1710/Involuntary Adoption

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Involuntary Adoption
Date of Scene: 29 July 2017
Location: Gotham City
Synopsis: Miss Moreau tries to rob a zoo. The Punisher, the Yellow Ranger, and a pair of Bats don't like this plan.
Cast of Characters: Miss Moreau, Black Canary, Yellow Ranger, Punisher, Batgirl (Cain)




Miss Moreau has posed:
The Gotham Zoo, on it's grand reopening, is bustling with a number of investors, and the general rich that tend to throw their money at such public works. So too are there a few reporters covering the opening event. The head of the facility is cutting a ribbon, and the group is being lead through.

Cameras flash, and everything seems calm at first. But the loading bay where recently two komodo dragons were brought into their new pen has three sets of tires pulling up. First, a big unmarked moving van is followed by two white sedans. Charcoal suited men and women, three out of each car, step out. One leads a ruffled woman at his side. Doors are kicked open, and in they go.

Just outside the reptile exhibit is the aquatic area of the zoo. In a large tank, dolphins swim, and docile fish sway. The owner of the museum steps up, making a grin and a pose for the cameras. Then the door to the employee area slams over, knocking him down. Automatic fire peppers one of the acquarium tanks, sending water spilling, and the civvie attendants on the ground.

Miss Moreau laughs.

"Yes, yes, down please everyone! No need to end up with sharp metal in you! I am so /glad/ you all appreciate animals. But caging them up is so very naughty! I think they shall be in far better care with me." Comes Moreau, as her goons start tying up the victims with zip ties.

A silent alarm sounds, but it will be ages before most GCPD gets here.

Black Canary has posed:
    Meanwhile, on top of the reptile house watching the festivities is a comfortably seated figure, one foot dangling off the roof, the other bent to rest the sole against the top, her arms resting on top of it. She sort of thought there might be trouble here, so she figured she'd at least stick around for the grand opening and keep an eye on things. Besides, it's been a while since she went to the zoo.

    At the sound of vehicles pulling up, she leans back a bit, then stands up and walks over to peer down into the parking area behind the building. "...well. You don't look like employees..." Black Canary murmurs to herself, then walks over to where she's left a line hanging down the side of the building, sliding her gloved hands under it as she uses it to fast rope down the side of the building, landing with a soft thump into a crouch, before she starts stealthily moving towards the employee entrance at the back.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Visits to foreign zoos are great - see what animals they have that yours doesn't, appreciate the local stars, and simply just see something new. It's summer, so Trini Kwan had plenty of time to go border hopping and check out the new Gotham Zoo, and was taking pictures of dolphins on her phone (trying to not get a picture of the owner of the museum, she didn't care about that). Despite that...

Disaster came. She'd heard rumors about crime in Gotham, but on her first time there, really? As the bullets flew, the teenager ducked to the ground, not fully dropping until the gunmen started approaching to ziptie civilians. Trini waited until one came up to ziptie her, and patiently allowed him to tie her up, watching until he moved to the next one and his attention was off her. In a flex of her wrists, the zipties were broken, but she kept her wrists together and out of sight to keep up the illusion. Just needed a distraction...something, anything...

Punisher has posed:
Frank didn't have any forewarning of anything bad going down. He rarely ever does, in fact. Usually /he's/ the bad going down -- saving people isn't so much his deal as punishing those who have already done wrong. He just so happened to get lucky, recently coming off what was supposed to be a very quick and low-key trip into Gotham to gather some information on a different matter. The gunshots, however, were unmistakable and after a severe oath, Frank found an out of the way place to park his van.

Two minutes later, Frank's moving quickly but quietly up on the parked sedans, a SIG-Sauer 516 fitted with an M203 underslung launcher in his hands and a Kimber Warrior on his hip.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    ...
    ...
    ...
    These are the sounds that Batgirl makes, as she moves fluidly through the shadows. Batman had sent her here, telling her that he had a hunch that something bad was going to go down. He's instructed her to keep an eye on the police, certain that one of the cities roving gangsters or crime lords would attempt to ruin this day for the Gotham City Zoo.
    So she had come. Alone. And, confident.
    Behind her mask, that terrible mask of closed-over eyes, and patchwork mouth, the female figure encased in the Bat-themed garb, all black, save the splotch of yellow on her chest for the insignia and the belt, moves towards those vans.
    She approaches, taking the same course as Black Canary, down from the reptile house, and silently taps the side of Canary's arm to let her know she is there. She has not worked with the other hero before, but, she's seen footage. She knows who the Canary is.

