335/A Superstitious, Cowardly Lot

A Superstitious, Cowardly Lot
Date of Scene:	09 May 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Nightwing, Oracle

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Batman has posed:
It's a bad night for Rico 'Two-Tone' Canzone.

This was supposed to be a simple strong-arm operation. The club always coughed up its protection cash quickly enough--cheaper to stay out of the limelight entirely than for the rich kids that frequented it to be associated with a hotspot for designer drugs.

And yet, Rico knows, even surrounded by his boys, it's a bad night. Stepping out of the club's back door into the alley, Rico stares into the twin lights shining on him from a dark automobile at the alley's mouth.

The twin lights and the giant black, shadowy bat figure standing between them, that is.

"Shi...." he begins, while he and his entire crew scramble for their guns.

Nightwing has posed:
Rico and his men are about to realize it really is not their night. As they reach for their guns, the good at the back of the pack has a billy club brought down across the crook of his neck and lets out a grunt of pain and forced air out of his neck.

Quickly slipping back into the shadows with the unconscious man, Nightwing doesn't speak. He doesn't have to. The tip of his billy club starts to crackle and pop with arcs of blue electricity.

Oracle has posed:
And that goon at the back of the pack, standing near the same one that Nightwing just chopped?

As he stares, dumbfounded, at his suddenly falling friend, another dark shadow whips out at him, leading with a boot to his face. And as he turns from the impact, his hand leaving his coat with the gun still in it, the same shadow reaches for his wrist as it recovers from the flying kick, twisting it and spilling the gun to the ground...

And Batgirl goes low, flipping the goon over her head by that pivot point on his arm. A *pop* sounds from his shoulder, as he lands atop the one that sunk to Nightwing's chop.

"Oooo... bad time to be out doing crime, right?" she says, sucking air through her teeth in a little hiss. "Or maybe the best. A lot of times, people have to settle for one Bat, right?" she quips.

Batman has posed:
The Batmobile's lights seem to strobe as the dark knight's cape flows about back and forth in front of them, its wearer zig-zagging to avoid the wave of bullets from Rico and the three closest to him. A dozen holes open up in the cape, and the ricochet of twice as many can be heard pinging off the vehicle's hood.

Batman, meanwhile, leaps to the nearest alley wall and kicks off it, cartwheeling about to sling a batarang at Rico's neck. It makes contact with a pressure point and he immediately freezes, collapsing to the ground with a rush of breath, followed by a heavy snore.

In the back, nearer to the club door, one of the goons begins banging on the door for help. His pal next to him has wide, paranoid eyes, and he fires into the shadows where he thinks Nightwing--or whoever it was that kidnapped his friend--might be.

Then Batgirl appears, and both teams of the crew begin to back up until their closer together. More tightly packed.

"Game over, man!" one shrieks. "Game over!" The posse does the only thing it can do: pray and spray in every available direction.

Nightwing has posed:
"This is no time to quote the late Bill Paxton." Says Nightwing, his voice gruff and forced to sound different from his normal voice.

Dick with a snap of his wrist sends the one billy club he has wielded at the joker with the wise cracks and follows in the path of his projectile with a follow up punch.

Oracle has posed:
A flash of metal in the night - a batarang in Batgirl's hand. Thrown with unerring accuracy, the batarang loops over and over - striking one of the sleeves of those firing wildly, and pulling his hand - and spraying gunfire - off target.

Which might help Dick in his approach towards that same group, giving him an opening.

In spite of these things - Babs - smiling wide in spite of a serious furrow to her brow - goes high instead - getting out of the easy line of fire to the sound of her batgrapple launching - digging into the alley wall - and taking her off of the ground to the sound of winding wire.

Another moment, she'd hit the group from above, perhaps.

Batman has posed:
One by one, the gang gets quieter and quieter, until only four remain. One is out of bullets but won't stop pulling his trigger. Two of them are breathing heavily. The last slowly reaches for what looks like a knife from a back pocket.

