move, her slow steps soundlessly taking her on a path to block one path of escape as Huntress cuts off the other.

She doesn't think escape is in the cards for Rose at all right now, looking at her. ... She doesn't think that's what this conversation is going to come to.

But you can never be too careful.

Standing with a soldier's impeccable posture, Batwoman's cape drapes around her like a thick veil as she turns her attention slowly from Skye, to Rose.

She looks up at the NO SMOKING sign. Back down to Rose. Her head cocks. And then:

"Looks like you've got no shortage of friends."

Ravager has posed:
A white brow rises when Skye mentions Rose needs to do a better job of hiding. "Would it have helped?" she inquires while warily eyeing up the three. "'Sides, cat's already out of the bag."

Is..she..seeming a -little- relieved that Skye is here..? Maybe!

Huntress casually blocks off an exit route which certainly draws Wilson's attention, one intense stare to another. If she's anything like dear old Dad, which sure seems to be the case, she has an ability to read and imitate the moves of another. Huntress just put herself on Rose's radar as an interesting new study should it come to blows.

"Strong silent type, huh. Beats having another lecture."

Batwoman similarly takes up a sentinel position, just in case the situation didn't already seem pretty frickin' dire for the villainous one. Oh look, this one talks! Though her comment leaves Rose so uncertain of how to respond in the moment she merely sneers instead. Too out of it to come up with another witty comeback. How unusual.

Ash gets flicked away with a well practiced motion as Rose turns her attention back to Skye, the apparent 'ringleader' of the evening. (Thankfully.) "So how's this gonna play out." No 'I screwed up' or 'you were right.' A straight-forward question of 'how big of a fight am I going to have to put up?'

Right now it doesn't seem like she really -wants- to fight. Skye's already seen that side of her at the hospital.

Quake has posed:
What to do.. What to do..

"Like I said, there's no sense in lecturing you if it's going to go in one ear, and out through the other." Then softer, "What happened?" Surprisingly Skye seems to care. "You aren't hurt are you?"

She doesn't move in any closer, though in reality Rose could not escape.

Huntress has posed:
Batwoman's clarification that no, not /recently/ gets at least a snort from Huntress. Actually amused. She can be, go figure! "You should never allow yourself to be cornered." It's a wise warning that maybe even Batman has delivered on them once or twice in his time, but she doesn't mean /physically/. One should keep one's options open.

The Huntresses' stance, as she waits, is rather contrasted to Batwoman's. Unlike the other masked vigilante, there's nothing impeccable, nothing military about it. She's slouched, almost insolently, with the lazy regard like a predator keeping a lazy eye out for her prey. She's mostly, but not exclusively watching Rose, though she's well aware she's being studied -- analyzed.

Huntress smiles. The smile isn't all that friendly though. "Couldn't care less about the guy you beat up. But you put civilians in danger." Yeah, she's not worried about the unconscious guy. He was a criminal, according to Skye. They're fair game in the Huntress' book. More than.

Rose doesn't appear to want to fight, but the woman doesn't relax her vigilance. The softness of Skye's address of Rose appears to catch the Huntress off guard. Clearly there's more at play than she's aware of, so she's paying close attention to the response. She knows first aid, but it's the kind of 'patch yourself up and walk it off' first aid, not exactly conducive to the kindness Skye seems to want to exude right now.

Batwoman has posed:
With body language like an impenetrable iron wall, Batwoman watches Rose intently. Beneath that monolithic bearing, though -- Kate Kane's thoughts are hapless. She can see the shape of what happened here, by Rose's bearing -- by the airs of toughness she puts forth. She's a military brat; she's familiar with the tough front.

And she also knows the look of someone who's adrift.

"..."

The mask hides the way red brows knot together for a brief moment as Rose speaks, and as Skye offers a gentler counter. History. Unsurprising; Kate's quietly glad she didn't push taking point here.

But Huntress is right; innocent people were caught in the crossfire today; people were seriously hurt; people could have ended up worse than that. As Skye asks after what happened, Batwoman remains silent for a few seconds longer before starkly red-painted lips part.

"You didn't go looking for a fight," she says, as if to cut any attempts at posturing off at the past. "The fight found you. Didn't it? The man back there is Drake McCollin. Former Marines, current mercenary. He had a brother in the same line of business: Tim McCollin, deceased." Her head cocks to the right; one could practically just -feel- the way her brows lift beneath that cowl just from the dry inflection of her voice alone:

"Murdered with a spoon."

She lets a second pass. And then: "I'm guessing Drake didn't take it well."

She keeps it at that -- at least, for now. She wants to make sure Skye has room to maneuver.

Familiarity, after all, is something Rose probably needs right now.

