7767/Ladies Of Gotham On Patrol

Ladies Of Gotham On Patrol
Date of Scene:	07 June 2019
Location:	Crime Alley - Gotham
Synopsis:	Barbara and Stephanie take down a drug deal in Crime Alley. Barbara highlights Stephanie's need of more protective armor.
Cast of Characters:	Spoiler, Oracle

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Spoiler has posed:
The wind stirred, blowing discarded refuse across the streets of Gotham as if Mother Nature was going to try to clean up some of the decay from the city on this dark and dreary night. A light drizzle was falling, not enough to make one feel a need to run for cover. But enough to make handholds and footing slick, and the eventual accumulation of mist would eventually soak through anything that wasn't waterproof.

Spoiler's boots splashed in a puddle atop the roof she had just clambered onto, causing her to take more care with subsequent steps to avoid making more noise. She freed her homemade grapple from the roof and rewound the cable attached to it back into the belt pouch it had come out of. Finally readied again, she moved over to join her compatriot on tonight's patrol.

Since getting herself in the dog house, Stephanie had volunteered for as many patrols as she could get, including volunteering to join others. Tonight she'd volunteered to join Barbara Gordon as Batgirl patrolled one of Gotham's worst areas. Crime Alley. Stephanie didn't know the history of the place, didn't know how it tied into the origins of Gotham's first vigilante and hero. But she knew it was the kind of place you could find a mugging, murder, drug deal, or something else going down on nearly any patrol.

Moving to join Batgirl at the edge of the roof, Spoiler looked down at the group of a half dozen men in their late teens to early twenties. They were lounging around an alley, with a lookout at each end. A likely setup for a meet. Else they would not be out in the rain. Though probably not in this particular alley. Another close by maybe? "What do you think?" Spoiler asks as she peered down at the men, squinting a bit to try to see the men clearly through the misting rainfall.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara is in her full suit, her cape fluttering gently behind her as she steps up to the edge of the building and just places one booted foot upon it, causing droplets of dirt and much to grind down to the roof's near to the side of her other foot.

She's looking down at the man through the cowl worn over her red hair that is flowing out the sides and back. When Stephanie approaches, Barbara doesn't look to her because she's just watching the young individuals down below. If they were to look up for whatever reason its possible they could see her, but she's not necessarily worried if they do.

"Most people in this world have no idea how to fight." Barbara speaks, her voice is soft though and quiet. "All you really have to do is let them know you're watching. That you're here, and they'll fall in line. They'll obey you, simply because they fear you."

It sounds like a line Batman would say, and he probably has said it Barbara some time in the past.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler gazes down at the men below. Her mask covers her full face, and adheres to the area around her eyes so some bit of expression can be read from how that part of the mask moves. "Works for Bats. Still working on the 'getting feared' part," Spoiler says quietly. She isn't kidding either. Only those who follow superhero news probably have much of a clue who she is. And even amongst those, Spoiler would be a B or C-rate hero in their eyes.

Which only seems to further Stephanie's determination. "We could go down and get the location of their meet out of them?" she says, letting out the impulsive thought before catching herself. "Or, you know. Follow them and get them in the act," she amends quietly. A hand goes to one of her utility belt pouches though, double checking the contents to make sure it is full and they are ready.

"Looks like 5th Street Devils? I think. I can't quite make out his emblem, but the colors seem right," she says, leaning down a bit to peer through the rain at one of the guy's jackets. "Probably a drug buy then if so." The Devils make a lot of their money off selling heroin from the street corners. Roping in kids and teens looking to make a few bucks to do the distribution so they don't put themselves at risk.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara's eyes leave the men down below as she instead scans the horizon of the city, as much of it as they can see from their current vantage point at least. She draws in a breath and slowly releases it before she looks back down to the men in-question.

"Roughing up people prior to them doing anything, generally causes more problems than it solves." She offers then. "If we wait for them, however, we could be in for a long night of observation rather than action. But, catching them in the act creates irrefutable evidence that we were just in our actions to stop their criminal activity."

