7708/Time Heals All Wounds...Or Does It

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Time Heals All Wounds...Or Does It
Date of Scene: 01 June 2019
Location: South Hinkley, Gotham City
Synopsis: Batman and Catwoman end up responding to the same van full of drug dealers, leading to their first encounter since a big loss of trust.
Cast of Characters: Catwoman, Batman




Catwoman has posed:
Night has fallen in Gotham, meaning dangerous areas only grow more dangerous. In South Hinkley, the area Catwoman keeps an apartment under her alter ego, she's taken more time lately to keep an eye on the organized crime. There are people she cares about, normal people with normal lives, often affected by the guns and drugs that exist.

Atop a roof, she rests on one knee as she watches movement below. It looks like a drug exchange, someone with a van full of the stuff selling to people with addictions, people who don't know what they're getting into, people who could be in danger of overdosing. The pushers don't care, exactly. For them, paying, repeat customers are what they want, but they don't really think about the consequences for others. The money and the power is what keeps them in the game.

The question is how long to wait before acting?

Batman has posed:
     The Gotham night always seems darker than in other places. Hinkley was one of the areas he would patrol tonight, and while he loathed the grip drug dealers had on the denizens of Hinkley, he wanted the bigger fish: their suppliers.

  A shadow looms above the van, dropping in front of it. A GPS tag sneaked into the engine compartment of the van, and by the time it was placed, Batman leaped atop the van, looking down to the dealer with a scowl of his eyelets. "Wrong night to be dealing poison."

Catwoman has posed:
The answer? Too long, perhaps.

Just as Catwoman begins to lean forward as if to dive off the three-story building, /he/ turns up. "Damn it," she says under her breath, not having expected Batman to come into the mix out of nowhere, even if that's what he /always/ seems to do. It's a knack he has.

This was going to be her thing to do, but now with him there, she hesitates. Is he even aware of her presence, or is he fully focused on the dealers?

Batman has posed:
     Often times Batman appears in the most inopportune moments, for others.

  He looks up and to Catwoman for a second, he knew she was there. He was testing her much like he would test those who work with him.

  For a moment, he drops down from the van and readies himself for a fight. The junkies lining up to buy have long since tucked tail and ran.

Catwoman has posed:
If he's noticed her and can see clearly enough, Batman may have spotted a look of indecision on what can be seen of Catwoman's face. The goggles partly mask the whole thing, but the lower half of her face remains uncovered, framed by her own version of a cowl. The styled ears atop her head give her an appearance of attentiveness that's always on.

Inching closer to the edge of the rooftop, a clawed, gloved hand curls over, bracing herself as she watches.

Test or not, and she likely realizes it is, what is he looking for? Involvement? For her to stay out of it and let him handle his business? From her perch, she can see everything with the van and the Caped Crusader, and there's shouting from within.

Batman has posed:
     Batman pulls up his fists, and begins striking.

  Black and grey arms fly through the air, a gun pulled and Batman quickly disarms, pulling the slide and the magazine from the pistol.

  The golden bat symbol on his chest entices them to shoot at that spot. Where the armor is the heaviest.

Catwoman has posed:
These dealers aren't anything special, but in Gotham City there are some who are armed better than others, especially when the potential for trouble like this exists. In this case, these guys are packing. The product is valuable, and whoever they're working for is taking no chances. Could it be Penguin? Some mob boss?

Whatever the case, the back doors swing open while Batman is engaged with a couple others, and someone pops up with an AR-15 rifle. This is when Catwoman reacts. "Batman, look out! Behind you!" Does she want to see him get shot? Of course not. At the same time, the whip is unleashed, a crack in the air heard as she lashes out at a street light to swing down with both feet aimed at the side of the would-be gunman.

Batman has posed:
     Batman had been dealing with the others, his back turned as the doors of the van spring open. The heads up from Catwoman only have Batman alter his plan somewhat. In an instant, he activated some of his gadgets. From his right wrist, a Projected Energy Pulse shoots from his gauntlet, sending one dealer reeling back and convulsing on the ground. Another kick lands on the dealer to his side. The armed rifleman goes free for now, but Bruce had noticed a shadow coming from the rooftop where Catwoman had been perched upon.

