3357/Stop Freezing Stuff!

Stop Freezing Stuff!
Date of Scene:	27 December 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Shatterpoint, Batman, Batgirl (Cain)

---

Shatterpoint has posed:
    The riots have died down- for now- but that doesn't mean everything is calm in Gotham City. Frankly, it just means that whatever's going on is just less -loud- than it was before.

    This "lull" means that it's time to follow up on some leads, for the Batfolk. One in particular has been sitting on Batman's radar, though the amount of time it's taken for him to properly follow up is, well, up to him. The matter concerns a secondary riot on one of the worst nights. While the majority of the Family, as it were, found themselves dealing with one riot, across the city another had begun to boil over.

    Comprised of less members, it was no less violent in its methodology. It seemed like it would extend the evening for another few hours of disassembly and fighting before its reports just... Vanished. It was only a matter of time until the -why- was established, when the GCPD first started reporting that they were chipping people out of extremely hard ice. It was long doing- but nobody was injured. Cold, sure... But otherwise fine, shivering in some form of frozen prison, not unlike the work of Victor Fries.

    The quirk of it being that it had been in... The city's defense? As well, the sheer -number- of people encassed- though none were totally so- in this wave of ice was... Nothing short of impressive. Tens, maybe more, depending on who was able to break free at all, and when.

    Truth be told, it's not difficult to surmise the culprit. Several people have described her, and it's just a matter of whether Batman contacts her by the burner, or just arrives at her location. She's not hard to find.

    The condition she is in, though, when he gets there... It's not necessarily pleasant. Is she cut? Bleeding? Shot? No. Her clothes are torn and burnt, the sweater she'd been using ever since they'd met the first time pulled apart in many places. Threadbare. One of its sleeves is missing, so are massive swathes of each of the legs of her jeans.

    It begs the question- just how long has she been at this straight?

    Has she ever stopped?

Batman has posed:
    No, peace is indeed a rare commodity in Gotham. The march of angered people has been check, but the resentment, the anger still seethes under the surface. Those who had sought chaos for chaos' sake had simply gone underground now in part, trying to set their plans in motion. For some it was nothing more than organizing with their friends on social media, to create flash mobs and to attack different points of interest. But for others it was more insidious and took up much of Oracle's time.
    But during that night of mayhem when things were so wild, it was clear that others had been brought in to aid the situation. Some of the help was solicited, some of it... was not. Though it would only take a moment of consideration to gauge the likely individuals and set the frozen rioters at their doorstep. Very few powered individuals with such abilities were in Gotham, and even less would be inclined to aid that city.
    So it was into her own haunt that the man in the cape and cowl had advanced. Rooftops serving as the path he took, his silhouette a bare wisp of shadow as he'd dart across the night's skyline. It was only when he was in the area that her burner phone would vibrate to life signalling a message given. An address, the rooftop, the time. That time being now.
    And, for once, he will be there awaiting her when she does arrive.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batman isn't alone tonight. Instead, he has brought along the newest woman to use the Batgirl name. Her look differs from the previous holder of that title though as she wears a full face mask, the portion covering the lower half of her face stitched in roughly on purpose for effect. It gives a rather creepy quality to her. It also sends the message she isn't one who will be chatting or trying to talk someone down. Her job is action typically.
    Tonight it is sentinel. She is crouched atop the small building that houses the stairwell leading down into the building. Her cowl is settled around her and she simply watches. A humanoid gargoyle come to life and watching over the proceedings.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Screen cracked- because of course it is, he gave a crime fighting dead woman from the 60s a phone with a glass screen- but still working, the robust frame of the burner vibrates quietly. She's getting used to this 'text message' thing. Idly, she makes her way up to the rooftop, in a way similar to the way Batman does- he's seen the mechanism, a chain appearing from within her remaining sleeve. No clue if she can do it without a sleeve, but one would have to assume...

    Either way, she's there. The darkness of the night doesn't seem to impede her vision- if he's waiting, she sees him. She doesn't say anything, as ragged as she looks. He's never not had a purpose for meeting her, so she assumes he'll be the first one to say stuff.

Batman has posed:
    Per their agreement she had handled that section of the city, and from her efforts had made an impact. The Ukrainians and Russians had shifted a good part of their operations to Bludhaven, but each time they bring their efforts back to Gotham they get their nose bloodied. Or frozen. So whatever reason he's called her here, it most likely isn't about her own personal war. At least not the results.
    When she appears, he turns towards her to face her directly. The cap settles around his shoulders and presents him as just that dark horned silhouette against the night. A few steps carry him towards her and he gives a single nod in greeting. "Ramsey." He doesn't introduce Cassandra.
    "Your work was controlled during the rioting." His arms fold over his chest as those white eyelets narrow. "What did you witness?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    The dark form of Batgirl never moves. There is the faintest shifting of her cape when a breeze teases the edges but other than that, she may as well be carved from stone. She keeps face turned toward Caroline although it is impossible to see where she is fccused with those lenses.
    As Batman speaks, she wonders what this is all about. He called for the meeting but this woman is an unknown. Listen and learn, that's always the best course of action.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    Her response was not practiced, but it came without hesitation. "Pointless." she began, "What I witnessed was pointless." There it is, that unsettling horror-show somewhere between a rattling croak and an actual voice. "It always happens, when there's something -new- out there. Some-one- new. Someone different. They're always less than the majority in some fundamental way. It causes anger. It causes hate."

    There is a pause, then. "They don't know what they're screaming about, but they'll shriek, throw stones, hit cars, whatever it takes to have their pointless opinion heard. It doesn't matter- people are people. A futile fight is always the most savage."

