3254/Vigilante Daughters of Police Commissioners

Vigilante Daughters of Police Commissioners
Date of Scene:	27 November 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	We might have problems, given that BABS is the most well-adjusted of the town's heroes.
Cast of Characters:	Shatterpoint, Oracle

---

Shatterpoint has posed:
    The night- because of -course- it's night- is a cold one. Barbara is experienced enough to know who she's contacting, and what certain things would mean if she didn't invent a pretense with which to contact Caroline. After all, if Babs had sent her the text without the third party involved, it wouldn't be difficult to connect the dots. As such, it was a simple matter of contacting Gordon to have him tell Batman that Barbara wanted to speak to her.

    Caroline assumes it's because the redhead is angry about the break-in. After all, the clearly-coddled and not at all strong-willed ex-orphan she'd had in her apartment just seemed -so- shaken by the event. It only makes sense that she'd want to scold her assailant.

    Barbara makes her way onto the roof, and to her credit, what will tip her off is the cold. With that eidetic memory of hers, she'll know that the temperature forecast for the evening is a good twenty degrees higher. Caroline's been here for an hour.

    For most of the people who deal with the Bat, there is a certain luxury to the idea that someone might just be on time. A massive comfort when meeting people and they're not there an hour before you agreed to be, and they're not looming behind you.

    For people that deal with the Bat, a jumpscare is basically how you shake hands.

    "Barbara Gordon." The unsettling noise she makes words out of echoes into the night. It doesn't carry, but in the dark it lacks a matter of volume- as if she's speaking into Barbara's ear, even though she clearly isn't.

    "I received a message that you wanted to speak."

Oracle has posed:
There have been a couple of mods done since the masked vigilante was last at Barbara's home -- one of which includes adding into some of the security devices a temperature gauge. So when the ambient on the roof is colder than the ambient just outside the window, Barbara smiled to herself. //Interesting. Someone who shows early!// It's a new thing!

When she steps out on the roof, she's got on a fleece sweatshirt -- may as well be comfortable. And it makes sense that she'd remember how cold her apartment was. But the harsh, gravelly voice doesn't make her jump this time. The redhead calmly closes the rooftop door behind her and then moves to a position on the roof where she can look at her visitor easily. And unless Caroline has inspected this rooftop very very carefully, it's not obvious that her position puts her in proximity to weapons.

"What should I call you?"

Shatterpoint has posed:
    She's punctual, at least, but this -thing- in human guise has an unnatural air to her. Barbara gives a little bit away, but not enough to be outside of the realm of being the commissioner's daughter. Specifically, the fact that meeting Caroline again doesn't result in a twitch or a jump belies thicker nerves than normal people.

    Caroline is still getting used to things. Back in her day, weapons were at least mildly obvious in their placement. Advancements in robotics- specifically servos- allowing for popup racks and other such storage devices hidden in plain sight are beyond her time... But she's learning. The phone she was given was a prompt enough to really start investigating the differences.

    "I don't have one of those... Codenames, that people go by. You can call me whatever you want. I will understand, in context."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara nods slightly, her head tilted. "Now that I understand the situation a little better... I understand why you came to me. But I confess that I'm less interested in why you're on a rooftop than I am in how you came to be here, Caroline. Based on the way your voice sounds, I'm guessing you either had your throat cut or your voicebox was otherwise damaged somehow. Chronologically speaking, you should be too old to be out here doing what you're doing. So there's likely another explanation."

She moves to lean her hips back against one of the large square air handlers up here, her hands shoved into her pockets. "I'd like to understand what's happened to you. The world's become a very strange place in the years since you vanished. And if you're going to be working with my father... I'm feeling a little protective. These aren't safe streets. I need to know he's safe with you."