Catwoman has posed:
That shadow, that 'black cat,' is of course who Batman suspects. She gains momentum with the swing and just before he's able to squeeze the trigger those booted feet make contact squarely with the man's arms, throwing his balance off and causing him to lose hold of the weapon. She follows that up with a flick of the wrist to loosen the whip from the lamp above, then she strikes him with it a couple times. Arms, legs, then he yelps and fades back in fear. He did /not/ expect both the Bat /and/ the Cat out here!

Batman has posed:
     Batman's boot makes contact with the second dealer, making himself ready to throw blows once more.

  Batman joins to the side of Catwoman. He doesn't waste any time before he throws a set of two batarangs toward the formerly gun wielding thug, trying to pin him to a hard surface.

Catwoman has posed:
The batarangs catch the man's clothing and sticks to where he is, making it difficult for him to just wriggle his way out. While Batman is working on his side of things, it's clear to see these people are in way over their heads. If not for their guns, they wouldn't even be a danger. They have no real numbers advantage, and there's always the element of fear when Batman is present.

As for Catwoman, she finds herself spending more time paying attention to where Batman is and what he's doing, less so on their targets. She lacks a dance partner at the moment, so to speak, so there's nothing to really catch her off guard. She's more concerned with what he's going to do next, once this is taken care of.

Batman has posed:
     A button is pressed on his glove, activating voice modulation. "Who's your supplier?" He demands, punching the side of the door that the thug is pinned upon. He was always aware of Catwoman, her positioning, her actions.

Catwoman has posed:
And those actions have the Cat shifting off toward one side, working on coiling her whip up again to hold it in her right hand, not yet winding it about her waist. It says she's not so sure this fight is over yet. With the dealers, maybe. With the Bat, that remains to be seen, so a little separation is warranted. The last time they crossed paths, it ended with a bad decision, a mistake, an accident, whatever they both see it as. But, it made things worse.

The one Batman is putting more of the fear into stammers a bit, hesitant to give away anything. "I-I can't! If I t-tell you, th-they'll kill me!" His hands are up, defensive posture, cowering. No threat. No danger. Just a babbling mess, or soon to be.

Batman has posed:
     Batman scowls before he leans right in front of the dealer, close enough he could smell the tea and cucumber sandwich that was still on his breath, one of Alfred's forced dinners before anyone was let out of the cave for the night.

  "What makes you think keeping quiet keeps you safe?" He says, seething. This was part of the theatre of it all, part of what made him the stuff of nightmares for all evildoers in Gotham. He looks to Catwoman only momentarily, he had business with her too.

Catwoman has posed:
For her part, Catwoman stands by, if not patiently. Her arms cross as she watches the act, if it is in fact one. She has an idea about that, but she keeps her thoughts to herself. When she catches his glance, she makes a show of checking an invisible watch. That's how sassy she can be even when she knows the two of them aren't finished.

"L-look..it's the Penitentes. They got a b-bunch of the g-good stuff and Joey and I a-are heading up d-distribution here!" Joey would be the one bataranged to the nearby wall, and he hisses, "Shut up, Tommy!" Another member lies knocked out from a good punch earlier. The Penitentes are a Mexican cartel trying to make a bigger move in on Gotham.

Batman has posed:
     "That's the first good choice you've made today." Batman says, turning on a holographic display on his gauntlet. "GCPD will be here to pick you up."

  Batman raises his grapnel and shot it, climbing the wire and landing on the rooftop. He does so because he wants to be followed, by Catwoman specifically. Even if there was no siren yet, they'd be approaching soon.

Catwoman has posed:
"So don't go anywhere," Catwoman puts in, ever so helpfully, before frowning as she notes Batman's ascent and stoppage up on the roof. "Because apparently we'll be watching."

Her way up is more unconventional, but normal for her: fire escape. It takes marginally longer for her to join the Bat up there, but upon finishing her climb she stands apart from him enough to give her room to react should he come at her. "So..."

Batman has posed:
     Batman stands, his cape draped over his shoulders and hiding the rest of his body beneath the neck. "...So." Is all he says, he wants her to start talking first.