Miss Moreau has posed:
Canary and Cassandra would find the back unguarded, a critical mistake! It seems these criminals were banking on a quick grab-and-smash with whatever they're after here.

Similarly, Frank would find the sedans mostly empty...aside from one getaway driver in the van. There's light music coming from it, helping to mask the man's approach. Killer Queen plays in the background, and the goon checks his gun while singing along, horribly off key.

Moreau, as Trini is tied up, smiles brightly to the crowd of now ziptied civvies...and one power ranger in secret. "Oh, how good of you all! No one will be getting their ankles nibbled off today! Now, be good, and don't move, hmm? Otherwise my men will be feeding you to the piranhas." A wink, and she skips off. Three gunmen are left to guard the hostages. Seems they haven't noticed Trini breaking her bonds!

And thus, Moreau and a tall bald thug, Sebastian, make their way off to the reptile museum. Sebastian opens the door, and then they're through. A be-line is made for the komodo dragon exhibit, and then? Sebastian aims his sawed off shotgun. BLAM! The glass shatters, and daintily in steps Moreau. The villainess takes out her Scarlet Tome, already kneeling near the strangely docile massive creatures.

"Nice to meet you, my little sweets. Come, come. Say hello to Auntie Moreau!"

The Bat and Bird, it seems, hasn't yet been detected by Sebastian or Moreau, nor the lesser henchmen guarding the hostages.

Black Canary has posed:
    The touch on her arm causes Canary to twitch and tense as she quickly looks over, hand raising slightly, then lowering as she takes in the other girl, her eyes flicking to the odd mask, then down to the Bat symbol on her chest. "...hey there." she murmurs, relaxing a bit. "You'd be the new girl. Nice to meet you." she whispers, before slipping up by the door, then carefully pushes it open, motioning Batgirl through. She's obviously got the chops to sneak in.

    "Cut them off from the civvies, I'll draw their attention?" she murmurs softly, a questioning note in her voice as she offers the plan. She hasn't ever worked with this new Batgirl, though she's heard...stories. Which appear to at least be partially not exaggerations, if she can sneak up on her like that.

Punisher has posed:
Frank frowns as he realizes there was one man left behind in the van, but he continues his approach all the same. The only difference: He gets low, crouching as he moves quickly up on the driver side door and, without a moment of hesitation, lets the carbine drop from his hands to swing down to his side thanks to the strap around his neck and shoulder. In one smooth, clearly practiced motion, he draws out a large combat knife, moves right up on the driver's door, reaches for the handle, and yanks, ripping it open and plunging his knife towards the driver's throat in one smooth motion.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    It's probably a good thing that Batgirl doesn't have the right angle to watch Frank murdering someone. That? That would be bad. Not just for her - but well, Gotham -is- Batman's territory. And, the Bat is awfully protective of 'his' city.
    As Batgirl moves through the door, she does not answer Canary. At least, not by words. Instead, her fingers withdraw a batarang from her belt, and there's a low sound, 'wooshwooshwoosh' in the air before the weapon hits another thug in the head, solidly, to knock him unconscious.
    Then, body kept low to the ground, she's rushing the closest thug to her, unconcerned, and unafraid of the Very Big Gun in the thug's hands, and the fact his friend dropping is probably a sound off to her arrival.
    She can, after all, dodge bullets. Or, seem that she can. Reading the man's body, knowing where he -will- shoot. She will simply not be there. And that breeds it's own aura of fear. A person faster than bullets, without a face. Garbed in black. Carrying the visage of the Bat.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
Seems the villain here is some sort of crazy woman...but she's left the area, so theoretically, Trini could deal with the guards in the room. However, that'd expose her...a distraction, something to let her flee.