Its then that Barbara's bat-cowled stare shifts over to look to Spoiler. "This is your night." She says softly then, her stare enhanced by the shape of the fit cowl around them. "You tell me what you want to do. If nothing else..." She raises her left gloved hand. "We signal the Batmobile to rev its engines at the end of the alley. They'll see it, and spook off."

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler's head moves in a nod as she soaks in Barbara's wisdom. She glances up at the night. Visibility is limited for her on a night like this, making it more difficult to spot any other problems that need addressing if they go looking. Though Stephanie remembers that Batgirl will be able to overcome that particular problem, making the likelihood of finding something else in need of addressing more likely should they continue their patrol now, than if Stephanie was alone.

The clouds are socked in over the city, with no sign of relief in sight from the cool, wet drizzle. The prospect of waiting for a deal to go down means a cold, wet costume for Steph. But she gives a little shake of her head. "Let's wait and see," she says. "If we can put some fear into their suppliers it would probably be more effective than just scaring the dealers," she says.

She crouches down at the roof's edge, willing to wait it out. "Thanks for letting me come along," she says to Batgirl, speaking quietly and letting carry her words the comms that Batman has shared with Spoiler for her joint missions with the team. "There isn't a lot on my normal routes," she says of the beaches and other quiet areas she is normally assigned to patrol. Not a lot of opportunities for her to makeup for her recent gaffe.

Oracle has posed:
While Stephanie speaks of these things, Barbara resolves to the idea of waiting for the men to meet whomever it is they've come to this alley for. So in the mean time she reaches behind her left hip and pulls out a small device that she lifts up and aims at the men. With a few twists and adjustments she sets the device down on the edge of the roof and it starts to play... the men's voices. They can now hear them talking, quiet, but audible enough.

Barbara glances over to Spoiler then, her eyes look the younger girl up and down before she reaches out and unceremoniously 'pokes' at Spoiler's torso with one gloved index finger. "Do you even have any body armor on?" Barbara asks. "The style of your suit is nice and all, but it looks like you're severely under protected."

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler turns to watch Barbara, her head tilting to the side in a classical curious canine look as she watches the device come out. It takes her a moment to realize what it is. "Oh, that's nice," she says quietly as the men's voices can be made out now, talking about sports. Ones that aren't even season yet. "I had this boom mike that I tried for awhile, but it was more effort carrying it around than it was useful," she shares.

Stephanie glances down as Barbara pokes at her costume. There's just a little bit of resistance there. A thin layer of leather, perhaps just bordering on the thickness that a motorcycle-rider might wear to help protect them from scrapes should they get knocked onto the pavement. "I've got some leather in it. Two coats that I salvaged from the Five and Ten. The most putrid shade of mauve, and two of them in the same store," she says with a chuckle. "I died them in addition to covering them with fabric," she says. "No one would take me seriously if they saw me in that color." She glances down at her costume again then. "I have some elbow pads and knee pads on it too, though I keep them small. Tried bulkier ones but they got in the way during a fight," she shares.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara looks away after hearing the explanation of Spoiler's attire. "You've talent in the arts and the crafts." She quietly states, her stare going back down into the alleyway between the buildings. "But... you're going to get yourself killed wearing stuff like that. I realize it effects the way you fight, but... you need to learn how to fight differently, to adjust to body armor. But not the kind you're wearing."

Batgirl looks back to that of Spoiler then. "I have another set. Its probably a little large for you, but it won't take much to fit it to your form. If you're comfortable with wearing it... we can make it happen. You can also choose to dye it or, add... some personal touches, but... if you go overboard, you'll be compromising your ability to properly stealth in most cases.

