5277/It's Gonna Hurt

It's Gonna Hurt
Date of Scene:	31 August 2018
Location:	Gotham City
Synopsis:	Jane Vasko and Batwoman cross paths on similar trails.
Cast of Characters:	Painkiller Jane, Batwoman

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Painkiller Jane has posed:
It's not often that Jane gets out of New York, but occasionally something comes up that warrants a longer cab ride. Johnny Fontaine is one of those somethings. His rap sheet is long and colorful, with everything from drugs to weapons to human trafficking. And now Jane has a line on one of his suppliers. Definitely worth a cab ride.

Gotham. What a shithole.

Jane looks out the window of the cab and finishes wrapping bandages about her forehead, cheeks, throat and wrists. The neighborhood isn't a good one by any stretch of the imagination. Perfect. "This'll do." she offers to the cabbie, reaching into her jacket to offer a handful of rumpled bills. Stepping out of the cab, she doesn't even wait for him to drive off before checking her guns. The safehouse is just a block away.

Batwoman has posed:
Gotham is Kate's home. And anyone who wants to cause trouble in Gotham is signing up for trouble with the Bats - Which results in an ass-kicking, either now or later. Which means one dreary night in Gotham, as a cab makes it's way through the slums, Batwoman is working the streets for intel. Flowing through the alleys like an angry river of red and black, the frustration of the past few days is being worked out on people who frankly deserve it.

As the cab drives off, a rough looking european man bursts from an alleyway and sprints across the road - And from a few meters up the alleyway, a flash of red launches at him, driving him against a brownstone wall. Batwoman doesn't seem to realise she has company, either, even as the con drops to the ground in a heap. Her hand makes it's way to her belt, withdrawing a set of cable ties, as she speaks with that rich seductive tone into her cowl. "Tag this one. He doesn't know anything but he's carrying for sale."

And then she notices she has company. What appears to be a partial mummy. A flattering, painted smile follows. "Hello stranger. Welcome to Gotham."

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Jane is expecting trouble, just not so soon. And definitely not dressed in black and red. With a cape, no less. As Batwoman rises, Jane has both guns out and approaches. "Hello, yourself." she replies, red lips pulling back into a smile.

The guns lower and she walks briskly over to the zip-tied man. Using a gun barrel, she tilts his head to get a look in better light. "Nope. Not what I'm looking for. Better throw this one back."

Giving the caped redhead a longer look, she asks. "You know it's not Halloween for a few months, right? I've heard the Batman legends, but never thought he'd have such a figure." Holstering the pistols, she offers. "I'm Jane."

Batwoman has posed:
Guns. Kate assesses the make and model before she's certain they provide no credible threat to her armor. And then she smiles, "Sounds like you know what you're shopping for. Gotham's having something of a scumbag yard sale, but they're keeping their worst in the back." The armored woman folds her arms over her chest, looking down a touch at the stranger.

"Halloween? Delightful, I'm fully dressed though, you seem like you were interrupted halfway through wrapping up." A chuckle, "The legends are true, but outdated. There's a few different bats busy around Gotham these nights. I'm Batwoman, bringing a woman's touch to Justice," A slight flare of the cape. Theatrics, of course. "So, exactly who are you and what brings you to our little slice of mischief?"

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane shrugs at the question, planting gloved hands on her hips. "Yeah, I suppose I really don't have room to talk about dressing up for Halloween." she replies wryly. "Johnny Fontaine has a safehouse in this neighborhood. He's got his hands in most everything illegal up in Big Apple. Thought I'd prune his supply line back a bit."

Her guns? Standard .40 caliber Sigs. Nothing fancy. "The bandages are partially for disguise, and partially for more practical reasons." Pausing to give the woman in black and red a longer looking over, Jane adds. "I wouldn't turn down backup, unless you've already got a date for tonight."

