Owner	Pose
Spawn	The nights were hot and humid, the kind of weather that made your clothes stick and cling to your skin even while the moon granted little reprieve from the sun. Along the cracks and corners of the walls and buildings, rats fought with cockroaches and future-roadkill for whatever crumb of food they could find. In the skies, gods sought help from kings and billionaires, even as across the globe, the earth's most powerful protectors fought the tyranny of would-be conquerors...and space mushrooms. But down here, nobody paid attention to the unwashed and unseen, the broken down lost boys who survived in a city that failed them. Some time ago, a 'figure' came to them in Bludhaven, acting as their protectors. Two days ago, some shaved idiots thought it would be good fun to kick one of them in the head for a while. Tonight...He found out about it. He stood across from them now, a towering figure a red cape that seemed to shift and claw at the walls like tendrils. The biggest one of them was on the ground, his face broken but judging by the terror still in his eyes, it appeared the pain wasn't going to register for a while. All of them were backing up, though many were ducking into their hideout to grab their weapons. That didn't seem to bother the figure who just watched them behind glowing green eyes. And when he spoke, the natural sounds of Gotham at night seemed to halt. The world itself seemed to listen to each and every word. "You were in Rat Alley. Tell me why, and maybe I let you live long enough to become Bubba's bitch upstate. Maybe I don't take your -fucking- head off right here, right now. Your choice, boys."
Kate Kane	Stillness is far from eternal. Shortly after the caped far-from-crusader has finished talking, there's the sounds of fervent discussion, the noise of weapons moving, and the occasional heavy thud from within the hideout. After thirty seconds of the bristling, rustling promise of combat incoming, of backup for the man who is currently upon the ground, and of those with any common sense fleeing, there's nothing but... Silence. Silence broken by the sound of breath sucked through a ruined face, and then the sounds of quiet, desperate pleading from inside. It ends with another wet thud, and one of the skinheads slides across the ground, catching on the entrance to the hideout, unconscious again. And in the doorway, black and red. But far from the Bat himself, the flowing red hair, the bright red lipstick, the figure and the bustierre a dead giveaway. There's a smirk upon her lips, even as she spies the rotting corpse that may be a man - Looking very much like a creature dragged out of his grave by way of hell. Her voice rich, confident, and just a touch of sultry as she orates. "I was hoping there was more than just a cluster of skinheads here." Her own cape, black outside, red inside, flares out to the side, as her palm catches the collapsible rifle strapped to her thigh. It responds to her grip, assembling to it's full width, as she instructs. "On your knees, hand behind your head, and although I do not know what the fuck those chains are I'm happier if they're not moving." To Spawn, that is.
Spawn	Though the mask he wore didn't betray things like emotion, the way those glowing green eyelets seemed to -narrow- at the order gave a hint toward his feelings on the matter. After a moment he seemed to notice the symbol on her chest, because when he next spoke it was a tone of exasperation. "Bats and birds. Gotham's been losing its damn mind while I've been away." For a moment, the towering figure looked down at the big musclebound thug, who was now backed away into the far corner of the dingy warehouse. Trapped like a rat. That suited Al just fine. He turned back to regard the redhead again, this time the cape unfurling back behind his shoulders, to show that striking black and white armor, with red and spikes pronouncing the look every so often. This certainly wasn't the Lone Ranger. "Tell your boss he's been doing a real lousy job cleaning up Gotham. As far as I see it, if he wants to play king of the hill, then fine. This is his hill. Tell him to keep his shit from rolling down into -my- alley." With that, two chains suddenly shot out like cobras ready to strike...except they weren't aimed for her, they were aimed for the doorframe above her. They sunk into the material, and ripped away, meaning that all the old construction that weak rotting frame was holding up? That was now Kate's immediate problem to deal with.
Kate Kane	"I'm a free agent." Batwoman's reply comes, just before the chains begin to fly - And that rifle is raised, a short burst of assault rifle fire slamming into the chains that are heading in her direction, completely unable to stop it. The barrel turns, finding Spawn in the iron sights, and another three round burst slams into his shoulder as the doorframe is ripped away from the fragile shack that she's standing in. Her hand leaves the foregrip, pointing at the ceiling of the warehouse instead. A gentle click, and the grappling hook erupts from her wrist, embedding itself in the roof and pulling her into it almost immediately. Elegant, she twists as she's drawn up, long, flowing locks hanging down as she aims her rifle one-handed at Spawn, her other pulling hard on the zipline to keep her 'upright' despite being upside down. "That was your warning shot." She states for the villain, with that damnable calm that the Bat Family seem to posses, even when standing upside down on the ceiling of a dilapidated warehouse. "Stand down and surrender immediately."