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Caroline's eyes are all that's visible. Because of -course- that's how it would be- she's somewhere in the dark. They narrow, slightly, as Barbara guesses correctly. It's not the most difficult guess to make, admittedly. She doesn't sound like a smoker whose vocal cords were removed- more like her voice box contains a lot of scar tissue. There aren't a lot of examples of that, and admittedly, it's hard to figure out which is worse. Caroline's voice certainly is not at all -pleasant.-

    "I don't think you want to know how deep that rabbit hole goes." No, she hasn't seen That Film. "And I don't think you know what strange is. Not yet." Barbara knows what strange is- but there are levels of strange. Earth is mid-level strange, whereas Caroline is freshly back from, to be perfectly honest, the god-damn Strange Olympics. What she says next, though, is the most ominous thing.

    "Nobody is safe. Not with me, not without me. That's the point. That's why the man in the bat suit does what he does. That's why your father does what -he- does."

Oracle has posed:
"Oh, are you the Red Queen and I'm supposed to be Alice?" Barbara chuckles. "I promise you... between aliens living on the planet helping people, alien invasions of the planet, mutants and now even detectives back from the dead on the loose? I sincerely doubt there's a hell of a lot you could tell me that would surprise me at this point," she points out wryly.

Her tone gentles, though. "I'm sorry for your loss. It can't be easy to be back here and have things so very different and everyone you know gone. It's why I reached out to you. We... aren't so very different, I think. I do what I do for all the same reasons."

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "I have seen a world of flame, burning perpetually in the name of one -thing- that calls itself a god. I have watched people break, mutate, and melt together until all that is left is hate and obedience. I have seen the horrors of the end of the world occur in the span of a day. Then I woke up, and watched it all happen again in the next." So melodramatic, but frankly... For whatever she is? The amount of -truth- in those words is a little, well, chilling.

    "For all that horror, to win, or just keep playing the eternal game of keep-away we're locked in... I would give everything I did, a thousand times. I didn't lose anything, and nothing is ever easy." Everything she does is so damned serious. She might say she didn't lose anything, but a proper sense of levity- that's... Basically gone. Maybe permanently.

    "I know you do. They're good reasons. Not everyone feels the same way."

Oracle has posed:
"No... not everyone has the inner will to fight back. For some, it's all they can do to survive." Barbara listens, giving Caroline every courtesy of hearing what she's saying. Her conclusions may be erroneous, but there is genuine sympathy for the horrors that Caroline describes -- it's true that she can barely comprehend even a fraction of them. But she feels for the other woman. "Do you remember how you got there?" she asks quietly. "I can't imagine that what you're describing is actually Hell in the religious sense of the word. Were you pulled into some kind of a portal, like the ones that brought the invasion here this time?"

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "I remember it vividly." There is a pause. Caroline weighs, silently, the options of keeping everything to herself, or just spilling the beans. After a while, she eventually figures that she probably ought to use herself as a cautionary tale.

    "It started with a street gang. I had been... Working towards their exposure and arrest, off the books. I figured it would be a good idea to do so because of some... Obstacles, in the way." It -was- the sixties, and there have been progressions since then.

    "Along the way I began working with someone we had taken to calling Wonder Woman. The publicity of that in addition to the first arrests allowed me to keep working. What I did not know, could not know, was that they were working with someone... Not of this Earth. A being known as Darkseid."

Oracle has posed:
Won-- "Diana Prince?" Barbara asks, surprised. Not that she doesn't know the other woman is essentially immortal -- she's kind of a VERY known quantity these days, in both of her personas. Just... she never really heard that Diana was in Gotham. And then the word 'Darkseid.' "Wow," the redhead says quietly. "And so... you got swept off-planet." Talk about your seriously intense situation.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "Not... Quite. His influence ran deep. We were... We had found a gateway to his world. Apokolips. Our intent was to... To shut it down. To stop him from being able to come and go as he pleased. But the technology was... Advanced. And we were... Betrayed. I bit the bullet. I stayed behind."