And then, a vigilante swoops in, much like a bat. Trini's heard of Batman, but can't get a good glance at Batgirl - is this Batman? Gotham's his territory. Either way, she takes the distraction she gets and begins sprinting for the bathroom at a speed above a human's, covering her face with one hand in case someone spots her. Once she's in there safely, and has made sure she's not followed...she pulls out her Power Morpher, attaches it to her belt, and pulls her Power Coin into her hand, sliding it into a slot on the morpher, before sucking in a breath and speaking out loud.

"Sabretooth Tiger!"

In a flash of yellow, Trini Kwan is gone, and hopefully, no one noticed her. Instead, the bathroom door is forced open, and a yellow-armored woman moves to the nearest other door, takes a second standing there, and then bolts outwards. The Yellow Ranger is here. With superhuman speed, she charges for the reptile exhibit, leaping upwards and landing in a crouch atop an information pedestal, speaking in a growl towards Miss Moreau and her goon, Sebastian.

"Sorry, but this is a zoo, not a pet shop. If you're smart, you'll stand down."

Miss Moreau has posed:
Outside, the man's singing continues. "Guuunpowder, gelatine, dynamite with laser bea...ACK!"

Bob the goon reacts with a speed that is faster than your average criminal. Exceptional, even. Moreau hires only those exceptional in their talents, and it seems this getaway driver is annoyingly difficult to kill. The blade slams into his throat, cutting into flesh...but a hand grips Frank's hand. Hard. Bob is an athletic, but not big man. But he's tenacious and loyal, even as a vital artery is cut. He's bleeding out. Bob knows he's going to do. Rather than try to stop Frank from killing him, he grabs an ashtray in the car. It's a heavy, glass thing, and with the fury of the dying he's trying to smash it right into Frank's face as he slumps out of the now open door.

Hit or miss, blood loss has him passing out.

"Sorry...Princess..." is the last thing he mutters, eyes shining with tears and pain.

Canary, for now, has the shadows to pick from. Moreau and her goon are still in the reptile museum, and Cassandra leads her assault on the ones holding the civvies. A batarang takes down one. The other two are a little more aware as Cassandra rushes in, low to the ground. Cassandra's victim has a big, heavy shotgun. Probably an off-the-shelf wallmart one, only modified to be that much heavier and bulkier. Why? This particularly stout White Rose meets the Bat head on with a laugh. It's unhinged, an almost animalistic growl as he tries to slam the stock of the weapon towards the masked woman's face.

The other remaining thug isn't quite so melee oriented, and taps his ear. On closer inspection, these thugs have earpieces. More tires can be heard screeching towards the front. Two more white sedans. Reinforcements. It seems Moreau had backup ready.

Then the skinny thug is firing calm, practiced shots with a revolver at Cassandra as well. Unlike the wild thug, the skinny one has cold eyes. Like a serpent, he's quiet and collected.

Thankfully, all of this ruckus means that Trini slips to the bathroom calmly, and into the reptile exhibit. Moreau doesn't even turn around to face the Yellow Ranger. Her hand touches one of the Komodo Dragons. A brief, purple spark, and a round mark appears on it's forehead. The creature rumbles. That same hand gently reaches under it's scaley chin, and rubs.

"I am quite aware, Miss, of what this place is. A gallery of misery, where beautiful creatures are used as entertainment. Never given the freedom to roam, to hunt, to devour and prey upon those lower than they on the food chain, as nature intended. This place is disgusting. However! I would never be so cruel to my lovely children." Finally, she stands, and curtsey's. Her book remains in her hand.

"Miss Moreau, and her White Roses, at your service. Sebastian? Bloody your claws my dear heart. We are almost done here." Then she's back to the other reptile, even as her newly Marked creature stalks forward. Sebastian steps behind it, drawing out a pistol. Aiming both guns at Trini, he grins.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but you're my prey tonight!" Gunfire rings outs, Sebstian's shots practiced and expert as he leads his no doubt soon moving target.

Black Canary has posed:
    Well. That worked out a bit more like Batgirl drawing fire but...hell. At least they're looking at her, so she can do...

