July 20, 2016:
Returning to the Gym after patrol, Kane gets a message about the results of his and Babs investigations into some of the rooftops in Gotham
Hamiltons Gym - Gotham
Characters
![class="image1"](http://cmbeta.wdfiles.com/local--resized-images//class="image1"/medium.jpg)
NPCs: None.
Mentions:
Plot:
Mood Music: None.
Fade In…
It's been a busy night in Gotham. After Misfit helped Darcy and Claire, she'd found a number of other smaller disturbances to deal with before making her way back to the Gym. Just in time for breakfast.
She's likely surprised to find that Babs isn't there but it doesn't take long for the redheaded Batgirl to enter. "So Fox." she says to the person entering with you "That's two buildings we've looked at so far where work was ordered. The subbasement of the Hertier Building and the peak of Ryder Tower." It's clear they're just getting from … patrol?
Pulling the cowl from her head, Babs shakes her out so it falls down her back and starts to hang her armour in one of the cupboards. "Hello Charlie. Did you have good evening and are you hungry?"
Charlie is sprawled in a seat just looking boneless as she sprawls, her own cowl peeled back and her goggles up on her forehead. She watches Babs and the Fox come in and grins, sharp little canine, just one, crooked grin, showing. "I am ravenous… I could eat an elk… also I am really getting sick of these urban legend villains.. we need like a way to contain them.. you know like totes a ghost buster containment vault…"
"Let me know if you find one, mmm?" Kane says as he slips off his own hood and mask and tosses his blade onto a recliner. It's only about five and half pounds but that's damn heavy when you've been lugging it around and swinging it all night.
"I should be hearing back from my contact soon." It's odd to be asking someone questions of the arcane via SMS but this is a fascinating modern age we all live in.
"You look beat, Misfit."
"Find an elk… Isn't that Stomper?" The edges of Babs lips quirk up as Kane responds to Charlie, she knows he meant the containment unit but she can't help but tease him. Stripping down to a pair of soft yoga pants and a tank top, the redhead shakes her slowly "No elks I'm afraid but I've got pancakes, bacon and eggs. Come, keep me company while I get them ready."
For a woman who forgets to eat, she certainly knows how to cook and it's not long before the food is on and sizzling. "Kane, will you make tea?"
Kanes comment about looking beat has her assessing the chaos muppet, brows drawing into a frown for a moment. "We've been looking into the problem…" she decides to go with that for now "… no containment traps, but we're tracking things through. We've found a number of buildings that have had 'refurbs' done that might not have needed them."
"How much do you know about Steel City, Charlie?"
Charlie groans and peels off her gloves and cowl fully.. goggles going in a pile too as she strips.. adding boots. She leaves on the pants but unzips the jacket leaving her in a lycra tanktop and pants with open jacket "One second… moving.. gods…" then she bounces into the kitchen >pinkurple> which actually gives the sharp toothed girl another wind. Chaos. "I wouldn't eat Stomper.. probably… also yes I've been punching urban legends all night.. or hitting them with my staff… or foot… it's getting old that they just keep running…" she flips a pancake being helpful "No clue on Steel city. … ooO I totally kicked Killer Crocs ass.. but he got away tonight."
Ba-ding. Kane looks down at his phone and groans a little. Yeah. That's bad news. "We should get some food and then talk about this." He says waving the vaguely accursed device.
While Babs moves toward the kitchen he goes to retrieve a sack that rattles as if full of… something small and angular. Like dice, except probably not that, knowing the Fox.
"Killer Croc? He came back?" He's been trouble. He's been less trouble than others but that thing is frightening.
Misfit, Kane and Babs are in the Gym, it's just on breakfast time and they're all dressed like they just doffed their armour. Because they have.
"We think that 'Medusa', that's what we're calling them, are attempting to do similar to Gotham as was done to Steel City." Leaving Charlie to sort out the pancakes, Babs turns the bacon and glances at Kane. "That doesn't sound good. Breakfast is nearly ready. Just give us a moment."
Loading plates up and transferring them to the table, the redhead nods slowly "Yeah, Croc appeared tonight, along with Hook Man and La Llorona. It was a busy evening, it seems. He got away though, back into the sewers." Something tells the redhead there might a smelly patrol coming up.
"Steel City, Charlie. Was the result of a magical ritual. It used the discontent of the people to power it and then called down…" she looks at Kane and shakes her head again. "… the curse of Gomorrah."
Somehow Charlie missed that, but then she is pretty scattered and laser focused all at the same time. Hard to say what will focus her, well other than Fenris these days, and what she will fixate on. "Huh… what was Gomorrah…" she is from the US right, Metropolis. Maybe her mom wasn't christian. "But yeah I kicked Killer Crocs butt back into the sewer… and saved Agent Lewis of SHIELD from the hook guy…. I mean she tazed him and herself it was cute…" she slumps into a char and eyes the bacon then steals three pieces. "Poor Agent Davis…"
It doesn't happen often, but when May feels the need to contact Oracle, she usually calls ahead before showing up at the Gym. Especially since the woman relocated her base of operations there. Today is apparently one of those days. And, out of politeness perhaps, the call arrives via a burner cell phone and not the comms system.