Ravager has posed:
Well check it out, Skye remembered! But... The hackerette's softer question gives Rose pause, an unseen trigger allowed to be switched over. Hurt? Her? Rose looks right at Skye when lying through her teeth "I'm fine." (She doesn't look fine.) A pause. A puff of smoke. "Other than turning into a public menace" she quietly admits.

Before she can find her own words to answer Skye's first question Batwoman cuts to the chase. Miraculously, still no snarky retort from the small scrapper. Rose's stare meets Kate's, projecting an unspoken confirmation the Bat worked it out for herself. Then, "I was just trying to get home. Don't know the loser."

Wait--hold up. 'Murdered with a spoon.'

"No fucking way. Spooner had a brother?" Her features set rock solid as a fist smacks back against the wall, leaving a pink smear behind. "Son of a -bitch.-"

This..is not going to look so great for her, is it. Eyes close as her head slumps back to the wall. "Had it out with the guy at some New York bar. He thought I didn't have what it took. Pushed the wrong buttons." Enough to have killed him with a spoon, apparently.

Huntress also speaks! She's also absolutely not wrong about the whole 'not getting cornered' bit, though Rose snaps back with a touch more venom when asking "Ever think maybe I -wanted- to be?"

She put civilians in danger. Yeah..she did. She screwed up, and for once she knows it, but it doesn't stop her from flatly stating "He shot first." To which she then escalated straight to the nuclear option yet again because -fuck that.-

Back to Skye, Wilson asks "Still think we're exactly alike?"

Quake has posed:
"Do I?" Skye laughs out loud. "Honey, you are *exactly* like me. Ask my friends. My boss. They'll tell you."

As she takes a deep breath, she continues.

"You can go anytime, but.. and it's a big but.. if you want to break free of your past.. Now's the time to do it. And no, I don't turn your life completely around. Do you think that these women are goody two shoes? And trust me when I say, every day - EVERY FUCKING DAY - I have to reinvent myself to be the woman I want to be."

"Every day. It would be easier to steal info, and use it against the corporations. Trust me. It would."

By then, Huntress and Batwoman may (or may not) remember a woman looking like Skye doing that thing.. and then.. possibly remember that she had done it as an undercover spy. (Skye was part of the Rising Tide fiasco that held the entire world at a standstill.) And before that.. well.. she wasn't a very nice person.

"You won't hurt me one way or the other. It's your life. But you may hurt yourself. I can't help you decide. Lord knows I have made tons of poor choices. If you decide to try it, I - or these women - would take you under our wings. Your choice."

She hoped that the others were on the same side of this coin (or else, she had fucked it up even before trying). And she quietly broke the circle open. "A friend doesn't need to be fenced in."

Huntress has posed:
There is a narrowing of eyes from Huntress when she hears from Batwoman what she decides to be a safe way out for Rose. It's apparent she doesn't like it; not given her statement about civilians. But again, she's all too aware she doesn't know all the history, frowning visibly when the other masked vigilante shares what she knows.

A spoon? Her brow goes up, incredulously. /So/ inefficient.

It's probably why she's glowering again at Rose. She disapproves! "Don't know you well enough to guess whether you wanted to be caught, whether you feel any kind of guilt for what you did, or you're just running on instinct." Huntress knows all about the latter. "Been out of the game for a while. Still, bet it hasn't changed much -- when pushing your buttons lead to endangering civilians, /you're/ the menace. You need to course correct, or your button-pusher won't be the only one waking up from a beat down in jail." It's not a threat. At least, she kind of doesn't intend it to be. Helena can't predict the future, but she's seen this play out a dozen times before.

When Skye volunteers her to take Rose under her wing, she actually snorts aloud. No one would think that a good idea, least of all the Huntress. She's probably a little too violent, too excessive, with criminals, especially the mafioso, to be any kind of good role model. Even so, she doesn't verbally disagree with the sentiment -- her earlier words suggest she's fairly on board. She even, non-verbally, backs it, by taking her regard off the woman, instead glancing down the way they came, tilting her head and focusing on listening instead to see whether any intrepid first responders will try and follow the same trail of blood they did.

Batwoman has posed:
So inefficient.

But memorable!

Rose proves this much as the dread spoon proves to be enough of a context clue to trigger her "aha!" moment. Batwoman looks sidelong to the slouching Huntress. Bright red lips form a single, incredulously silent word:

    'Spooner?'

Well. People in Rose's line of business need some way to remember people who cross their path.

She -guesses-.

Batwoman's quiet attentions turn back towards Skye as she makes her case. The quizzical look in her eyes is lost behind her cowl as she considers what the woman has to say -- what she reveals about herself in the process. Things start fitting neatly together again.

"Mm," exhales Kate silently, but she doesn't interject; it's information the redheaded Bat tucks away as her attention falls once more on Rose. Arms lift, splitting her black-and-red cape open as she folds them over her chest and considers the mercenary. Helena offers her gruff elevator pitch. And Kate nods once the other vigilante's way, once all's said and done.

