985/Early Morning Hustle

Early Morning Hustle
Date of Scene:	16 June 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Star Shimmer, Huntress

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Star Shimmer has posed:
Rain trickles down from the inky sky, blotting out the light of the moon. The young woman who is just starting to develop a name in the city. She's not as well known as even some of the lesser known vigilantes. On top of this, she really shouldn't be out yet as she is technically too raw. That was laid down to her though before the ring happened. That violet ring is hidden beneath black gloves, Any light presented relayed to her belt which looks remarkably like one of the Bat utility belts, though hers is violet of course. Its all a game of misdirection for her at the moment. Sitting on a rooftop, watching down towards the iceburg lounge, The Nightingale Waits.

Rumor has it, someone is planning on hitting the Gotham Stock Exchange. The best place for them to lay low until its game time would be Penguin's spot. So, its a waiting game. Her masked gaze giving off violet emissive light, gazing down to the street below. Its time for Earth's Rookie Star Sapphire to go to work.

Huntress has posed:
Fortunately... or unfortunately... for Nightingale, someone else is watching the Iceberg Lounge tonight. The Huntress has been here for a while, her own perch not far from the new heroine's rooftop. Since her vantage point is at a different angle to the Lounge, however, Huntress isn't in Nightingale's direct line of sight.

Leaning against a brick chimney, hood pulled forward against the rain, Huntress watches the Lounge through night vision binoculars. She spots the purple vigilante as well. Recognize her? That's another matter entirely. Touching her comlink, Huntress switches to the frequency that Batwoman often uses and decides to try something. "Lovely night to be sitting in the rain. Anyone for Chinese carry-out?"

Star Shimmer has posed:
Sadly Nightingale doesn't have a comlink yet. This has to do with her still being a rookie and not even supposed to be out yet. As if that would keep her from from helping out. If only she wasn't in her gotham best. She'd have an umbrella construct. The last thing she needs though is a bright violet beacon drawing that sort of attention.

Suddenly the party starts. Several men walk out. Their guns catching the reflection of street lights. The buildings aren't terribly far away so, they just start walking their way towards the Stock Exchange. They don't make a sound, not wanting to draw the attention of the well known bigger threats that roam the city. Little do they know, Its already too late.

Huntress has posed:
No response. That's just *perfect*. Nothing like an unknown wildcard to spice up the evening. Huntress draws her crossbow, touching a button to open the spring-loaded arms. Putting the binoculars away, she watches the men moving towards the Stock Exchange. Deep breath, slow exhale. And wait. Technically there's nothing illegal about walking across the street, after all.

Huntress readies a grappel line, preparing to swing down and break up the party.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale smiles. Its time. A violet line extends from her belt, just like a grappling line. With a quick motion she swandives off the roof top. the line keeping her from becoming a red spot on the pavement. Of course, she doesn't let on that she is also using the ring to slow her descent. Touching down, the light line vanishes. Quietly she starts moving through the dark, doing her best to remain hidden.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress waits until the goons force open the door, and then she's a lot less subtle. Yes, she uses a grappel line but it's more like an optional safety device for her. The black and purple vigilante launches herself into more or less a free-fall, the line slowing her fall slightly as she crashes into the group like a bowling ball toppling pins. One breaks her fall... he won't be getting up anytime soon... and a couple others go down hard.

Star Shimmer has posed:
She's just about to make her move when suddenly! HUNTRESS! She winces. Quickly Nightingale moves in. Pulling a little something from her belt as she rushes in, She suddenly lets fly the things she had hidden. A pair of throwing stars? Both are glowing violet and both are in the shape of the Star Sapphire logo. The two throwing stars peg two of the crooks guns. Which are quickly knocked out of their hands. Then all bets are off for one of them. She comes rushing in and starts fighting. She's not the greatest of fighters, but she is good enough to handle herself. Would it be easier to just come in as a Star Sapphire and kick wholesale ass? Yes. Would it be in the spirit of the Gotham Vigilante's? No.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress wades into the group using mostly her fists, and she's being far from nice. A punch to the base of the skull, a kick blows a knee out sideways. There's a flash as a knife blade plunges neatly into a goon's wrist, causing him to drop a gun. The long coat whirls as she fights, using a variety of martial arts techniques. "Hey, girlfriend. Need to get you a comlink." she offers almost casually. "We need to leave one conscious for interrogation."

