1861/Urban Pirate

Urban Pirate
Date of Scene:	06 August 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Deadlights, Robin (Wayne)

---

Deadlights has posed:
It's another night in Gotham.

So far things have been quiet. Recent events have pushed through the first wall of the typhoon, leaving the city sitting in the eye of the storm, the eerie quiet that cannot be taken as a sign of a peace, but merely an anxious breather before the next wave starts. There is no peace in this city. There are only lulls and false hopes of security.

Evening stretches on like the shadows at sunset, reaching and blending casually into the cover of night. On the rooftop of the Gotham Art Museum, near one of the glass skylight domes, a dark figure is moving. No one should be on the roof at this time of night. The facilities have long since closed and the guards don't come up here to check for roof-dwellers. One of the lazily turning ventilation fans is abruptly shut off, and the grading and blade of the fan inside is pulled out, and laid on the gravel nearby. The darkened figure slips into the air duct.

Deadlights has posed:
It's another night in Gotham.

So far things have been quiet. Recent events have pushed through the first wall of the typhoon, leaving the city sitting in the eye of the storm, the eerie quiet that cannot be taken as a sign of a peace, but merely an anxious breather before the next wave starts. There is no peace in this city. There are only lulls and false hopes of security.

Evening stretches on like the shadows at sunset, reaching and blending casually into the cover of night. On the rooftop of the Gotham Art Museum, near one of the glass skylight domes, a dark figure is moving. No one should be on the roof at this time of night. The facilities have long since closed and the guards don't come up here to check for roof-dwellers. One of the lazily turning ventilation fans is abruptly shut off, and the grading and blade of the fan inside is pulled out, and laid on the gravel nearby. The darkened figure slips into the air duct.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin was out this night alone. He'd been taking more and more liberties since he had received his uniform. Damian had perched atop a gargoyle overlooking the Heights. The yellow interior of his cape billowed in the wind. Where he couldn't see, he activated his night vision on his mask.

     The usually white lenses of Robin's mask changed to a slightly green glow, a whir zoomed in on a shadow atop the Gotham Museum of Art. "Gotcha." He mumbles, having seen the figure move into the duct.

  A Green gloved hand reaches with his grapnel gun and the grapnel shoots off quickly. Once the cable is taut, Damian swings in, the Boy Wonder lands on the gravel, sliding in a controlled fashion to a stop. Damian looks down into the vent, trying to see if he can glimpse who travelled down.

Deadlights has posed:
No such luck. Whoever it was, they're moving fast and already out of sight. Even the sound of their movement is very faint and distant, as if they had put a significant distance between the roof and wherever they were headed below. Still, there is sound... and it can be traced, if one knows how to listen.

On the second floor of the east wing, glowing x-shaped lights peer out from behind a grate. The security is mostly mechanized - why pay for the liability of human eyes and ears that might fail? - and the room sweepers that polish the tiles and vacuum the carpets have cleared out. There are only security cameras, the ever present and ever watchful electric eyes that cover the standard exits and entrances.

The X's vanish, and the grate rattles slowly, fasteners loosened, before it falls off with a clatter that echoes up through the vents.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian slips down the vent, following the sounds he heard. He keeps as quiet as possible while still listening in on which direction he needed to go.

  Robin heard the clang of the grate hitting the floor, deciding he needed to keep going deeper and deeper down the ventilation system. He had no use for a flashlight here, the mask he wore provided everything he needed to see in the dark.

Deadlights has posed:
Apparently, the would be perpetrator has no problem with the dark, either.

Sliding out of the vent is a slender figure, female by hip to waist ratio and modest bust, completely suited up, right to a portable rebreather and ventilation system. Brilliant orange Xs shine from the dark of goggle glass that look like they were made for welding. A bright orange skull and crossbones in crosshairs is emblazoned on a bandana tied around the head at the back.

A pair of heavy caliber custom pistols hang from either side of her waist on a heavy gunbelt threaded through cut off ragged jeans.

She lands with a noise of boots on tile, and flattens against the wall. Reaching into a side pouch, she pulls out several small black marbles, and sets them in the palm of her left hand. Holding them up, her head turns upwards, looking at each security camera's position. She brings up the fingers of her right hand, curling them up as if to flick them away.

A sudden burst of black marbles go flying rapid-fire towards the camera eyes, some direct shots, some of them making impossible curves around marble columns for direct hits. They splatter black ink. Paintballs.