Spawn	Immediately a three-burt ripped through the Hellspawn's right shoulder, staggering the form backward even as he grunted from the impact and the damage. Tellingly, though, he didn't scream out or clutch himself in pain, the way someone might normally react(Well, most would probably collapse to the floor). Instantly streaks of glowing green material was splattered across the walls and the floor, some splattering against the freaked out thug's face. For his part, Spawn was busy looking down at the wounds, bringing up his left hand to gently check the injury, black-clad fingers long with the nails in particular being more...pronounced than necessary. From Kate's upside down vantage point(especially if she was using a scope of any kind), she might be able to notice those bullet holes already starting to close and shrink, the green glowing blood that was dripping down was actually starting to travel back upward, and when the masked man looked upward, he was nodding his head even as he spoke. "You're pretty good." And that's when the Hellspawn became a red, white and black blur of movement. While he would never be a speedster, and while he might not match the acrobatic prowess of a Nightcrawler or a Spider-Man, he could move in ways that would baffle the normal, untrained human eye. With a couple of parkour-like maneuvers the man was leaping off the far wall, even while his cape rapidly shifted to make his center mass as difficult to find as possible. And before long he was hurtling up toward her, pivoting his body even as that collossal, oversized right boot was aiming for the Batwoman in a heavy looking roundhouse kick. That boot was as heavy as it looked, adding extra weight to the impact of this attack. Combined with that, the massive amount of spikes acted less like 'weapons' and acted more like the ridges along a mace, making sure every impact 'bit' in as much as possible. "Now show me more!"
Kate Kane	Kate's mask allows her to notice the little details, but the swiftness with which this villain moves is more than she can handle with a firearm. Not that she's not going to try though, the barrel erupting in two more staccato bursts that tear up the ground beneath Spawn's feet as he makes it's way towards her. Once he's launched, she releases the grappling hook, pushing herself away from the roof and stowing her rifle, collapsing as it is slapped against her thigh. She hits the ground with the grace of a dancer, allowing her suit to absorb the impact and her body to distribute it slowly. The fall isn't without ground shock, but it's hardly unsurvivable when dressed like this. Reaching behind her, she withdraws a foot long metal pole, and with a firm twist, it shoots outwards to eight feet of hardened steel composite. It's smacked against the ground firmly, and she comments, "You have to be faster than that to catch me. Much, much faster." Teasing, as she lays in wait for him to make his next round. Because juse like the Bat, there's always a suprise awaiting.
Spawn	She landed gracefully, whereas he hit the cold, dusty concrete with a sickening 'thud'. He rose back to his feet like nothing happened, as if he didn't just take an impact that caused the ground underneath to spiderweb ever so faintly. In fact he only stopped once to turn and roll his neck, letting the bones crackle and pop loudly. And then it was back to the business at hand. Which was circling around the redhead slowly, that cape shifting and swirling around him, the edges getting closer toward her before pulling back. Was he doing that? Was he controlling his cape? If he was, the method of communication didn't seem to be clear. As he circled, he spoke, that impossibly deep voice containing as much amusement as it did anger. Whoever he was beneath the mask, it was clear he had issues. But then, didn't they all? "The way you move...the way you handle your weapon. You've served, haven't you?" Behind those words, he struck suddenly. The second he saw an opening he'd lunge forward, throwing a one-two combo at her face, shots that were easy to see and easy to deal with(though she might note the sheer -power- behind every attack.). Along with that one-two, a chain would swoop low, aiming to loop around her ankles, to try and sweep the girl off her feet. It was time to test her situational awareness, see if it was as good as her reflexes and her physicality.
Kate Kane	"Where heroes are made." Batwoman responds with confidence, slowly drawing the tip of her staff behind her and aligning it with her arm, her guard slow as she waits for the monster of the man, studying him, his cape, the way it moves, the way he sounds. "I could say the same about yourself. Whatever happened to you has made you lazy though. Sloppy guard, and with all that power you're pulling back far too much, I can see you coming a mile awa-" Her staff is drawn up in an instant, her weight onto her back foot at the first strike, driving it against his fist and then levering herself out of the way of the second punch with it. The thin staff is reversed a moment later, and stabbed /hard/ into the concrete as the chain swoops at her, the lean muscle in her arms pulling her up as much as she leaps up and onto her staff, the needle threaded through the links to hold it in place, and the Vigilante pushed off the head into a backflip that carries her away from the undead man. Staff abandoned, her fingers remove three small, black balls from her utility belt, spinning them in the palm of her gloved hand as she looks at him. "What's your story then? Uncle Sam wanted to make you better, part of their 'be all you can be' program? Some CO with his head full of pride ordered your platoon into a chemical weaons plant?" Her voice strangely... Calm. Believable. Relateable.