Catwoman has posed:
"...sooooo..." Catwoman repeats, dragging it out this time, but she ends up not making him push further for more words. She can just tell by the way he stands, the cape draped perfectly around him as he levels his full attention on her. Down below, the dealers could make a break for it and she certainly wouldn't notice, even if she's glancing away from the intensity of his white-eyed stare.

"You're probably here to tell me you've had enough of everything and you're finally going to lock me away in Arkham, right?" she begins, seeing whether she's read him correctly or not.

Batman has posed:
     "If that is what I wanted to do with you, I would have left you with the dealers down there." Batman comments, no voice modulation now, it was that deep gravely tone he always had when he wore the cape and cowl.

Catwoman has posed:
The response, especially without the change in voice he used below - but still altered compared to whatever his normal voice is - leaves Catwoman's brows to knit together briefly behind those lenses. "Oh."

The pause lasts a few seconds, then she broaches the subject. "Red Robin talked to you, then? About what happened? I know it doesn't wipe it away." Her voice, like his, is just different enough from her usual that it's been hard to pinpoint who she may or may not be. Not a lot of women around Gotham who could pull off the look, though. That's been part of the mystery yet to be solved. Perhaps it's Batman's greatest one.

Batman has posed:
     Batman looks quite unamused at the comments concerning Red Robin. "He tried."

  He comments, keeping that cape draped around himself. "It doesn't wipe it away." He agrees, then he looks her over. "What is your goal here?" He asks, it doesn't suppose on what his own theories are. Though he does indeed have theories. Ranging from the most innocent and benign to a part of some grand scheme involving the downfall of his crime fighting empire.

Catwoman has posed:
Trying is all Catwoman could have asked for, and she indicates her response in the form of a brief nod and shift of a shoulder. "Look, I'm trying not to steal...as much," the catburglar states, leaving it at that. He knows her love of thievery, how good she is at it, how much of an addiction it is.

"And, sometimes, I'm trying to maybe direct my..talents..in other directions. I was watching those dealers, too. I don't like that they're in my..well, everyone knows it's your city. I don't like them here, poisoning innocent people. I don't like all the guns, either." She almost said something else that may have given Batman a clue, though she /is/ known to frequent South Hinkley compared to some other neighborhoods.

He's attempted to get her to consider turning over a new leaf before.

Batman has posed:
     The white lenses squint just a bit before he palms something. "If you truly want to change yourself, and the city. Be on call. Keep doing the little things to keep the gangs from taking more territory."

  The cape is moved behind his back, and a gloved hand extends a burner phone from his utility belt. "We both know they will try to get you to work for them, funnel my team info that you find."

Catwoman has posed:
"On call, huh? Because you know cats and birds don't always get along, right? And you've got a few of those under you," Catwoman says with some skepticism. Then again, he didn't say she had to work /with/ them, just be an informant.

She saunters her way forward, as much as someone still acting cautious can saunter, and her own gloved hand extends to accept the phone. "You aren't going to use this to track down where I make my bed, are you? Unless you..no, nevermind." Under different circumstances, she might tease him about her bed, but they're not in a place where that's a good idea right now.

"I know how to balance atop a fence. If I come across something the rest of you should take care of, I can pass it along." It would be a start. This also leaves her within reach of him.

Batman has posed:
     "If I wanted to track you, I wouldn't need this. And you would never know." He mentions, taking out a pea sized metal object. "This is the size of the trackers I use. And you don't have any on you." Batman gives a nod. "Then you're taking the right steps then." At least where his opinion of her is concerned. "So that's where we stand. Prove to me you can be more, and we can talk."

  Batman reaches towards that utility belt of his and pulls out the grapnel. Shooting it off and zooming toward another destination for the night. That never ending crusade of his and all.

Catwoman has posed:
Catwoman squints in the direction of those fingers and the small tracker. She understands the significance of him telling and showing her this, along with being honest with her.

It's hard to be honest sometimes.

"Look, I know I can be a selfish bitch at times, and I've got a bunch of flaws, but..yeah. Let me see what I can do with this," she explains, holding up the phone before tucking it away somewhere.

She remains standing around once the Bat has taken his leave in the way he often does. By that point, she can hear sirens below. The Feline Fatale is gone by the time the cruisers pull to a stop to make their arrests.