Batman has posed:
    The Batman stands there observing Caroline, his expression calm and controlled even as he extends a hand out to the side slightly, gauntlet closing with the faint creak of leather and kevlar. "Don't distance yourself from them." He watches, eyelets narrowing further but then he turns his head to the side as he steps away. "Dehumanize them and it's a short step from there." To what, exactly, he does not say.
    He stops, looking at the woman's reflection in the glass of the stairwell's window. Then turns back and touches a leatherclad fingertip to the small display on his inner wrist. A message being sent to her burner with the faint buzz that she'll feel again. "That address is a safe house. It has supplies. Make use of them. Recover what you can of yourself."
    A pause then he murmurs, "You're going to need to make a decision. Whether you are going to be who you were, or what you've become. The league can help you make that decision."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    One of her instructions has been to not engage with powered individuals unless she is with Batman or one of their people. Batgirl has made sure to follow that rule. As she continues to regard Caroline, she makes little mental notes of the information provided. Not only by her words but by her body language, able to pick up on those little things that most people never even realize happen. It is what gives her an edge in combat situations and has helped her to survive in a world where she cannot communicate in the 'normal' way.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "There's no distance." she says, "I remember that rage. That pointlessness. Acknowledging it doesn't create distance. They just don't know who they -should- hate. But he'll be back, to teach us all. I can only hope that we are ready to refuse the lesson."

    She doesn't remove the burner from her pocket, just yet, but for the first time, she feels the masked woman watching, and after a few spare moments scanning the area, she seems to light on Cassandra- either where she is, or where she was, depending on whether the woman takes hard cover. Her eyes are like lights in the dark.

    After a moment of watching back, Caroline's attention returns to Batman. "I've made my choice. Caroline Ramsey died fifty years ago. I can't go back to that ruin. The ashes will hold no comfort for me. I might as well get one of those swell names people are taking nowadays."

    The... -Noise- she makes. It has a gross rhythm to it, some horrid cackling that it might be. Did she just tell a joke?

Batman has posed:
    A nod is given as he looks towards her, his words and the rhythm of them a short sharp steady rumble as he gives a nod. "Who she was may be gone. Her connections, her past." He turns his head to the side, brow furrowing behind that mask. "But for you, and what has passed, you will need this touchstone. You will need some element to connect you to this world, and to the now."
    He crosses his arms over his broad chest, gaze level. "Can choose a name. An identity. And function from there." There's a moment, then he adds. "And Gotham may not be a good place for you to be if the memories will affect you." He gestures to the side absently, "Right now you seem to be in control."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    Batgirl remains in place, not having hidden at any point to avoid there being any misinterpretation of her purpose. Instead, she is an observer. As Caroline looks her way, she remains perched in her crouched stance, cloak hiding the form beneath it. She continues to listen, hearing that suggestion and wondering.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    "I have plenty. I have the knowledge of what's to come. Of what he wants to do to my home." Pausing for a moment, she continues on. "Caroline Ramsey is dead, but there is enough that remains to know that this place is worth protecting. That its people do not deserve what those outside want for it."

    She offers this shrug. The smooth muscles of her overly pale flesh roll over her shoulders, one of her arms visible without its sleeve. It was hard to tell, before, but she is... Built. Her frame might be smaller than some, but she -looks- strong. In addition, there are... Scars, perhaps? Old, clearly. But there. Eyes comfortable in the dark would notice them- but Cassandra may be too far away.

    "I remember the dead. I always will. But those memories don't stop me from doing what I need to do."

Batman has posed:
    "Go to the address then," Batman turns, cape flaring for a moment as he moves and his footsteps are nearly silent as he walks away towards the other edge of the rooftop. "See to yourself. To your mortal self. Connect." His hand lowers to the belt at his side, undoing the clasp of the grapple line as he snaps it from its storage state to its active, the device clicking faintly.
    Turning back slightly his white eyelets will focus fully on the woman, "You are no good to me if you lose yourself." He lifts his chin, "I'll arrange to have one of the league call on you." He pauses and gestures towards Cassandra, a small signal that's just a lift of one hand but most likely enough to set her to task. Once that's done he looks back. "Do we understand each other?"

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
    As soon as he motions, Batgirl rises from her crouched position. She turns away from the other woman on the rooftop, cape flaring as she takes a few steps, revealing the trim costumed form beneath. She does a flip off the small building, landing on the rooftop silently. Then she is dashing away from them, heading for the open expanse of air over the roadway. She leaps before she even has her grapple in hand, falling through the air then firing at the last moment. Her arm is pulled sharply as she swings into an arc toward the next rooftop where she lands and immediately is off running.

Shatterpoint has posed:
    There is one of those noises again, some sort of short, snappy almost-laugh, but this time it's just a single burst of it. "Mortal." After all, well, she -is- who she is. The idea of being mortal seems to have left her mind. "I'll make use of what I find in this... Safe house. Then I'll see you out here." More of a general statement, but a bold claim. After all, it's Batman. Nobody ever sees him coming. "I think we understand each other enough, but unless I'm needed elsewhere, I won't be leaving Gotham. There is too much to do."

Batman has posed:
    That settles the discussion. Once Cassandra is in motion, Batman gives another nod and then turns away towards the edge of the rooftop. He brings that grapple line up and takes aim, the device giving a faint snap-hiss of compressed air releasing as it fires the hook upwards, the line uncoiling in the air like a kite's tail. It connects, hooks, the line draws taut...
    And it launches the man into the air, his cape billowing around him like the wings of a bat as the wind rushes past him. It'll be enough that she can see him against the night sky as he slashes through the air. Then he lands upon the distant rooftop and disappears from view.