Coast clear, the perpetrator moves away from the wall, into the room, and heads towards a display case on the left side of the room, among a collection of Chinese artifacts.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Once the teen reached the open grate, sticking his head out and watching from his vantage point.

  Robin watched the girl head towards the Chinese artifacts. He wanted to know what she was looking for before busting her. This would help him investigate further should he need to.

Deadlights has posed:
She stops at a scroll.

She doesn't just reach for the scroll, smash the glass, handle things like a straight up thief, and she's passing up gold, jewels, and artifacts that would be worth far more. A few feet from the scroll, she begins to move as if she's dancing, twisting, reaching down, hands on the floor, sliding a leg over --

-- She's maneuvering herself through the beam path tripwire lasers. Nothing that would cut someone's flesh or even burn them, but just enough that a casual pass would set off an alarm. She moves with the grace of a contortionist, until at last she is at the case of the scroll.

She brushes her hand over the left side of the pedestal, and depresses a hidden switch that she could not have found without some kind of guidance or foreknowledge. The case unlatches and the glass raises, exposing the scroll.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin slips through the grating, only to dodge some of his own lasers and motion detectors He eventually lands, outside of the main laser grid. "That's a lot of work for a scroll." He offers, crossing his arms before sauntering as close as he can to the girl. This was Gotham, and he was one of its protectors, in his eyes, the jig was up.

Deadlights has posed:
She immediately stops what she's doing, as if frozen in place. Slowly she turns just her head to look at Robin as he approaches. She says nothing to him in return.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin raises an eyebrow to Deadlights. "It was nearly perfect, those moves through the lasers were quite good."

  Damian hasn't activated his GCPD beacon yet. "Put the case back and back away." He warns, not that there weren't laser tripwires ready to make a loud spectacle of this all.

Deadlights has posed:
She shakes her head no, and, using ASL, signs, (This scroll belongs to my family. It was stolen from us a century ago. I am taking it back.)

As her vision comes to rest on Robin, goggles in his direction, soft glowing orange x's in the center of each become visible beneath the smoked glass.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Robin releases his arms from their crossed position, rolling his eyes back with an exasperated sigh. He replies back in Mandarin: <I don't really care.> He ended with a slight smirk.

  Robin flipped his forearm to face him, tapping a couple times on the holographic display. "We have five minutes before the cops get here."

Deadlights has posed:
She replies back in Mandarin, <It is enough.>

She snatches the scroll out of the case and thrusts it into a side pouch. With a smooth and lightning fast quickdraw, she unholsters both of her guns, flicking off the safeties.

She does not point them at Robin.

She points them skyward, and with rapid fire shoots out all of the lights, even the exit signs, leaving the room pitch black.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian lowers the hood from his head. His hearing was acute enough that he could fight blinded.

  <Are you the first who can challenge me?> He asked, his eyelids relaxing, smiling an almost sadistic grin. Robin hadn't faced much of a serious fight since he came to Gotham. It had all been metahumans more than highly skilled and trained warriors.

Deadlights has posed:
<No.>

Well... that probably wasn't the answer he expected. It's followed by her leaping up onto the display, feet evenly balanced on either side of the small glass case of the pedastal, and then leaping over the sensor beams. Guns are flipped to be held like tonfa as she does not stay to fight - she runs for the door to the stairs.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     "Finall...what?!"

  "Ta made niao." He curses before he makes chase, his small frame easily fits under a spot in the sensors with a baseball slide. Robin mashes the holographic button on his gauntlet, omitting the time delay on the GCPD alarm. The fuzz was on its way now.

Deadlights has posed:
She gets to the door, turning and watching Damian rush at her, those X's burning bright beneath the glass, marking her position like two laser dots on a distant target. She tosses one gun into the air, unlocks the door and catches the gun by the holster again, half in and out of the door; she attempts to kick the door out at Robin the moment he gets in range.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian had an immense grimace on his face. He'd longed for a good fight and was denied, an offense that would not be forgiven easily.

  The Boy Wonder had the move telegraphed, side-stepping the door as it sung out violently towards the former assassin.

Deadlights has posed:
She's gone soon as the door is kicked; running to the stairwell, she shoots out another light, even the red emergency lights. She hops up onto the guard rail that runs the rectangular downward spiral broken by floor levels, hops to the bottom rail of the next floor, skipping the steps entirely.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian hustled down the flights of stairs in the same way, jumping from guardrail to guardrail. The Boy Wonder had lost some ground, by the time he'd managed to get to the bottom, precious seconds had already availed themselves to the young pirate.

