428/The New Paradigm

The New Paradigm
Date of Scene:	15 May 2017
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Amarok

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Batman has posed:
Evening in Gotham City.

Central Heights is usually booming this time of night, with significant numbers of locals and tourists alike visiting its establishments.

Things aren't quite so popular this evening. There are still citizens, of course, but they're smaller in number and offset by the increase in GCPD officers whose uniforms sport the word 'ARKHAM' across the back.

The officers walk about with 1950s clubs and predatory grins on their faces.

The citizens have no such smiles.

Amarok has posed:
High above the streets in the shadow of a building perches The Urban Wolf, watching the exponential decay of the once proud city of Gotham. He sits, still as a statue, watching and waiting for someone to step beyond the bounds of law and order, and unwittingly inviting the Wolf to play.

Batman has posed:
"Out! Out!" an officer calls to a couple in a car. They're shaken, and they slowly step out, hands raised.

Then, the officer approaches with a long metal pole--and promptly gets to jacking up the car in order to replace what appears to be a flat tire.

Down the block, an elderly woman is surrounded by three policemen ... and then assisted across the street.

Not much further away from them, another officer stands at the mouth of an alley for a moment, before being jerked into it by /something/. The sounds of violence are barely noticeable amid the regular din of evening activity.

Amarok has posed:
The Urban Wolf watches with relative disinterest as as the cops go about their evening. Right up until one officer is dragged into the blindspot of an alley. The Wolf barely blinks before moving, sprinting, grappling, and lunging across rooftops until within the minute, he reaches the roof just over the alleyway, peering down into it with the night vision of his visor.

Batman has posed:
Down in the alley, a whirl of moving shadow obscures much of the activity. It doesn't take long, though, for the motion to subside so that the shapes of the two figures involved become clear.

It's the Batman, disarming and knocking out cold the officer, who appears to have a number of small scars, each the shape of a thin line, over his hands, neck, and head.

Amarok has posed:
The Urban Wolf watches for a moment before slinking down further for a better chance to spy on The Dark Knight of Gotham City, The Batman himself, and why for he might be assaulting an officially sanctioned officer of the GCPD.

The training of an assassin makes silently maneuvering down to a proper vantage point virtually effortless, but who can say what can elude The Batman?

Batman has posed:
Below, Batman restrains the unconscious officer's hands, and then he quickly runs a line from a nearby fire escape to hang the man upside-down a few feet above the ground.

Then, the dark knight fires a small grappling-gun retrieved from his belt toward a rooftop at the end of the alley. The line begins to retract, and Batman zips up past the Wolf's secret vantage point.

Amarok has posed:
As Batman zips by, the Wolf pulls and fires his own grappling gun to go to the same roof just behind the bat, giving up the element of secrecy in the pursuit of answers, and if need be, justice. Before he's even begun to move, his arm is up to defend against reprisal from the Batman, ready to catch and hold a reactionary strike.

Batman has posed:
As he alights on the roof, the caped crusader turns about to face the other figure. While his stance is defensive, Batman keeps his arms low, his hands only partially obscured by the folds of his cape.

"You're not a target for me right now," he says, his voice low and gravelly. "Unless you're trying to be."

Batman continues, his head tilted just slightly. "Gotham law enforcement is my highest priority--and they tend to stay at street level."

Amarok has posed:
The wolf hops onto and perches low against the edge of the roof, his features entirely hidden by his mask as he asks in a quiet deadpan, "You assaulted that officer down there. Why?" He asks as he slowly raises up to full height, his arms still low as he sizes up the human bat before him.

Batman has posed:
"He's a convicted serial killer. Every mark on his body represents a victim," Batman replies, turning away from his conversation partner to begin walking toward the opposite edge of the rooftop.

"If you think that makes a good candidate for public safety, then you're in the wrong city--regardless of what Gotham's city government might say." He looks back over his shoulder. "So ... you tell me. Are you on the side of the law? Or of justice?"

Amarok has posed:
The wolf steps down form the rooftop's ledge, slowly following after the bat, "...In a perfect world, the two would be one in the same. But in the same world, I would never have been born. I fight for justice, regardless of what that brands me." He says in the same deadpanning monotone as before, "What of you, bat? The stories vary wildly and fantasticly. I prefer to dwell only on facts. What do you struggle for?" He says as he comes to a stop at the midpoint of the roof.

Batman has posed:
Batman shakes his head. "There's no struggle--the issue is clear. The people of my city need protection, and I will make sure they have it ... whether it is protection from someone labeled 'criminal' or 'police'."

He inhales slowly. "It sounds like you're of a similar mind--if I take you at your word. For the moment, at least, I will." With a hand, Batman gestures toward the skyline behind him. "To serve the city, the people of the city, the GCPD must be opposed at all costs. That's what I intend to do."

Amarok has posed:
The Wolf nods and steps alongside the bat, clasping his hands loosely behind him, "....A good answer, and a righteous one. This distraction may yet prove beneficial for us both. Tell me, how would you have this blight purged from this once proud city?"

Batman has posed:
"I'm often told I'm a buzzkill," Batman replies quietly. "I could use more right now."

The faint hint of a smile forms at the corner of his mouth, and he steps up onto the edge of the roof.

Batman looks to the wolf and nods. "I'll do what I always do ... ruin the joke."

Then, he dives over the side of the roof, his cape catching the air like a pair of wings. Batman glides off into the darkness of the city.

Amarok has posed:
The wolf's faceless mark jostles slightly as he quietly chuckles beneath it, a broad smirk forming across the underface as he turns and goes in the opposite direction, quickly vanishing into the night like an armored phantom. An unspoken contest between him and the dark knight having begun, to see who can do more to derail this terrible joke on all the city.