Spawn	"Little girl, you don't know the half of it." He almost didn't notice the staff-stab at first, until he attempted to move one chain-tendril only to discover it was pinned in place. The staff had enough bend and enough give to resist even Al's newfound strength, causing him to look down curiously. If he exerted enough force, he knew he could shatter this weapon. But something about his opponent made him hesitant. Her attitude, her familiarity. No, instead the Hellspawn reached down, pulled the staff from the ground(and from his chains) with a sharp tug...and suddenly threw that weapon, letting it twirl through the air like a cheerleader's baton. Not at Kate, but at the final remaining thug, he'd been attempting to flee at that exact moment. It struck him across the side of the face and head and the man slumped, a bit worse for wear. "Stay where you are, fatboy. We still have to have that little talk about your jurisdiction." With the goon now an unconscious wreck on the floor, the man could focus his attention more toward the woman in black and red. As he spoke, the cape eemed to shrink somewhat in size and stature until it more resembled something like regular, nonliving fabric, ragged around the edges and much less hostile than it once was. The chains, following suit, wrapped around his body in strategic places, hanging off of him as if they were merely a bold fashion statement and not a set of living weapons. "You don't wanna know where I've been, trust me. I came here to send a message to these knuckleheads that they're not invited to Bludhaven anymore, they can stay here with the clowns and bats. As for you, you've got good intentions as far as I can tell. But if you ever draw on me again, I'll have something for yo' ass. I ain't here to rob banks or play pattycake in Arkham, none of that shit. You got that, She-Bat?"
Kate Kane	Batwoman is on high alert as her staff is handled, prepared to snatch it out of the air when it's hurled at her - But it's not happening at all, instead, the criminal that she could only assume might work for him is struck and put down. Unfortunately it doesn't do much to convince her they're on the same side, despite what the speech might contain. "Would be I could let that happen. All I know about you is that you're ex-military, and you're not human. At least, not any more. Which makes you one bad day away from causing a lot of harm to people who don't deserve it." Those balls are still worked between agile fingers, "As long as that's all I know, you'll always be treated like a threat. You don't like it, you don't need to be here. It's not like I need the help." Straight backed and proud, Kate keeps her eyes on the target, and the chains he has wrapped around him.
Spawn	The Hellspawn's eyes narrow once more, a flash of energy spiking as the masked woman laid down a challenge and a threat. Al Simmons always had pride and an ego, and his recent trip through Hell didn't change those two facts. He wanted to keep going, he wanted to show her exactly who he was and show her exactly she she should shut her mouth...but he wasn't here for that. So, the cape flaring and once more wrapping around him, the Hellspawn slowly stalked away, toward that destroyed exit. Instinctually chains shot out, wrapping around the thug when Spawn got close, dragging the idiot along the ground behind him. Al couldn't resist. He had to send a message. And so, looking at the red-haired vigilante, he brought up his right hand. The wrist mostly covered in that thick red leather gauntlet, the black-gloved fingers were soon lit up in sickly glowing green energy, what looked like a violently shaking sphere now barely-contained by the soldier. "If I was a threat to you?" Al pivoted, throwing that blast out blindly and causing that stuff to splat against the far thick concrete wall. The foundations of this building were powerful, even in its old dilapidated state a construction crew would need two or three days in order to tear this place down. In moments, that goop was steaming, and there was a gaping hole shining through to the outside. "You wouldn't have to wonder. Don't test me. Stay out of my alleys. Leave my people alone." If there was no action taken against him, the Hellspawn would take his leave. And when he finally got back to Bludhaven, he'd finally allow himself to feel woozy from the display of power.
Kate Kane	Kate watches as the man begins to make his exit, and then displays another show of what she already knows. He's in no way human, and that's something that doesn't help her trust him, so she's far from off guard when her hurls a ball of glowing green goop at her, and it slams into the concrete wall and burns a hole through it. She's assessed it though, and found it no threat to her, her eyes remaining locked on him as he retreats. "I don't fear you." She states simply. And once he has departed, she speaks again, to herself. "Oracle, did you get that?" Her attention turns to the burning goop, kneeling down to begin to analyse it. "Crossreference all known KIA and MIA military personnel with approximate dimensions of MetaHuman 3. Flag for chemical exposure or potential chemical exposure." Batwoman moves to detective smoothly.