The others are heaped on the ground, unconscious and disarmed. The club's protection cash flutters out of an envelope that's fallen loose from Rico's jacket.

"Don't," Batman says quietly but forcefully.

The knife-wielder decides to make his move and reaches quickly for the blade.

Nightwing has posed:
Standing hunched and bent slightly, Dick's back, core, arms and legs are all coiled, waiting to pounce like a spring, he's now waiting for the remaining crooks to make a move- THERE!

The man goes for his knife and his second billy club snaps out, tumbling through the air in a path to connect with the man's hand. Hopefully with enough force to cause him to drop it from sheer leverage or by crossing the villain's pain threshhold.

Oracle has posed:
Those two that were breathing heavily? Didn't look much like hostages to Barbara.

Batgirl presses the release on her grapple, the snap of coiling wire and line sounding through the alleyway. Flourishing her cape behind herself, there was a *woosh* and a snap as it fills with air - and Batgirl guides herself down to impact one of the remaining heavy breathers with a flying knee as she descends - hitting the ground and snapping out a kick, knocking his legs out from beneath him as he stumbles with a bleeding nose.

"This would all go a lot... hng!" There was the kick. "Easier if you guys would just surrender!"

Batman has posed:
The mook screams in sudden pain as Nightwing's club slams into his hand, and he grasps his wrist with the uninjured hand. "Oh God--!" is the most coherent set of words he can choke out.

The one firing his empty gun continues doing so, pointing the weapon directly at Batgirl. At the same time, he walks backwards until his back is up against the alley wall, at which point he closes his eyes tightly and turns his head away, grimacing.

Batman steps up to him, placing his hand on the gun at the same time as he pops his elbow into the side of the man's head. The man says "Bloruguuruguhghhhghuh..." and slides down the wall to the ground.

Looking around at the cluster of knocked-out crooks, Batman clears his throat. "That should be enough of a warmup for the evening. There is something I wanted to talk to the both of you about."

He begins collecting the dropped guns and systematically pats down the gang members for any others.

Nightwing has posed:
As Bruce finishes the last no-good-nick, Dick straightens his stance and takes a calming breath in, feeling his lungs fill and his adrenaline wash away after a moment or two.

Turning then, Nightwing would gather both of his billy clubs and move them over to his right hand before sliding them both away on his right thigh.

"What's up?" Nightwing asks using his hero voice, never a good idea to drop character or allow cracks in his visage.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara - for better or for worse, didn't use a 'hero voice' like the other two tended to do. Finishing one of the grounded criminals with a little punch to his head - she starts searching them for guns and knives, retrieving her batarang and checking the edge in the alley light a moment.

Replacing it on her belt, Barbara reaches behind her head, pulling her crimson hair back behind her shoulders.

"I know I need to take down a few muggers before I can start a productive morning - what's up, Batman?" she asks, stepping alongside Nightwing, the smile that was once on her lips fading away to something more serious.

Batman has posed:
Dropping a handful of pistols into a small pile away from Rico & co, Batman is quiet for a long moment before he talks. "I need to take some time away. I'm ... I'm not sure my approach recently has been as effective as it could be. I want to reevaluate that."

He turns, looking first to Nightwing and then to Batgirl. "Part of my life has been running on overdrive, and part has been ... dead. It needs some life."

Batman glances at Rico. "I wanted to ask you both to take over while I'm gone."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing nods towards the bat and even points a black gloved hand, "Yeah, you were cutting it a bit close there." Aiming his pointer finger at the slew of bullet holes in Bruce's cape. "I think The girl here and I can take care of things while you're away. I mean that's what you taught us both to do." Dick says, glacing over to Babs with his stoic half smirk.

Oracle has posed:
"The girl? Seriously?"

Batgirl gives a blue-eyed, level stare back towards Nightwing, before she smirks. But the surprise that was evident on her features lingers a moment more. She lifts her chin towards Batman.