Batwoman has posed:
"Fontaine, huh." Kate leans down, to secure her new friend with zipties. Hands and feet, because she's not friendly. And hog-tied. For fun. The Batwoman looks over Jane again, "Well now. There are some rules in Gotham, if you want to take a girl like me out on a date. I'm not squeamish, but I've got this thing about killing. You murder anyone in this city, and you'll be answering for it the same as they would."

"You look a little ill-equipped to be taking them on by yourself though, with nothing more than a ambitious pixie cut and a couple of pistols." That same seductive, leading tone might get old throughout the night though.

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Jane's dark brow lifts, shifting the bandages around her forehead. "No killing in Gotham?" She looks a bit incredulous for a moment, but gives a slow nod anyway. "I'll do what I can. But I don't usually wait for the other guy to shoot first."

The bandaged redhead shrugs at the observation on equipment, then. "I heal... very fast. Still hurts, and I still bleed. That's why I pre-wrap with the bandages and wear red. Less of a mess that way. I can handle myself well enough. So if I get hit, don't worry about me."

Batwoman has posed:
"Shoulders, arms, legs." Kate gestures to the pistols, as she points out the safe places to shoot a criminal. Batwoman smirks again, "As long as you're sure you're shooting someone who deserves to be shot, anyway. Follow the rules, and maybe you'll get a second date."

Batwoman notes down the woman's claims, and shakes her head slightly, "Ah. One of those. Well, I'm slightly more fragile than that, hence my rather glamourous outfit. Quite an odd match we make, but at least you're an oddly cute dance partner. Shall we?"

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane smirks and draws her pistols again, thumbing the safeties. "Keep talking like that and I'm bound to get the wrong idea about you, Batwoman." she husks, not looking for a minute like she minds. Guns up, she nods and starts down the alley, moving from wall to dumpster to doorway.

Kate would very likely recognize Jane's movements and her stance as something right out of the police academy. Bandages and red leather aside. It doesn't take much maneuvering before they reach the back door to a laundromat. Jane stops to one side of it, back to the wall and guns up as she waits for Batwoman to get into position.

Batwoman has posed:
"Oh heavens, no, I wouldn't want you to suppose anything about the masked, armored vigilante you just met." The redhead seems to indulge a lot in this kind of wordplay, "I wouldn't trust a thing about me. Weapons, armor, innuendo. This is not even my real face." Jane's movements are studied - Police, not military. Unusual, yes. Kate follows though, down the dark alleyway, and then pauses at the rear door.

"Hmn. Give it thirty seconds, and then come in. I'll set the stage up." Batwoman takes a small leap onto a dumpster, catches her arm on the fire escape and then fires her grappling hook at the top of the building, disappearing over the top. And exactly twenty eight seconds later, there's the sound of creaking metal, and then heavy boots hitting the ground some distance inside the Laundromat. Loud, rich, sensual. "Hello Boys."

The response is immediate. Panic, devastation. And as weapons are fumbled with, found, and the clock strikes thirty seconds, everyone's eyes are on the smirking vigilante and mouthes are busy expressing shock, fear, and anger.

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane counts to thirty, listening to the greeting inside while she waits. Patiently. During the commotion she tries the back door, a bit increduluous at finding it unlocked. Good. Quiet entry for a change. Moving quickly and quietly, while everyone's focus is on the ostentatious woman in black and red, Jane slips into the main room behind them.

She starts shooting immediately, and her guns aren't silenced.

The .40 caliber pistols' bark is loud, and sort of ends the conversation phase of the encounter. Leg, leg, leg, shoulder, arm, shoulder. Jane hits half a dozen in as many seconds.

Batwoman has posed:
Kate is inside when Jane arrives, and the firefight is short but intense - Bullets flying off her armor as she launches from criminal to criminal. Heavy punches crumple a first one, a flying kick for the second, and a lariat sends a thirds flying into an industrial washing machine, shattering the hatch into a dozen pieces. Batwoman spins to find Jane dispatching some of the few remaining smugglers.