One of the goons gets off a shot, knocking Huntress back half a step. Her thrown knife plunges into his shoulder, and the gun clatters to the pavement.

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale is actually moving fairly well, using her surroundings to help her to deal with the men. Thankfully there aren't too many more. She quickly decks another thug and sends him to the ground. "Good luck with that one Shug, The Bats don't exactly want me out too much." She snickers a little. Her voice is much softer then it was in school. Far more smooth and sounds a bit sultry.

When the goon pulls off a shot and catches a throwing knife for his troubles, Nightingale darts in. Using some agility, or maybe a little bit of her ring, she quickly pulls a quick scissor throw, sending him face first to the ground. "Honey, you just screwed up." Dropping down, she puts her knee on his back. She pulls out a trio of zipties. Number 1, She ties his hands behind her back. Number two, she zipties his legs, and finally number 3, she zipties both previous zipties together, letting him lie there in a hogtied fashion.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress is more concerned with increasing the body count, now that Nightingale is applying zipties to the one with a knife in his shoulder. She moves efficiently through the remaining goons, whirling in unpredictable circles and striking with both feet and hands. For a woman who's taken a slug she doesn't seem to be hampered too much, either.

At last the street in front of the Stock Exchange is littered with bodies. Everyone is still breathing, although Huntress does have to retrieve another knife from one guy's thigh. Wiping the blood on his suit, she sheaths it. And only then does she check her side. Purple lips curl into a smile and she offers. "In Kevlar we trust. I'm Huntress. Got a name, honey?"

Star Shimmer has posed:
The younger girl smiles a little as she looks at the hog tied man. She then turns her attention, watching Huntress go to work. The remainder of the goons are promptly taken down leaving a few unconscious bodies who just sorta lie around. She stands and quickly punches out one guy who decides they want to get up. She gives a little shrug and smirks.

"I hear you there. Got shot not too long ago myself. Jerks were using armor piercing rounds though and I wound up laid up for a bit." She snickers. "Nightingale. Nice to meet you, Huntress."

Huntress has posed:
Huntress nods beneath the hood, eyes hidden behind the lenses of her mask. "That's why I wear the coat. Sometimes multiple layers help." she replies. Stepping over a couple of bodies, she closes the door to the Exchange. "Pretty sure they set off an alarm, so we should clear out. Help me with laughing boy, here?" The trussed-up goon may be stupid, but he's big. And heavy. "Just around the corner should be fine."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale nods and helps out moving the man. It doesn't take too long. As soon as the man is in place, the young woman fiddles with her belt. A glowing violet grappling line launches its way up to the roof of the building. From there she works her way up.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress helps to drag the man around the corner as well... it takes them both... then she watches as Nightingale starts to ascend. "Don't go too far." she calls out, turning her attention to the trussed goon. Raising a booted foot, she plants it firmly into the guy's bleeding shoulder and grinds the heel. The pain brings him back to consciousness with a loud groan, and she grins. "Hi there, handsome. Let's have a chat, just you and me."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale simply nods to HUntress as she makes her way up to the roof. Mean while, on the ground, the man who is able to talk once again is horrified. "I don't know anything. I'm a new guy with this crew. No one tells me anything. Ya gotta believe me man." He grovels.

Huntress has posed:
"Y'know, I really wish it was as simple as me believing you." Huntress replies. Drawing a knife with a soft hiss of metal, the point presses against his throat. "Because if you -really- don't know anything then there's no point in continuing this conversation. That makes you expendable, both to me and to your friends. They'll probably make bail by morning, and they'll know that you got away. Which means you probably talked." She pauses for effect. "Expendable guys on the crew are the first ones found in dumpsters in the morning. Shall we continue?"

Star Shimmer has posed:
The man's eyes go wide, "I.. I Really am new to the crew. They wanted to steal stock notes. I... I seen the boss once. He... He's a new guy to the area. He goes by The Tank. He only meets new guys once. After that its all phone communication. He wears a mask and blocks his number!"