"Is everything... okay? With you?" she says, stepping forward in that grimy alley - canting her head to one side. A few moments more. Her eyes narrow a bit, and she bobs her head in a nod. "We've learned from the best - I think Gotham is going to be in safe hands." Another two beats. "Does d... the commisioner know? How long will you be gone?"

Batman has posed:
The dark knight nods in response to the others' statements. "It's only because of the strenuous nature of your training that I feel comfortable asking you this. I don't think anyone else would be able to survive the ordeal."

Batman examines the holes in his cape with one hand. "I'm getting sloppy. Or, at least, my mind's not focused and 'in the game'. It needs to be, though." He lets the cape fall.

"One week should be all I need, I hope. No one else knows. I don't want them to--you'll have enough on your plate without the lowlifes of this city feeling free to act in my absence," Batman continues. "I'm not ready to give up the war on crime ... but it's clear that the variable in need of changing is my orientation toward it."

Nightwing has posed:
Dick lifts an eyebrow towards Barbra as she almost slips and he chuckles once before turning his gaze back to the bat. "Do I have to wear your cowl and everything too?" He still seems to have a bit of his jovial side hidden away, but it sneaks out from time to time.

Of course Dick is ready to take on the fight without Bruce around, he's been doing it for some time, but still, it seems odd to have the reigns verbally passed down.

Oracle has posed:
Like Dick, this whole situation seemed a bit... off to Barbara.

Maybe it was the multiBat extravaganza they had, not too long ago. So much she wanted to ask - so much that shouldn't be said in front of a bunch of poor beaten criminals.

Barbara just looks towards Batman, and nods her head, once. "Take all the time you need." A moment. "I can help keep this guy out of trouble - and I hope you're not asking me to wear that huge suit, then." she says, with a quirk of her smile.

Batman has posed:
"Neither of you have to--or should--take on the persona. I just want to feel as confident as I can that Gotham remains in good hands while I'm gone." Batman looks over the swarm of unconscious criminals again.

"Be you. Be the heroes you have always been. This request--it's a hard thing to ask. I hope never to have to ask it again." The caped crusader sighs again, his voice weary. "To learn there are worlds out there without a Batman to help ... I tried to work to a breaking point so I could make up for it. But it's clear that I can't do so forever."

Nightwing has posed:
<Seems like he's coming face to face with his own mortality.> Thinks Dick to himself and nods firmly. "You can count on us Batman." God that feels so weird to say it like that.

Oracle has posed:
"Relax - and do as much as you can to do so. We'll keep the city safe." says Barbara - putting as much fervent meaning into her voice as humanly possible. Barbara glances to the side, towards Nightwing. A brow quirks under her cowl.

Was she up for this? Probably not.

Batman has posed:
"Good," Batman replies with a nod. "I'm glad to hear it." He turns and begins walking back toward the Batmobile, still parked at the mouth of the alley. "This may be the only time you hear me say this, and ... I'm sorry that's been the case. But: thank you."

As he steps onto the Batmobile's hood toward its slid-open entryway, Batman faces the two younger vigilantes. "I'll let you know when I'm back. I know you won't let the city go to hell while I'm gone."

Nightwing has posed:
Nightwing doesn have any more words for the Bat, he turns around, and starts to walk deeper into the alley. He's on a mission given to him by THE Batman. It's time to step up his game and really show that he's as capable a hero as he knows he is.

Dick doesn't wait for Barbra, he assumes she can take care of herself and she'll make up her own mind on if she wants to follow him or forge her own path.

Oracle has posed:
Lifting her BatGrapple - Babs aims for the top of the nearby roof - the *THWIP* and pop of the grapple shooting it's line. "You have my number, Nightwing. And I have yours. Keep in touch if you run into anything, right?"

And Batgirl was away, the line propelling her towards the top of the building in a matter of moments.

She had her own way of keeping an eye on things. And she was excited to prove herself.