    The pause after that is longer. Caroline's voice betrays nothing. No heartache, no hatred. She just lets that sink in a bit, before continuing. "I stayed on that rock for... A decade. There were... Gladiatorial events. He made his captives fight. The strongest, he said, were going to be his Furies. Anyone else, was going to die. I decided I wasn't going to do either one of those. I was not correct."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara's chin lifts and she looks toward the dark night sky. "Shit," she breathes softly. Blowing out a slow breath, she nods. "I would have made the same choice," she observes quietly. "And I can only imagine how living there in that place changed you. How *he* might have changed you. Is that why it's cold when you're near? Something that was done to you there?"

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "There was a lot that was done to me there, but he is not... Responsible for the cold. He would not have wanted to be. He would have preferred I remain dead. Remain a... Trophy. I never did break, like he wanted, but to have me dead? It served to be a very, very potent message, over the years. The years that I was waiting."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara looks at her, curious. "So ... you *are* back from the dead. Literally, then. How did that happen?" The redhead is thoroughly full of questions.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Though hard to see, Caroline shrugs. "I played a game of chess, and won." Admittedly, it's about as good as any other answer. All as unbelievable as the others. If Caroline knows, she isn't necessarily being overly forthright about it.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara tilts her head, obviously knowing that's not the full story by any means. "Perhaps someday you'll tell me about it." She moves to stand upright now, walking the roof a bit to warm up some. Because it *is* cold when Caroline's around. "You obviously have abilities. Do you mind telling me what they are? The cold thing is ... kind of rough when you're not wearing thermals," she says, flashing a small grin at the other woman in the darkness. "I occasionally help out Batman by passing information through my father... If you're working with all of them, I can pass information that you may need your way as well. But I can't exactly parse which information is more appropriately handed to you if I don't know what you can do."

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "I would tell you, if I actually knew what they were. I am finding out... New things constantly." She's not necessarily being squirrely. Caroline doesn't necessarily know the full extent of her abilities. Certainly, she knows only a small amount. "What I can tell you is that... Whatever information you have, I can make use of it. It will all be appropriate."

Oracle has posed:
There's a nod, as Barbara accepts that. "Well... I know you must have some kind of major durability. You get into fights on the streets and don't appear to take any damage. You're durable enough that the street thugs are starting to carry around automatic weapons. Do you have enhanced strength and senses as well? Can you actually fly, or when you go over the edge of the roof and disappear are you just pulling a Batman? Based on what I've read in all the reports so far, it's hard to tell."

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "So far, they have not been able to... Catch the target. The thugs are arming up because, they feel, more bullets, more chances to hit. They're not entirely wrong." she notes, offering this light shrug. Caroline doesn't necessarily want to... Alarm, or give too much away. Barbara is an ally, but all the same, she's also not- that Caroline knows- In On It. Maintaining a level of mystery, is important. "I cannot fly. That would make things... So very easy. I do have a way of getting around off of the ground."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara knows very well when to push and when to let it go. "So... it's not durability, it's speed?" she asks. And then she grins. "Damn. I was hoping you were flying, cuz it's REALLY intimidating to know there are people running around this town who just leap off buildings." Or something.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Caroline shrugs. "I am faster than a person should be." She notes, allowing at least a modicum of specification to the fact that she has powers. Caroline doesn't want to give away too much- because if Barbara ever finds herself in a tight spot, it's easier to convince someone trying to get information that you're not lying when you are, indeed, not lying. "I do want to know the names of those individuals. The ones I should be on the lookout for." Okay so MAYBE Caroline leaps off of buildings and just walks away from the point of impact, but now she's not about to let that one slip!