Huntress has posed:
Purple lips draw back into a smile at that and she nods. "See? You're not as stupid as I thought, after all. Not that it's going to help you much once your pals find you again." She pauses, then reaches down to cut the ziptie around his legs, leaving his wrists bound. "Gotham PD is gonna be here in about 2 minutes. I strongly recommend that you let yourself get arrested." And with that she shoots a grappel line up to the roof.

Star Shimmer has posed:
The man nods and just whimpers in fear.

Up on the roof, perched on the edge like a gargoyle, the rookie hero watches and waits. She was listening of course. Taking in a few tips on how to handle interrogation. When Huntress arrives, She gives a little smirk. There is something about Nightingale. She doesn't give off the whole fear vibe like the other vigilantes. In fact its the whole other end of the spectrum. Something that really doesn't fit very well within the dark dreary city. "So, The Tank? Not very original is it?"

Huntress has posed:
Huntress climbs up, swinging over the roof with the long coat fluttering behind. "I've heard worse, believe it or not." she replies. "The real question is why he wants stock notes. I mean, why not just go after currency? But if we've got a new player on the street, that potentially upsets the whole balance. Which we can use to our advantage." Tilting her head, she peers more closely at Nightingale. "Sure you don't have an earpiece?"

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn shakes her head, "I just have really good hearing." She smirks a little. "A new player in town means that things could be getting a little messy. They are going to put pressure on the regulars. That means, unless this guy was born with a silver tongue, there is going to be tension. We can use it to our advantage but I think maybe we need to talk to some more people. As Nightingale I can manage but out of costume, I've got issues and a certain mob wants me out of Gotham. I wanns take them down."

Huntress has posed:
Huntress smirks at that, nodding. "Then you're in good company, Nightingale. I wanna take them ALL down. After breaking them into little felonious pieces. But if there's a new player we could -help- with the tension. Perhaps get them to fight each other, even."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn nods, "That could be useful. The problem comes about with bystandards. If that could be focused to a specific area... Somewhere out of the way. Maybe getting someone inside could help do that. Manipulate the whole bunch of em." She thinks out loud. "As for the mob, I may have upset them and stirred a bunch of their crap up. I was slated to move away but, everything changed with that one bullet."

Huntress has posed:
Huntress purses her purple lips. "One bullet can have a huge impact." she replies, nodding in agreement. Folding arms over her chest, she considers the younger woman for a moment. "I'm not one to peek under someone's mask, but you're making me curious, now." Besides which, Huntress isn't exactly forthcoming as to her own reasons for doing this. "And you really do need to get a comlink. Might help you avoid being shot someday."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn laughs, "I was shot trying to rescue Batman when he was locked up. My first time donning the armor and I got shot in the leg by an assassin. He didn't want me dead. Apparently I got someone's attention. But before that I got fear gassed and met Bane." She shutters over that. "Bane is scary... Bane under fear gas? Even more so." she nods, "Yeah I need a comlink. If only to keep in touch with people."

She looks at Huntress curiously. "Making you curious? How so? I mean I'm just another vigilante out here right? We all got our secrets I guess right?"

Huntress has posed:
"Interesting." is all Huntress says, at least for the moment. "The Bat and I don't always... well, we don't always agree on philosophy. He tells me that I'm too rough. So I stay out of his way as much as I can. It's just easier for everybody." Especially her, of course. "If you want, I'll arrange a dead-drop to leave you a comlink. It's the one I've been using with Batwoman."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn snickers, "Batwoman is training me actually. Batman put her in charge of my training. Its brutal. I've spent more time black and blue then I have being Violet." She snickers just a little. "So yes. I will talk to her about it. I am in training. I agreed to that. I didn't agree to being shacked up and it would take a lot more then a beating to keep me from being out here.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress's smile becomes wry at that, and she nods. "You should be glad that Batwoman is the one training you." she replies simply. "I share a frequency with her. If you're going to be out on the streets, you should be on it. Might keep you from being shot by mistake."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn nods, "I'll talk to her when I see her again. Honestly getting shot isn't as much of a worry as it was when I first started though. Still, yeah I am lucky. She is awesome. Even if I take a beating, it is worth it in the end. I've learned a lot."