    She charges up behind the thug taking pot shots at the dark clad girl, snapping a hand up under his gun hand, to smoothly grip the pistol, twisting it into a Jeet Kune Do disarm as she tosses the gun over her shoulder. "See, that's not very nice..' she says, before snapping up a kick under his chin, trying to send him flying backwards into the man with the shotgun to give Batgirl some breathing space. She can hear Moreau declaiming from the next room...someone else is in here too? Because knives are usually quiet! So, well, she only hears the cars pulling up outside. "Company coming!" she shoots to the other woman, bringing up her fists in a defensive stance.

Punisher has posed:
"Sonuvabitch," Frank growls to the dying man as he takes a face full of ashtray. It hurts like hell and carves a bloody gash into his temple, but Frank's had far, far worse and manages to grimace through it. Even as the man bleeds, he reaches down, grabs his knife, and yanks hard and sideways, making his retrieval of the weapon anything but clean.

Still a bit dazed from the hit, he stomps up to the first tire on the van and plunges his knife into the rubber, twisting and shifting it back and forth to ensure a wide hole before he yanks it free and moves on to the entrance taken by the gang, pausing just long enough to pull a pair of grenades and lob them underhanded towards the sedans before he slips inside with the carbine back in his hands and ready.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl dodges to the left. Then, to the right. And, to the further right, as the practiced, patient shots are fired at her, she moving with peak human speed towards her target. Each shot misses. Each shot, she knew where it would go. Establishing a psychological advantage, before she even attacks that she is invincible, perhaps. Or near enough that makes little difference.
    There is a reason why Batman chose his visage, which Batgirl can appreciate; she lurches up to her full height - smaller, perhaps, than the skinny thug taking shots at her but it's like a primal creature, a hobgoblin - a Batgirl lurching upwards. She is fluid. And fast. And remarkably -good-. There are, in fact, few that could best her in martial arts in the world. A flat-palm strike seek sto slam into the skinny thug's chin, and then two finger-stabs to either shoulder would follow, deadening his nervous system and making either arm completely useless for a time.
    If successfull, she's not done yet as she's already turning, shifting, grabbing his arm and throwing his body into the growing pile that the Black Canary is already assembling of the gun-toting goon, and the shotgun lunatic. As she moves him into the hiptoss, she's also twisting his arm in a familiar, practiced, indifferent way.
    It's a frightening thing when you can -hear- the spiral fracture of your arm, the bones snapping. But not feel it. He'll feel it, come morning, if all goes according to her plan.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
This Miss Moreau is crazy...but dangerous, Trini realizes, as she sees that the reptile is marked, and is being obedient to her when normally it should snap at the intrusion. "Never heard of conservation? No? Well, you don't seem like you'd care anyways." Trini speaks outloud, internal thoughts vocalized, before the thug starts moving. Two guns, multiple shots at her. They ring true, bullets impacting against her armor and causing the Yellow Ranger to jerk back a bit, but it IS armor - besides slipping off the pedestal, she's alright underneath, and leaps into the air.

"You think you're a big bad predator? I'll show you what a tiger can do then, asshole." The Yellow Ranger continues to take shots as she begins moving, but she's about to make that a bit difficult, landing straight in front of Sebastian and immediately ducking, before folding one hand into a hook-shape, and the other into a claw-shape. With a flurry of movements, the hook moves to strike at a hand holding a pistol, while the claw moves to strike at Sebastian's neck, before opening to grab him by it and prepare to toss him. "Sorry, but I've read H.G. Wells, and I don't trust anyone who calls themselves Moreau with a bunch of lizards."

And with a toss, Sebastian (hopefully) goes flying straight at Miss Moreau, aiming to knock her down. He's a human and not built for tossing, though, so there's no guarantee it'll work.

Miss Moreau has posed:
The skinny thug's calm-and-collected demeanor breaks. Not for long, but Canary can see the surprise. His pistol drops, it's thrown over, but he never quite stops struggling. No, he's slippery like the snake he vaguely resembles in body shape, and he even attempts to elbow Canary during their grapple. Then he catches a boot to the chin. Glass jaw, is Sir Snakey, and he goes barreling into Shotgun Guy.