Her eyes dart down to the listening device, she's a patient woman though... she can listen to arm chair sports chatter for awhile, if it means action to come later.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie smiles behind her mask at the mention of her talent at sewing and crafting. She takes pride in it, even if it was hard-won skill. "Had to repair most of my own clothing as a kid," she comments, giving a little shrug of her shoulders at the admission. Her head swings back to Batgirl to listen to her opinion about the lack of protecting of her outfit. Spoiler looks down at herself, a hand running over her arm and then torso overtop of her thin costume.

"I've always used my gymnastics a lot," Stephanie says of her fighting style. Indeed, things like running at walls to flip overtop of the person are common for her. Though something Batgirl can do in her armor, at that.

The mention of another suit of armor causes Stephanie to forget herself from where she's crouching to not be as easily noticeable. She sits up straighter for a moment, showing her surprise. "That... wow, I mean, yeah. That would be great," she says. "If we need to adjust it I-" Stephanie gets out before she's interrupted by something happening down below.

Footsteps announce someone coming around the corner into the alley. "Alright, it's on. They're down at the other end," the new arrival can be heard saying. Everyone down below stands up, a few checking weapons before stowing them back in their clothing. A couple of handguns, some knives and chains, things like that. "Alright, let's head over. Two of you at the ends of the block so no one gets behind us without us knowing," the leader says as they head off, moving to leave the alley, turning left to head down to the middle of the block to another alley across the street.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara continues to listen to Stephanie and she's about to interrupt her with "Acrobatics will only get you so fa--" But she too is cut off and stops her words as the situation elevates down below.

The caped woman leans forward and picks up the listening device, she attaches it to her belt again and her mostly covered face looks over to Stephanie. "Your night, your gameplan." She says to the younger woman, who might get a sense that Batgirl is doing quite a lot of 'testing' of her throughout this.

She keeps her left foot hiked up onto the railing of the building while her other is firmly planted on the roof, her cape is blowing behind her off to her left side, revealing her back beneath it, also heavily armored but in a way that is strategically patterned to keep her form as fully protected while also maintain dexterity allowance.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler thinks for only a moment. Going with the flow and adjusting on the fly is her way. "We'll cross the street while they are busy getting into position," she says, and already starts moving that way even before she's done speaking. She reaches the adjacent corner of the room. The street is too far to jump, but there is a water tower on a roof on the other side.

Stephanie pulls out her grapple and cable, swinging it in a circle and throwing it to latch on. "We'll each focus on one of the groups. Soon as they are near to making the exchange, smoke pellets and we take them down. Have the police pick them up with the goods," she says, then swings out into space.

Spoiler swings across the way, jumping out to one side so she'll reach her low point and swing most of hte way back up to the next roof before her momentum is done, allowing her to grab a window, then jump to grasp the roof top and pull herself up. She undoes her grapple and respoils her line, only making sure Batgirl is with her before heading over towards the alley which is a break in this line of roofs further ahead. The building is about four stories tall, so she plants a grapple to help slow herself when it comes time to descend. Below, the two gangs are at opposite ends of the alley, moving to meet in the middle. One person on each side has a duffle bag with them.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl's ability to follow after Stephanie is flawless and experienced. Her cape is her means by which she travels, its fabric stiffening in a way that allows her to glide seemingly without effort across the urban landscape beneath them, barely making any more then a quiet flutter as she goes.

When she comes down beside Stephanie, her cape once more sweeps about her body almost like ebon fluid and she crouches down upon the ledge, allowing that black liquid to pool around her.

She observes the suspects.

She watches the gangs grow ever closer to one another in the center of the alleyway. She can hear them calling out to each other, the initial greetings are generally the loudest amongst egotistical types such as these. Almost like alley dogs barking at one another before they settle into their business.

"I'll come in behind the southern group." Batgirl says to Spoiler. "You come in behind the northern."

A moment later and its own, Barbara's legs move forward and she drops, her cape partially decelerating her descent and as she goes her right hand casts out a series of smoke explosives that pepper the ground around the men just as they're starting to exchange their possessions with one another!

SMOKE EVERYWHERE!

SHOUTS ERUPT!