One last man awaits, fumbling with his gun before it's kicked out of his hands, and the Batwoman looms messily. "You are about to have a bad day." She observes.

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane checks the ones she's shot, knocking weapons from hands or out of the way. Just in case. Taking up a position where she can cover the room, she keeps her eyes scanning for movement. Or for any other sign that someone's going to do something stupid.

Groans fill the room, along with a few sobs and louder cries of pain. Jane steps closer to one of the goons she shot in the shoulder, giving him an ungentle knee in the back. "Keep it quiet... you're not gonna bleed out." She pauses, then adds. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

Batwoman has posed:
Kate is armored, after all, and she doesn't seem to worry about being shot at. She takes a fist full of shirt, pulling the man into a firm right hook that leaves him limp, and then releases the cretin in an unconscious heap on the floor. Batwoman shakes her head, and turns to look over the associate who brought her here. "You'll all live. But you've all got a date with the Gotham PD."

"Do you have any questions for them, stranger?" She smirks at Jane for a moment, before her attention returns to the few criminals who have decided to remain alert and responsive.

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane keeps her guns up all the same. "Johnny Fontaine." she declares simply. "He uses this place as a front." No, it's not a question. "I want to know who and how and when. And it'll be a lot less painful for everyone if someone starts talking. Very soon."

Batwoman has posed:
Kate shakes her head a little bit, as if she's somewhat disappointed. "And here I thought I was the guest of honour, you're paying attention to everyone else." She sighs, leaning against the broken washing machine as she considers the devastation that they've left in their wake. "Isn't that the way of first dates, though?" She suggests to an unconscious thug, "You take a girl out where she wants to go, and she's immediately chasing the first pair of legs with some hot intel."

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane flashes a smile at Kate, keeping her guns up more casually now since everyone is holding their hands high. "Nothing wrong with enjoying an appetizer before the main course, is there?" she quips back. And, as no one seems to be inclined towards talking, she side-steps over to where one of the perps she shot in the leg is kneeling.

Jane steps on the man's Achilles tendon, slowly and heavily so that the scream builds. "What was that? Sorry." She clocks him across the temple with a pistol and he goes down. "Who's next?"

Batwoman has posed:
"Mn. Free advice, don't let your main sit on the table gettting cold." Batwoman muses, looking somewhat dismissively at the first criminal that Jane has knocked out. "Listen, you guys should know I'm not really here in an official capacity. I mean, I'll keep her from killing any of you, but that's kind of all I'm bringing to the table." The armored woman looks down at her hand next, examining the glove with a sigh.

Painkiller Jane has posed:
The first perp is still crumpling when Jane steps over to the next. Standing before him where he kneels, she smiles. And somehow it's not a pleasant expression. Using the barrel of an automatic, she nudges beneath his chin and raises his face to meet her own.

Dispite Batwoman's promise, the perp loses it. "TUESDAY! THEY COME ON TUESDAY! BLUE SUV! GUY'S NAME IS FRANK!"

That's as far as he gets, when the guy beside him shoulders him hard. "Shut UP! Johnny's gonna kill us all!"

Jane cold-cocks the second perp with a pistol, then she turns to Batwoman. "Okay, I think we're finished here."

Batwoman has posed:
Batwoman pushes off the washing machine, as their perps finally give up the information that they have. "Oracle, send a cleanup crew to my location." She speaks to her cowl, smirking before she looks over at Jane. "So, I don't know if we're gonna call that a second date just yet. I'm still waiting to see where you'll take me next."

A gesture of her head at the back door, "Gotham PD aren't always the most understanding of what we do, so being here when they arrive isn't the best thing."

Painkiller Jane has posed:
Painkiller Jane's red lips pull back into another smile as she turns her back on the room. Guns are holstered. "Y'think?" she replies wryly. Batwoman is the taller of the two, so Jane slips her arm into the caped woman's own.

"How about we start with a drink? Is there some bar around here that caters to the caped-crowd?"