Who doesn't even really move. This is a /big/ guy. Musclegut included. He's a walking wrecking ball, and he knows it. Yet, he pauses, steadying the now unconscious snake-mook. That's what really leaves him open to Cassandra, even as he spits frothy spittle in an almost rabid manner. Not much brain going up in there. Plenty of brawn, but he's slow. Another thug slams into his back thanks to Batgirl, and his moves are defensive. Another odd display of loyalty from this band of thieves and criminals.

That wrenching of his arm, at least, has him falling to the ground. The shotgun falls. He cries out in annoyance. The pain will come later.

Big Shotgun Mook is trying to throw himself on Batgirl at this point, more weight and bullheaded anger than any concern for his arm. Something tears during the struggle. The big guy doesn't seem to care.

A body falls, and goes silent. Frank, thanks to all the chaos, too has his choice of targets: the now well guarded entryway thanks to two Bats, or the growing conflict with Moreau and her tenacious thug. Two sedans go up in grenade-based flames. The front door of the Zoo is lanced with machine gun fire as four mooks start peppering it. The hostages, still on the floor, scream. One gets hit in the arm. A fifth goon is stepping up. There's a an old, but servicable rocket launcher he's aiming for the duo of heroes!

"You are far quicker on the uptake than most of your ilk, Miss. Very impressive!" The compliment is airy, cheery, and perhaps even sincere. "But I assure you my own brand of conservation is far more effective." Quips Moreau.

Thanks to earpiece reports, she knows she's losing control of the situation. Her backup is more a distraction than anything else. And so, she's on the defensive. Abandoning her attemps to Mark the second reptile, she finds Sebastian clawed and hooked on pistol and neck. He loses control of his sidearm and body. Moreau, with her animal grace and instincts, is more on her toes. The mere sound informs trajectory, and she knows the creak of Sebstian's muscles by heart. A dainty step, step, step. Book cradled in one hand, she throws herself back in a small leap to act as a ruffled cushion for Sebstian. Ignoring how her dress has dirt stains now, she protectively curls around his front, a living shield for her companion.

Ruffles and a heavy dress make for good padding and a soft landing.

"I do not believe I ever asked for your permission. Particularly when you have not even given me your name." Mutters Moreau.

The Yellow Ranger would see a flash out of the corner of her eyes. Then, creaking of muscle, bone, and sinew as the lizard expands. Once, twice. Soon, it's easily the height of a man as blood drips from it as it's new form settles in. The spell in her book, complete, lends the creature power. With a loud roar not unlike a dragon, teeth the size of railroad spikes are trying to chomp into Trini, the agile creature fearsome and now, loyal.

Black Canary has posed:
    Canary is looking towards the door, confident that Batgirl can handle the big guy, a faint wince coming from her as she hears snapping bone. Odd, this makes her mentally note that she REALLY needs to spar with this girl later. She hasn't had a real challenge in a while.

    However, that means she's in the right position to see the machine gun fire, diving forward under it as it peppers the area, coming up at a run.

    Then detouring as the man with the RPG makes his presence known and becomes her new dance partner. She plants her right foot as she skids, her left hand sliding up to cup under the RPG as her right chops at his wrist to numb his hand, before following with a brutal Muy Thai pair of shin kicks to his gut and side as she tries to twist the weapon away from him. "I'm pretty sure you don't have a license for this!"

Punisher has posed:
Frank grimaces as he spots the chaos already going on inside. Rather than wading into it personally, he simply takes up a position behind some cover, breathes out, and draws a bead on Sebastian and Moreau. Of all the thugs, she stood out the most, and for some reason, all these lunatics liked to make themselves obvious targets. Frank's not complaining though -- his first target? Sebastian. He aims a three-round burst for the man's head, followed by his chest. He seems ready to fire on Moreau next, regardless of the results of his initial attack, but then suddenly there's a dragon, which, honestly, kind of takes a front-seat in his book.