And Batgirl descends into the cloud, right amidst it all.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler watches how Batgirl's cape goes from a sturdy shape to allow for gliding, back to just hanging from her back. She'd kill to know how to do that. She had read up on the internet about things trying to figure out how to do it. Though she did find some things that suggested the how... something to do with electric currents that could cause that rigidity in certain materials?... it ended up being completely impractical for Stephanie to include in her costume given her means at the time.

The thought is brief though, Spoiler focusing on the task at hand. She moves quietly across the rooftop. That is one area she has always excelled at. She pulls out what amount to only a slight upgrade on the smoke bombs sold as fireworks. These are a little more hardy in how much smoke they put out, and Stephanie has managed to work up a quick way to light them via a battery in her pouch. She drops a handful of them one after another, and the smoke spreads, she slides down her line, ditching it as her feet hit the ground.

The hoodlums are surprised by the sudden smoke. "What the hell!?" "What's going on!" "Watch out, are they double-crossing!?" voices cry back and forth. "No, it's the Bat!" one of the guys yells whether having seen something, or just being a little smarter in assumptions than his comrades.

Spoiler doesn't wait, having a pair of metal rods in hand. She cracks down one on a hand that has pulled out a gun, then turns and sweeps the leg of another man armed with a firearm. He falls to the ground before she cracks his hand to make him let go of the weapon, then kicks both out of the way into some bags of garbage along the side of the alley. She spins off into the smoke, having noted the positions of the 7 men on her end of the alley, using that knowledge to her advantage as she can't see through the smoke much better than the they can.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl's only weapons that she visibly employs in this smoky fight are her hands and legs. Sweeping motions with her legs to drop men down to their backs, fists and hands to help propel them to the floor, or into each other.

One man raises a gun and tries to shoot her with it, but she intercepts his wrist and drives the gun down toward the alley floor where it discharges twice into the dirty wet concrete. The gunshots are loud and that noise bounces off of the slimy filty brick walls, but the bullets from the weapon didn't even come close to Barbara and after snapping his wrist, the gun clatters to the ground and the man is sent flying back into a metal dumpster after she delivers a palm-first strike to the bridge of his nose.

"It is the BATMAN!" One of the men shouts in the smoke. "I KNEW HE'D BE HERE!"

Batgirl descends upon this man, her cape flaring as he reaches for that gun on the ground on his hands and knees. She delivers a hard kick to the side of his face, then wraps her arms around him to pull him up into her embrace.

"You know nothing." She whispers into his ear, her firey red hair draped over her shoulders indicating that she clearly is not the Batman.

A solid head-butt to the man's forehead sends him to back to join his brother on the ground, and she lifts the handgun up into the air, then closes her hand around its barrel... the strength enhancing gauntlet activates and crushes the weapon into pieces.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler closes in on another man, armed with a chain, as the sounds of gunfire from the other end of the alley are heard. "Now see this is why you should have stayed in school," she says, swinging the metal fighting sticks in a flurry of blows, hitting the man's gut, arm, and then head, before using one to sweep out his foot and knock him onto his back.

She moves through the smoke to close on a fourth man. His gun arm swings up and Spoiler flares her cape even as she ducks, giving him a large silhouette to aim at in the dark and smoke, most of which she has her body ducking under. The gun discharges three times, the muzzle flashes like lighting in a cloud if scene at a distance. Stephanie will have three holes in her cape to patch, but none in her body as she then rolls forward beneath the man's aim and then delivers the man one of her patented roundhouse uppercuts delivered with a fist to knock him on his back. That gun is kicked aside as well. Three men left.

One of them spots Stephanie and throws the bag at her then turns to run. She knocks it aside and pulls out a homemade bolo, twirling it once before throwing it to wrap about his legs.

Oracle has posed:
The last man to run from Barbara, she seemingly lets go. To the mouth of the alleway he runs at full speed with his feet splashing down in puddles that pool together in the center of the corridor, looking back over his shoulder while he runs for his liiiife.