"Whether or not you're asking for the fight, it's going to keep coming to you. All you can do is take responsibility for it. Own it. Or this sort of thing is going to keep happening." And then they'll -have- to handle it the other way.

"If you want to find another way to handle these situations, we can help you. If you don't want your past to keep deciding your life, we can help you." She feels like a hypocrite saying that, and yet -- it doesn't stop her. The power of projecting leadership.

"But it's up to you. Do you -want- things to keep playing out this way?"

Ravager has posed:
The response from Skye isn't anything like what Rose would have expected but it's a turn for the better. How many people would offer a second chance after -this?- While her father's training has already run down several scenarios for how she might kill all three of these women and disappear into the night?

A glance is given back the way they had come from. The scene of the disaster. All of those eyes... Judging her. Skye's right. It's a turning point.

Huntress would still find a lot of commotion back there but so far it doesn't seem anyone else has followed their trail. There's the jingling of police belts, the rolling of gurneys and wheelchairs, the rattle of firefighter gear, but these four remain clear of the commotion.

Not one, TWO masked vigilantes join in on the debate with solid arguments, and yet Rose snorts softly as she looks between the two. "You two've been hanging around Batman too long. I already had the Dad Talk." Which clearly didn't take, but TO BE FAIR how many people here take what that guy says to heart? Defiance runs in all four of them. She can tell!

Rose takes a long draw then flicks the cig to the ground, crushing it under a shoe. "Just get me out of here" she about pleads with a tired voice to the others. Without the whole 'being arrested' part, please and thanks. They're right. ALL of them. She can't keep going down this path or letting shit like this happen.

But she doesn't have to openly admit to it.

Quake has posed:
"One more thing, before you go."

Skye turns and faces Rose as though she just was remembering now..

"I didn't come to check you out for SHIELD, but the Birds? Yes, they would be quite interested in you." And further still, "As a founding member? Oh yes, with a little training, and taking a rasp to those outside edges? Oh yes I am interested in you."

And then she gets the answer.. well partly.. that she is looking for. Looking up to Batwoman, Skye nods. It's a beginning.

Huntress has posed:
Spooner? The purple-and-black clad vigilante just kind of shrugs. Huntress finds this a little baffling. Then again, she's assigned random names to random goons to help identify them so, maybe it's a bat-adjacent thing. "Descriptive," is her opinion on the matter.

Huntress tilts her head to one side, listening, focused. "CGPD are there. Won't be long before they start following the blood trail." It brings her gaze back towards the group, just in time to hear Skye's accusation with a narrowing of eyes.

"I haven't conversed with the Batman in years," Huntress replies. She /almost/ sounds offended at the idea her own morals are shaped so easily by another. Even if they're more grounded, probably better quality morals. She's her own independent woman!

She does seem visibly surprised when Skye appears to invite Rose to join the Birds of Prey. Not objecting, just a second or two of surprise, before she straightens from her slouch and begins moving. She doesn't want to get arrested anymore than the newest Bird!

Batwoman has posed:
"Don't worry: I'm not interested in playing parent for you," Batwoman assures.

"I just don't want to have to be the one to clean up the mess that comes whenever Son of Spooner inevitably rolls into town."

Comparing her to Bruce. She's getting inadvertently hit right in the genetics. What a low blow!

Anything else she has to say, however, is sidelined with the mention of the Gotham police department. Red lips curve into a frown as Batwoman looks sidelong back the direction they came from. Helena's right. They'll be here any time. Kate starts to turn with a ripple of that long cape --

--only to pause, as Skye makes that offer to Rose to join the Birds of Prey. Green eyes blink behind white lenses. Batwoman looks over her shoulder at Skye almost questioningly, for a few handfuls of seconds.

"... We can talk about this later. Let's move. There's an abandoned tunnel we can make use of a few miles up ahead."

... Something else to tuck away for later. But at least...

She's not objecting, either.

Ravager has posed:
'I haven't conversed with the Batman in years.'

"How fortunate for you" Rose grunts. "At least the car was okay." Yep. Just 'okay.' It's not like it cost millions of dollars and thousands of hours to develop or anything.

Batwoman gives assurance she doesn't want to play parental figure, to which the scrapper grins slightly. "We can already agree on something. How fucked up is that?"

More pressing is Helena's call that the cops are closing in, a reminder which has Rose shooting a glare back down the hall.

Erk-- 'The Birds.' THE 'Birds?' Wilson heard rumors, but...

The alternative would have been SHIELD.

As Kate takes point the more familiar side of Rose returns to the helm with a scowl, irritably grabbing another cigarette as begin to clear out. She can already tell she's gonna need it.