"What the hell is with this damned city," he grumbles, switching targets rapidly and aiming his underslung M203 launcher for the over-sized Komodo's head, pauses to make sure there aren't any Yellow Rangers or Young Bats in the blast radius, then fires.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    The explosion causes Batgirl to glance towards the source, but then Big & Heavy is coming at her, pawing towards her and attempting to latch onto her. Batgirl is the counterpoint, and she evades the man's grubby handed, thick-armed grasp with eerie precision, and she's already moving behind him.
    A sharp back-kick to the back of his knee starts to send him down. She spins, slamming her foot into the other knee, sending him into his knees, onto the pavement. Another sharp-toed kick to the back of his head makes sure he'll not get up, just yet, before she can jump over his shoulder, grabbing his head and taking his forehead down, into the pavement for a satisfied smack with her bodyweight to render the mook utterly unconscious. And, by proxy, safe from any errant gunfire from those machine guns.
    Two batarangs are produced, split, in her fingers, and thrown. Each arcs with a deceptive cant to it, a decpetive speed, each slamming into one head of the machine-gunners with freakish precision. Batman has taught her well. Him, and others.
    There is too much going on for her to realize someone from her side, or, supposedly her side, is shooting -weapons-.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
There's quite a bit of gunfire out there, but Trini knows there's atleast one other hero, and she needs to focus on Moreau. As Sebastian goes flying, she's actually briefly surprised that the woman moves to cushion him.Guess not all criminals are /horrible/, but then she stops thinking about that when Sebastian's shot, and she glances to the guy who targeted him. Her attention is focused on the vigilante for a moment, but then the lizard is mutated, and there's a bigger target. An inhale, and an exhale. Monsters are what she fights the most. While it was once a normal reptile...it's now a villainous monster, and needs to be treated as one. As it charges the Yellow Ranger and bites in, the Yellow Ranger tosses an arm up to block, teeth snapping against the armor and denting into it, revealing human flesh beneath which gets cut into by those fangs. "Agh!" With a growl, Trini pulls her arm back with all the superhuman force she can muster, prepared to snap the reptile-monster's jaw if need be, and slides backwards, the armor slowly beginning to knit back into place. "Oh, forgive me for being /impolite/ while fighting you." With a stance for combat, Trini puts a hand into the claw position.

"I am the Yellow Power Ranger! You're a fan of komodo dragons? I'm a fan of tigers, the Sabertooth Tiger being very close to my heart. Now, let me show you what happens when the cat gets the claws out. POWER DAGGERS!" A pair of yellow daggers appear in Trini's hands, right as the grenade launcher is fired off and at the dragon mutant. The Yellow Ranger leaps back to get out of range, tilts her head at Frank (but she's wearing a helmet, so her expression of confused frustration is invisible), and then dives forward, moving to jab both of the daggers into the monster's chest. They coat with energy, turning searing hot, as the Power Ranger attempts to tear straight through that sharp hide and rip it apart. "Thank god PETA's not here to see this."

Miss Moreau has posed:
Canary dances with RPG guy. He's pretty swarthy, but as it seems to be with Moreau's bigger companions, not very swift. Her hand grabs that weapon...and suddenly they're in a tug of war! A chop to his wrist, which feels more like steel and less like flesh, has it wobbling in his grip. A knee comes up, and intercepts the first kick at the last moment. Seems this big guy has had some training himself!

But nothing compared to a Bat! The weapon twists, he fumbles as he gets hit in the gut...and then, the madman outright headbuts the weapon, and his own arm hard enough for the latter to break.

That rpg goes off, straight up into the sky, and swiftly begins to fall down.

Batgirl, meanwhile, launches those odd weapons of hers. One of the goons gets hit in the head! He goes down like a sack of potatoes. The second too gets hit, and falls...but isn't quite down! An eye goes up, and with shakey bursts, expels the rest of his clip. Right towards that falling rpg.

There's an explosion. Shrapnel rains down. The chaos is a good opportunity for a getaway driver or two to drag the machine gunners into the car. The rest?

There's no time for the Roses to collect more of their injured. As sedans out front peel away, sirens can be heard on swift approach.

Frank takes a bead, and shoots. Moreau smells the gunpowder, hears the approach. Her enhanced senses are a boon, and it saves Sebastian's life. One foot is planted, and then his gun fires. That thick dress saves her life, as she's peppered with the shot meant for Sebstian's head. Even through that ballistic material, there's a splatter of blood from her side, and she cries out.

Dazed, confused, Sebstian too falls to his feet and is already dragging the wounded Moreau towards the back of the exhibit. Leaving a bloody trail, Moreau hisses and spits.