Deadlights has posed:
At the door to the ground floor now, the pirate girl jams the bayonette end of her left pistol into the space between door and frame, jerking upwards and cutting away the simple locking mechanism. She kicks open the door and runs into yet another showroom, this time full of French Provencial artworks. She carries out the same tactics, shooting out lights and making everything dark as she can before Damian gets to her. He's moving fast, so this tactic may not be as effective. She's already catching on that he can see just fine in the dark anyways.

She thrusts her hand into a right pocket and scatters paintballs all over the floor behind her, hoping to slow him down with sudden slippery pops underfoot against freshly waxed marble tile.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Green boots land with a roll, and lights have already been shot out. The new Boy Wonder continued to make chase, before he'd slipped on one of the paintballs left as a trap.

  Damian gritted his teeth again, picking himself up almost instantly and keeping up the chase again. Robin had removed a set of bolas from his utility belt, swinging them above his head at the ready to throw.

Deadlights has posed:
The girl keeps running, keeps shooting out lights as she goes. She's making a beeline for the central foyer of the museum, for the front doors. But isn't that where the police are going to be? It seems like a bad idea, but it may work out in Robin's favor.

She's still moving in a straight line, trying to escape the Boy Wonder rather than confront him head on, and apart from simple replies, she isn't engaging in any of the standard witty banter.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     Damian took a chance, he would have rather been closer to make this throw but the thief had managed to keep him at a good distance. Robin hurls the bolas at her leg in an attempt to snare her before she got too far into the central foyer. As he saw it, if he wasn't the one to catch her, it would be a fail on his part.

Deadlights has posed:
The bolas hit their mark, tangling the girls' legs. There's a startled, muffled yelp of surprise as she goes down halfway into the Impressionist gallery; she only manages to hold onto one of those odd twin handguns. The other skids and clatters along the floor, spinning to a stop some twenty feet away. Rolling over, she's forced to take time to use the blade on her remaining pistol to untangle herself in one swift cut.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     The Assassin makes haste again, catching up to the girl, and one of her pistols. The Boy Wonder grasped the firearm in his hand, not pointing it at the girl, only admiring it. "One minute left, girl. Plenty of time to make an escape." He offers, twirling the gun with his finger. He had been confident that she wouldn't abandon her pistol that easily. The truth of the matter was he was toying with her. Damian had once again smiled devilishly as he held the pistol in his hand.

Deadlights has posed:
She pauses for a split second. She could remake the pistol -- in time. And it would cost her to do so. The boy is taunting her, giving her a minute to escape, or so he says. The police will no doubt be here, but she has no fear of the police. It is merely down to an estimate of risk versus reward.

He's been an interesting adversary, chasing her, and displaying skills. His mannerisms reek of smug arrogance, maybe overconfidence. She glances at her remaining pistol. The cost is dead even - the scroll has great value, but so does the essence of her handiwork, her signature piece.

Damn him for being right. She won't leave it behind. Not in his hands. Not until he's worthy of being allowed the permission of touching it.

She rises to her feet, assuming a defensive stance, gun held like a tonfa this time, the bladed side away from Damian. If she meant business, it would be the other way around. With her free hand she reaches out, palm up, and gestures towards him.

"I'm permitting you to fight me," she says in plain English. "Prove you are worthy of touching my gun."

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     There was a glint of excitement from Damian as he lowers the gun, scooting it aside for now. "I thought you'd never ask." He offers, putting up his fists defensively.

  Robin made quick strikes from his fists, he knew this duel wouldn't be won with jabs, this was the long haul. As soon as he saw an opening, he quickly would attempt to grab her by the arm and drag her down. It was simple, but effective. That smugness was from the years of training he'd been put through since he was a baby. To him, this was another obstacle he would need to overcome.

Deadlights has posed:
The quick jabs are rapidly blocked by the long end of the gun-tonfa; Damian's grab to her arm is successful. Rather than being pulled off balance, she thrusts her arm further forward and follows the inertia, tucking her head down towards the floor.

The roll forward is followed by a half-completed front flip, her free hand with gun-fa being used to brace against the floor as she swings both legs up and over to try to wrap her thighs around Robin's neck and head.