Just as he steps out into the mouth beyond the alleyway, he's slammed into by the Batmobile. A lighter version of the Batmobile that Batman uses anyway, its a small and 'sporty' two seater that Barbara prefers to use, because its slimmer, sleeker and faster. Not as well armored though.

Its armored enough that the man running is sent rolling up into the air and down off of the vehicle, groaning and horribly unable to move.

Batgirl, steps out of the smoke in the alley, she looks to the man in front of her car. Then lowers the controller down to her side again. She turns to walk toward Stephanie's location.

Her eyes scan over the fighting the other has done, and is doing.

Spoiler has posed:
Two men are left in the smoke. Both have knives and both manage to find Spoiler at the same time, drawn by the cries of the man whose feet are bound. At least until Spoiler silences the cries with a kick. Her smoke bombs are less effective, especially with the constant mist of rainfall, and by the time she squares off with the last time, they don't have problems seeing her.

A flurry of blows and dodges result as Stephanie evades slashing knives. A punch is thrown to one man's gut before she ducks to avoid a flashing blade. A kick to the other man's leg, then having to spin back to block aside a stab.

Spoiler throws one man into the other, resulting in a cry of pain as one of the knives draws friendly fire. They both rush her at the same time then. Stephanie throws a baton, conking one man in the forehead with it even as she drops to the ground and tangles legs with the second man to drop him onto his stomach. He slashes over, getting a cry of pain from Stephanie as the knife slices across her forearm, cutting through her costume. She backhands him in the back of the head, bouncing his face off the ground and ending his night. The final man, already woozy from the baton to the head, she takes down with a wrist hold and then zip ties his wrists behind him.

Breathing hard from the exertion, the blond crime fighter looks around for any other signs of danger, and sees Batgirl moving towards her. "Looks like this drug deal went DOWN," she says, putting emphasis on the word to signal how she meant it. She checks her arm, pulling a length of ace wrap from her utility belt and hurriedly bandaging it, before moving to zip tie the rest of the men.

Oracle has posed:
Batgirl stands in the center of the alley with her hands at her sides and her eyes upon that of Spoiler as she wraps up her fighting. When she sees the young blond express the words, then go to bandage her arm, she simply speaks out. "These are the kinds of injuries you'll be lucky to sustain if you continue to fight in the garments you have now.

She knows not all of the men they just dismantled are unconscious so she's choosing her words wisely. "Likely, far worse will come. We all, no matter our skill and training, will get bested by another at some point."

Batgirl walks over to the items that the groups were exchanging, she nudges one of their cases with a booted foot. "Gotham PD are enroute." She says then.

Spoiler has posed:
Spoiler finishes the bandaging and the zip-tying, as well as making sure none of the men are too badly hurt. She recovers her equipment including the grapple, and then rejoins Batgirl over by the evidence.

Spoiler gives a slow nod at the mention of the injury. "This has been the best I'd been able to put together," she says in agreement. "If you can help with that upgrade, I'd really appreciate it, Batgirl," she says, showing operational restraint and not using names. "It's been tough keeping up equipment at the best of times. Especially lately" she says, before trailing off.

Stephanie glances about, confirming the men are subdued and their weapons not where they can get back at them. "Shall we vamoose?" she asks, looking towards Barbara's Batmobile.

Oracle has posed:
"It'll be a priority." Batgirl says while observing Stephanie's work with the zip ties. After its all said and done though, she does nod to that final question and motions for Spoiler to come with her. As they start down the alleyway, she picks up that last man that had been collided into by her Batmobile, and she tends to his injuries for a moment. "You'll be fine." She tells him. "You've got a few broken ribs, and a lot of bruises. But only your ego and your lackluster personality are the true problems you'll take with you from this in the long run."

The man is set to the side as the police vehicles arrive at the other end of the t-juncture alleway and Barbara rises up then.

She motions to the car. "Lets go." She tells Spoiler. "I'm sure we can find more to do tonight, but I won't push it much further with your arm hurt now."