Spawn	The next night was little better than the first. That thug had run all the way from Rat Alley back to Gotham shirtless, shoeless and looking like the devil had got 'em. And he wasn't that far off. For his part, Al was sat in the farthest, darkest corner of that alley, watching over a circle of huddled masses all attempting to eat, or sleep, or just writhe in their various miseries. Here in the shadows, it was difficult to see the inky-black armor, and the cape had taken on an almost muted dark red hue to help with the subtle camouflage. With glowing green eyes surveying all, he sat back, thought and wondered. Could he ever go back to her, in this condition? He just didn't know what to do.
Kate Kane	"Oracle, anything on the radio?" Their outfits might nearly match, in a weird way, this villain and heroine pair. Although one is human, and the other far from it. Beneath her helmet, the earpiece speaks back to her. "Nothing yet. The computer has four three-by-five hits on your enquiry by the way. Outputting them to your hud now." A sigh from Kate, perched on the edge of a rooftop, slowly drumming her fingers along the raised lip of the apartment. "I'm going to clear my head, Oracle. Keep monitoring." A light jump takes her to the building on the other side, balanced on the window ledge, and then she makes her way down, story by story, with fast, well timed jumps to take her down to the ground level, and down into the alleyway amoungst the filth and unfortunates in the city. Some are immediately uncomfortable at the presence of the vigilante, especially as she bears down upon a sleeping woman with that telltale click of her stepped heel. Leaning down, there's a rustle, as she draws up the newspapers up a little higher on the sleeping homeless woman, sighing before she begins to walk deeper into the alleyway.
Spawn	The woman was sneaky, but it seemed down here she was making her presence known. Instantly, Al's face was once more covered by that 'mask', the cape growing more restless as he rose from his corner and grabbed a little equalizer, just in case. Spawn also decided to make some noise in the form of him slamming a full magazine of ammunition into an M16, letting the machine make as much noise as it wanted as he turned off the safety and made sure it would go full auto. If he wanted it to. For now, however, he just wanted to aim it at her general direction, more of a warning than anything else even as those green eyes narrowed sternly. "You don't look very homeless. Why don't you step away from the woman?"
Kate Kane	The noise of a gun being loaded is beyond familiar, and another telltale note that she's quite aware of what a firearm sounds like. Her head turns, but her body responds in a much more lax manner, red lips breaking into a smile. "I had expected to find you here." A glance at the gun, "M16. So, you went through basic before Uncle Sam adapted the M4." Her hand moves slowly, smoothly down to her thigh, resting upon the magnetic, collapsible rifle that she carries with her. "Perhaps that should be a sign. Homeless people only." Straightening, but not drawing just yet. "We could fight again if you'd like. That's up to you. I'm more interested in finding out if you're a threat to the city. Right now I'm unconvinced. So, do you want to lower your weapon? Or do you want to see just how much you /can/ regenerate?" Ego. Ah.
Spawn	By now, the noises and talking have convinced the bums still in that alley to amscray, to scurry off like rats escaping a waterlogged basement. For his part, Spawn held the aim for a few moments, before pulling the gun up and instantly putting on the safety, while that weapon was slung over his shoulder. This close up, even in the darkness it was possible to notice that suit shifting every so often, almost as if it were breathing. Was it, or was it merely moving with its owner? "I have one of those, too. I just like to know what I'm using is reliable." Soon he was once again circling around her, moving as he spoke and it was clear that something about this place made him feel secure. Secure in the knowledge that he wouldn't be attacked...or secure in the knowledge that if he was, it wouldn't matter. "So what do I do to convince you? Do we team up? Solve riddles, beat up a villain before he builds his doomsday device? I don't jump through Bat-hoops on command, girl."
Kate Kane	"You'd think with that green goop, an assault rifle would be superfluous anyway." Kate stands her ground, the circling only followed with her head, standing at her full height. Stoic. Godlike. She thinks. "And at your size, well, I'm suprised to see you bothering with ballistic weaponry. Let me explain, I have a total of four MIA or KIA servicemen matching your dimensions in recent times. Two heroes, one traitor, one black ops." The woman tilts her head a little bit, "Two of these I could trust are here to serve their country. Might be I don't agree with their methods, and clearly you aren't human any more. But two of these are apparent threats to the city, and with the powers that you have..." A pause, timed for perfect execution of drama. "You pose a bigger threat to the city than help. Quite aside from the fact that I work alone." Aside from Oracle, at least. "And the more time I spend around you, the more I think that you're wearing that mask for a reason." Kate, on the other hand, has a great reason. She's a human.