Oracle has posed:
Barbara nods slightly and lets that go, as well. "Uhm... Batman, a couple of Robins, a Red Hood, a Nightwing, a couple of Batgirls, Catwoman does some crazy acrobatics. Uh.... Geez. The entire crew you're now running with throws themselves off buildings," she laughs. "As far as bad guys go.... depends on who is on the streets at any given moment. I think Arkham has a revolving door or something." She rolls her eyes. "Mostly what you'll probably deal with are the street gangs, though -- Ukrainians, Russians, the Tong. Some other lower-level ones. The Triad sometimes makes an appearance. Oh... and you should keep your eyes peeled for Lady Shiva. She's *really* dangerous. Don't challenge her." She grimaces. "It gets nasty. League of Assassins sometimes make an appearance on Batman." She ponders. "I know some of the New York Titans occasionally show up around here... more good guys. I've seen a Green Lantern. Green Arrow or Black Canary sometimes. A lot of people operate in these streets," she admits.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Caroline nods a bit. "Batman has asked me to look at some things going on in one part of the city. Some disappearances." she notes, "But is there something on with this... Shiva? Something I should be aware of?" Her head tilts, eyes locked onto Barbara. She doesn't seem to blink. If Batman wasn't already his own Bad Cop, he'd have a strong candidate in whatever Caroline is. "I've met... Nightwing. One of the Robins. The smaller, angrier one." The internet has enough information to tell her that the way you differentiate the two Robin-monikers is that one is angry and the other is Tim Drake, Red Robin. "Red Hood. Batman. Black Canary, too. It is good to know that they're not mixing sides."

Oracle has posed:
Barbara would laugh about the 'smaller, angrier one' comment, but she has to stifle that. She's not supposed to know them that well. "I don't think Shiva will likely bother you... although you might pique her curiosity. But she's in town, and I recommend you just don't engage. She's kind of her own weird entity. Batman would have to tell you more -- all I know about her is that she's dangerous." Which isn't entirely true, but it's as much information as she's going to share. But it does bring her attention to what Batman has Caroline working on. "Disappearances? What kind of disappearances? I can skim if the PD has case files and see what they've already learned.... if Batman hasn't already done it," she says ruefully.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Caroline is silent for a time. She doesn't necessarily -want- Barbara snooping around if she can help it. After all, there's some level of responsibility. There's a fine line between Ally and Victim, as far as Caroline can see. "He gave me all of the information he had. I assume he's already combed everything that's available to him. If there were more information, I am sure he would have passed it along, by now. I'll work on finding out everything I can."

Oracle has posed:
There's a nod, and Barbara appears to take the brush-off. "All right. Well, you know the sources are around if you need them." She smiles faintly. "Dad is less than thrilled about your first visit, but now that you're squared with Batman, things will settle." She offers a shrug. "You seem... pretty driven, like the rest of them. But if you ever want to talk, just a chat between cops' daughters who turned cop... you're welcome to give me a call." Because Caroline's been through a hell of a lot, clearly. And Barbara's demeanor shows genuine compassion, with no hint of pity. "I work from home. And it's not like you haven't already sorted out the security arrangements," she says drily.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    There's a silent acknowledgment. "Oh, right, I should mention. I don't sleep." Somehow, in some way, saying that just sounds more like Caroline is a thing that can literally Happen to you at literally Any Time, now. It's not necessarily a pleasant thought. "I was a detective. Now, I'm this. I don't necessarily know if it's more, or less, but I know that I can do a lot with it. That is what is... Important. I'll be in touch, if I need anything."

Oracle has posed:
The redhead nods slightly. "I'll keep it in mind," she replies, amused. "I have a notion that in a lot of ways, you'll find you're still a detective around here. You know where to find me." She moves quietly toward the stairwell door that she used to come up here. "Have a good night out there, Caroline."

Shatterpoint has posed:
    She did it again. Barbara likely glances her way after opening the door, and almost certainly in the middle of the words Night and Out, Caroline disappeared. She is... Very, very quiet. It also helps that she has no gear to mask, and can instead just hop backwards. It's a minor advantage, too, that she just hops off the side of the clocktower, landing on her feet, without having to launch a line or anything.

    One day, Gotham will get a hero that is well adjusted and polite and doesn't scare you or leave in the middle of your sentences or show up out of nowhere unannounced. Today is not that day.