"How /DARE/ you attack my Family! I shall have rats tear our your eyes and crows feast on your entrails!"

Then that grenade launcher bursts for the giant dragon, and it hits a leg. The thing bursts off, leaving a trail of gore and bone. The great creature howls, and sucks in a breath. Nostrils flare.

Thankfully, Trini is there. Her first strike cracks the monster's jaws. Flopping open, the fire growing in it's mouth is all the more apparent. And then she's leaping. Down goes the creature, rolling over from the force of the impact. It takes several tears for the oddly diamond-like skin, but penetrate her blades do.

Slowly, the thing starts to plump up as internal burning organs inflate. Moreau touches her book, snarling aloud.

"Killing my newest member of my pets! I will be certain the moths suck you dry, girl!"

Muttered words. And he beast shivers, before an explosion deafens the area. Moreau and her goon throw themselves down. Smoke and fire fill the air, and pieces of MOreau's dress flutter only to be burnt away. There's a glimmer of white scales in the chaos. As it all clears?

A crashing sound, and the tail of a serpent slinks out from a massive hole in the building. There's one dead giant komodo dragon, several unconscious and one dead goon.

And a single, missing reptile. Moreau and Sebastian are nowhere to be found.

Black Canary has posed:
    The Rose blocks the kick...but more importantly, the RPG goes off as there's a sharp crunch of the man's arm breaking. That draws a slight widening of the blonde bombshell's eyes, but she doesn't have time to ponder the craziness involved...she just delivers a hard right cross, trying to knock him out as her eyes flick up at the RPG rising upwards.

    And then it's shot, and it explodes. BOOOOOM!

    Shrapnel rains down, Canary letting out a gasp as jagged pieces slide into an arm and one of her legs...oddly the fishnet actually seems to protect, or at least the shrapnel doesn't lodge, though blood starts running down from both. She can hear the ranting from next door, then the grenade launcher going off...then moments later as she starts heading that way, the second explosion goes off, the BLAST knocking her off her feet just as she gets to the door, slapping the ground as she hits solid with a 'woof'. "...dammit, is this bring explosive to work day or something?" she mutters, rolling up to her feet, looking to check on Batgirl.
    

Punisher has posed:
As soon as the dust clears and it's obvious Moreau and her pet mook are gone, Frank's already swinging the carbine around to take aim at the goons in sight that are still moving.

*Braat braat braat!*

In a series of quickly aimed and expertly fired bursts, he finishes each one in range off, taking headshots or body shots where he can get a clear shot. He doesn't dare move outside to finish off anymore that might be lingering near the front entrance of Canary, and instead immediately begins moving for the exit, a flashbang primed and discreetly dropped in his wake.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Explosions everywhere. The Zoo would be trashed. Batman was not going to be happy. She was not happy. She can't help but watch, shield herself until the explosions are done, but, at least none are dead. Right? RIGHT?
    She sees Black Canary and looks around, hearing the sound of stray gunfire - that is then quieted. The chaos is - over with, it would seem. And Batgirl is still silent, listening. Waiting. Watching.
    And, then, as the sirens come she signals to the Canary to come with her, and she's running towards the reptile house again -- what's left of it, at any rate, and she'll wait for the Canary before grabbing onto the other woman and grappling up to the roof, and using that, and another grapple, to lead out of the Zoo. There will be no consoling her grief, or her fury, when she learns about the deaths that happened on her watch. Luckily, that's not in the present.
    She deposits Canary on a rooftop, safely, and then she's moving off, to head back to the Batcave, to report - as best she can - on what happened.

Yellow Ranger has posed:
The monster's dead, but Miss Moreau got away. Trini sighs glancing again at Castle as he continues to gun guys down, and parting away from him as he begins to leave. He's not her problem. Instead, the Yellow Ranger heads out to the aquarium, silently hopes all the marine life isn't dead, and then starts cutting the bonds off of the civilians with her daggers before they disappear. "With all the noises, local rescue should be on its way." No name is left by the tiger-helmed heroine, who instead teleports away. If all goes right, no one will notice that one of the hostages just disappeared entirely.