Huntress has posed:
"Batwoman is good; one of the best I've worked with." Huntress replies. "And yeah, right now your biggest concern should be to not get in someone's way. You can handle yourself in a fight and you know how to pick useful info out of a conversation. But not everyone is as patient as I am."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn Nods, "So I've noticed. Some are a bit quick on the punishment I think. Thats not my style." She smiles a little over that. "I don't like instilling fear in people. From what I've been learning from another source, That could change my life in a more negative fashion. Its something I really don't want." She shutters over the thought.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress shakes her head. "Fear and intimidation are the only two things that the Mob respects. They talk of honor, and sometimes even hide behind it. But they're nothing more than thugs. So I -treat- them like thugs. That's my way, and in spite of what the Bat says it works for me."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale smiles and just shakes her head, "This city has an abundance of fear. When I was a child, I did a little hell raising. Nothing major. Just minor theft. I would live in fear that I would annoy the Bats and I'd get a visit in the night. I stole because there was something I needed and my father disagreed with it so he wouldn't help me. Which is better? Living healthy but afraid or living unhealthy and afraid?" She asks curiously.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress's expression tightens and she squares off more directly with the younger woman. "You don't need to tell ME about fear, Nightingale. Not until you've watched every one in your family murdered, right in front of you. Leaving you alone to live with the bloody mess." She lets that sink in, then adds. "I spent years waking up in the middle of the night. Screaming. Wondering when they were coming for me."

Star Shimmer has posed:
In that moment, everything changes. Suddenly Nightingale's body is engulfed in violet light. "I am so sorry Huntress. I wish there was something I could do to change that." There is a softness to her tone. She is trying to hide her voice still but even that is much more difficult at this moment. "Did you find the ones that did it? If not, I will help as I can." Love is rolling off the young woman. She simply can't contain it.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress purses her lips, relaxing a little at the change in the other woman's tone. "I haven't, but I intend to." she replies with soft intensity. "Someone told me that I could either remain a victim, waiting, or I could take my avenge them. I trained, and I became Huntress." She smiles a little, then. "So that's why I'm a bit rougher than Batman would like, and Gotham's night life is afraid of me."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Nightingale smiles softly, "I spoke of fear within this city because every villain and most of the vigilantes use it. Its a dangerous thing. There are people who are living in fear of the villain. People like Joker, Two Face, and Scarecrow, they haunt the lives of the innocents. Sometimes it takes a different means to deal with it. Fear can't drive out fear, but love can." She smirks softly.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress shakes her head at that. "Fear works for me. Given the choice of victim or hunter, I choose Hunter. Gotham's criminals don't *deserve* love, Nightingale. Most of them don't deserve the 'justice' they get from the legal system, either. But I can't help that. I can only make them *afraid*..."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn smiles and just laughs, "Thats the thing about love. I never said I was going to show love to the Criminals. I'm going to show love to this city. And like the love a momma bear towards its cub, That love will be violent to those who dare to threaten it. That means these jerks who think they are going to take from the innocent." She smiles a little bit.

Huntress has posed:
Huntress actually smiles at that, and it's the most genuine expression she's shown tonight. "I really wish I had your optimism, Nightingale." she replies. "Don't think it would work for me, but it seems to work for you." Pausing, she adds. "You let me know if you ever need a break from Batwoman's training regimen, okay? Or if you ever want another sparring partner. She knows how to reach me."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn nods, "I am actually working on something you might be interested in. I mentioned the Mob had issue with me? Well I am setting up a meeting with them. I'm going to need to go in civvies and I'm going to need back up. They are not going to like what I have to say. If there is a time to deal a blow to them, its then. What do you think? I am going to speak with Batwoman about it. Black Canary as well. I think she might bring Green Arrow along for the thrill of it all."

Huntress has posed:
The tilt of her head shows that Huntress is intrigued, and she nods almost immediately. "I know Batwoman, but I haven't worked with the others yet. But I've got your back, Nightingale, even if it wasn't the Mob."

Star Shimmer has posed:
Autumn smiles a little. "I'll Get Batwoman to get in touch with ya about the details. This is going to benefit a nice chunk of the city. I look forward to working with ya again Huntress." She snickers and glances down over the ledge. "See you soon!" With that she simply steps off the ledge. She is quickly gone. Did she just pull a Batman and vanish? Sorta.