Spawn	"You walk your lily-white ass into MY territory and start talking about what a threat I am to 'your' city? That little rifle of yours ain't exactly street legal, is it?" The ground they were standing on gave the faintest, gentlest of vibrations, aftershocks from the triple threat down at the Van Courtland Golf Course. There, gods were doing their damndest to smash each other to bits, and the damage between them would probably be out of this world. But that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, the Hellspawn was focused the caped crusader...ess. As he spoke, that cape was almost violent, the edges of it getting close enough to the woman to flick at her boots every so often. The rustling of the material was getting louder, mixed with the rattling of chains. "Yeah, no shit I'm wearing this for a reason. You know, there weren't many gingers at West Point. The sun tended to boil them alive. Especially when they're that fine shade of LeStat-White like you."
Kate Kane	"As legal as yours." Batwoman responds to the challenge - And it's true that what might be happening elsewhere is pretty far out of her league. But this was her problem, for now, and she finally submits to take a step away, once she's decided that the cape is getting closer than she'd like it to be. "Who said I went to West Point?" Kate responds with a calm that doesn't at all translate to fear, perfect control over her emotional state, turning to face Spawn smoothly, her cape flicking out to briefly cover her right hand side - And with the whisper of well lubricated metal, her rifle extends, her hand having caught it in her movement. It's not pointed at him. Not yet. "Which would make you Lt Simmons." Searching that mask for a response to her suggestions, "Former Marine turned spook. Missing in Action on assignment, believed to be dead. Graduated from West Point."
Spawn	At this point, the rifle was slung over his shoulder, laying across his back. It had mainly been for show earlier, inherently Al knew that his other tools would be more useful against someone like this. Plus, guns had a habit of being of the lethal variety. This woman kept saying she was independent, but she still wore the symbol. An attack on her would still be an attack on the entire clan. And Al didn't want that kind of a war, with people who seemed to be trying to help. Then she namedropped him, and his eyes narrowed. Instantly he might seem to grow 'taller' as he walked toward her, the cape casting gargantuan shadows across the alley walls, chains zipping along almost haphazardly. Nothing was hitting her, but right now, anything easily could. When Al spoke, his voice carried. "You think you're the only one here with powers of deduction? You see me ripping off your mask, telling every creep in Gotham about the story of a promising cadet, who had everything going for her? Who ended up getting kicked out because she couldn't resist going elbow-deep in her roommate? You're wearing the mask for a reason, and I understand that. Your family would have a lot to lose if you ever lost it, and I respect that. Make sure you take that understanding and respect into account, before you go around saying names again." With all that, with all that fire and anger, the cape and chains became a little less aggressive. And when he spoke again, there was just a little less wrath in his words. "It's good to see you again."
Kate Kane	Well, it's hardly as if Batman has a licensing deal. Most of the Bat Family are free agents. And yet even as the man approaches her, dwarfing her in size, she doesn't react in fear or even show a change of emotion, holding herself in firm check as her own life story is broken down infront of her. "She wouldn't be the first to make mistakes in the name of love. And she wouldn't be the first to be wrong about what love was." Her tone firm, composed, and just a touch defiant. "And she exists outside of the mask. Outside of her duty. There's stakes, humanity, a /person/." "I needed to know you weren't going to be a problem down the line. That one day we'd be be opposite sides of the field, because I couldn't live with the decision to let you be, if that cost innocent people their lives." Her weapon still held, but not levelled.
Spawn	He looked down at his gloved fingers, and for a moment he felt the fire again, the searing of flesh. For the briefest of moments he could almost remember his killer, the person who sent him to Hell. Then the moment faded, and Spawn was back in the real world, his cape shifting to wrap around him, the chains following suit. "You'll never know that about anyone, and it's smart to be afraid of me." The man turned his back on the vigilante, two chains snaking from his cape, to reach up and slowly wrap themselves around the top of a building ledge. They seemed to go on forever, and as they slowly pulled him up, he looked around and regarded the woman one last time. "But I'm not going to come after you or yours. I have no intention of adding a bodycount to the side of angels. Now get out of my alley." And with that he was gone, presumably to brood or do whatever it was he did. It seemed brooding as a popular pastime for those in capes...
Kate Kane	Batwoman shakes her head. "If there's one thing you should know about me, is that fear is a part of my life that I've left behind. But for now... You don't pose an immediate danger." She admits, her rifle collapsing as it's stowed again. Much as she doesn't want to give him the satisfaction of listening to his request, she begins to walk out of the alleyway, zipping up to the roof again a few moments later. "Oracle. Any updates?"