Forget modesty. This is combat.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
Damian had smiled, before he had been dragged into this, the night had been a bit boring. The Boy Wonder had bee grabbed by the neck. He paused, grabbing at her leg, now so very close to his windpipe. Robin attempted a kick directly to her ribs, trying to knock the wind out of her sails.

Deadlights has posed:
Deadlights' armored backpack/atmosphere tank takes some of the brunt of that kick, but not all of it. It still hurts. It might even leave some hairline fractures. She grunts and bites back a muffled noise of pain, soldiering herself onwards. She doesn't let go of his neck with her legs, feet crossed together, attempting to squeeze his neck between them as a distraction, hanging from his shoulders while making a grab for her missing gun with her free hand.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
Damian had indeed been distracted by the sudden lack of oxygen going to his head. The pistol in his off hand could simply be grabbed at this point. The male pugilist has an idea, he jumps up, attempting to use his body to force Deadlights to land with the weight of Damian and herself against her, all trying to have the girl release his head from her clutches.

Deadlights has posed:
The grab for the pistol was enough; once she has her hands on it, that is all that matters --

Suddenly she's up and coming back down, and she is going to land on her head and neck if she doesn't do something about it. She immediately releases Damien from her scissor lock to try to turn onto her side. She lands hard on her shoulder, keeping a death grip on her weapons. She isn't paying attention to where Robin might be landing.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     The Boy Wonder had been thankful he could now breathe. He'd been so enraged that he idly asked himself why didn't he stab her with a birdarang. As Robin landed, he gasped once, catching his breath. Nimble fingers reach towards his katana, unsheathing the sword with a high pitched whine. As the two fought, the sound of sirens started to grow nearer. Damian threw his sword spinning into the air, attempting to distract Deadlights while he attempted a spinning kick to her abdomen. When he landed, he would grab the sword as it made its decent.

Deadlights has posed:
Rolling to her knees, Deadlights brings up the gunfa, the long guard countering and pushing back against Damian's spinning kick. She barely has time to make the block, saving her bones from a powerful strike. The other hand, holding the other weapon, is swung in an arc from the outside of her body around to the front.

The gun barrel is pointed directly at the Boy Wonder.

The muzzle flashes, and a bullet leaves the chamber, spiralling its way directly towards Robin's head.

There's a whizz of hot air, a sharpness of heat and current as the bullet's trajectory suddenly curves directly around Robin's head, flashing before his eyes in a deadly taunt, and flies upwards. Instead of Robin, it's aimed for the sword in the air behind him, to try to knock the blade out of the air before he can grab it.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
     It hadn't been the first time that Robin had a gun pointed to his face, and it wouldn't be the last. This time though, it had been different. For all intents and purposes, the boy could/should have been severely wounded if not dead. The assassin did hear a sharp ting erupt from his sword, it had been taken off course, and struck the marble floor. The sword now looking more like an Arthurian legend than the weapon of a League of Assassins member.

  As Damian landed on his back, partly from shock, he looked to his sword now stuck in the marble. GCPD was only tens of seconds away, he himself wouldn't be stopped, but Deadlights would be if she stuck around.

Deadlights has posed:
"Do not touch my guns. Not until you are worthy."

Deadlights' eyes are fixed on him, the X's glowing like eerie orange fires behind the goggles, as the young woman speaks, serious as death. She wastes no time, taking advantage of Robin's surprise and momentary weapon issues, turning away from him, turning her guns out, blades up. She rushes the front glass doors, thrusting her weapons out, smashing the glass into crumbling safey shards, and leaping out of the hole.

The police yell for her to stop. She does not.

The police warn that they will shoot. She keeps running.

The guns open fire, missing their targets as Deadlights seemingly dances through the hail of bullets, turning, spinning, leaping, and then slamming her boots down on the edge of a manhole cover. It flips up and over, and the girl jumps down into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

Robin (Wayne) has posed:
A moment passes, and only a moment. "Cao ni zuzong shiba dai!" But it was more than what Deadlights needed to make her play to escape. Robin slams his fists into the marble, before performing a kip-up. The Boy Wonder brushes himself off before he grabs his sword from the crack it made landing. A moment of examination, the blade had a wound, luckily he knew it could be fixed. GCPD had wanted to ask him questions. "She stole a scroll, its all on the camera feeds." He quips, before he takes off into the night again. He's had enough today, he needed to destroy something now.