The druid starts to pull things out of that sack when the phone beeps. "Uh, might want to get that, Babs." He can wait just a moment, but in the mean time he's already checking his own phone again as he sorts what are apparently bone charms.
"So the system we looked at bears a lot of resemblence to patterns found on old Egyptian obelisks dating back to the Middle Kingdom. The crystals are for elemental manipulation. The gold for resonance with the sun…" He's half muttering to himself.
"Oh. Crap. It's…" He looks up at Misfit and Oracle. "They're building weapons. Weapons that they're mounting on the tallest buildings in Gotham."
Mays call gets taken and the agent is encouraged to join them. By the time she gets to the table, there'll be a plate for her. May, is one of Babs most trusted friends.
"Gomorrah, Misfit. Biblical city that was levelled and the inhabitants all turned to pillars of salt." the redhead explains before turning her attention to Kane and grimacing. "The refurbishments we've been looking into have been subbasements and foundations, which match Steel City but recently, I've noted a lot of work on some of the taller buildings… now we know why."
"Weapons, Kane. You thought they may be trying to cater to the Bats, I guess they are? Or is this worse than that?" She's not seen the data he has.
Melinda May arrives just a few minutes after calling. Clearly, she travelled via ley line. Because why not? Entering the gym, she nods a hello to Kane and Charlie before moving to joing them at the table. She had not been expecting to arrive to breakfast, but she sure isn't about to turn it down. After all, when a particular biochemist tries to scold her for not resting, she can at least honestly claim she was up and getting somethign to eat. Sounds likely, right?
Hearing the conversation in progress, she looks from Babs to Kane and back. "Are you talking about some kind of link between Steel City and Gotham?"
Charlie is stuffing some bacon into her mouth, chewing and looking satisfied "Hey May…and um yeah evidently and pillars of salt… also I saved one of your Agents tonight.. well sun is up .. last night…" she carefully rolls a pancake up next and just inhales it.
The druid - presently unmasked - looks over his shoulder as May comes in. "Yeah. The people responsible for Steel City are active in Gotham. I'm fairly sure they're up to no good."
That last part is said wryly. No one willing to murder tens of thousands of innocents is up to any good at all where magic is concerned. In some ways magic is an amplifier. It makes good things great and bad things terrible. It does the same to people as well.
"Well, let me put it to you this way, Barbara. You ever seen what happens when you put an ant under a magnifying glass? That's the kind of relative power we're talking about here. If they got these up they could kill individuals or small groups at will anywhere in the downtown area. They could controll the city center through fear alone."
"Hello May." Babs watches as the agent takes the plate of food and rolls her eyes as Charlie … inhales. "Yes. We think there's a link and we're trying to work out what they're doing." She peters out as Kane takes up the explanation.
The use of her full name gets a droll look. He only ever does that when he's serious. "Well that makes sense. And its not just control they gain. By driving up the fear, they'll raise the discontent. If they're trying to do similar here as they did in Steel City, they'll have power and then some to spare." It's a clever tactic really.
"What do you think. We should take them down, but that will just tip our hand. I'd like to think we could sabotage them someway. Disable them, let them think they're still there. It might buy us time and keep the pressure off a bit?"
Melinda May raises an eyebrow at Charlie, and suspects she'll hear about this damsel in distress Agent later today. She's not instantly sure of who it could have been, especially considering that SHIELD agents for the most part are persona non grata in Gotham.
Turning her attention to Kane and Babs, she takes a bite of the food before offering, "If there's anything WAND can do to help take out those emplacements, just let me know." Not SHIELD proper, WAND. Maybe that's a distinction that will help get them past the Batman's 'no SHIELD' attitude.
Charlie nods to May "Really." she is grinning like she ate a canary, which looks reasonable like she might just eat a canary for reals. She then picks up another pancake. "Bet I could totes be a Agent.. but I think the Titans would be sad… and old Batman." so old. Well in Charlie's head. He just seems so stern and so.. so very old. "So I guess I shouldn't just try to boucne the modified buildings out of town… tipping of hands?"
"Well we'll have to do something about them but you're right, Misfit. If they know we're onto them they'll just put them somewhere we don't know about. All of their work can be hidden inside, say, radio towers and the like. It's clever. Damnably clever."
Kane sighs. "We do have to take them down. Eventually. We need to figure out where they all are first. Before they starty using them."
May gets a considering look. "Possibly… I'll… be in contact. I need to reach out to mine first. Ah, but first…"
He pulls out the charms he'd been sorting. "Protection charms for Steel City if you're going. I know SHIELD has them but these will help. Crush them before you go in. Should give you a few hours. Though…"
Babs and Misfit get a look here. "I'm not sure how much it'll help if you stick to Bat operating procedures."
"Revealing that we're onto them." Babs clarifies for Charlies benefits as she tucks into her food. Since she'd been back on the streets she's needed more food. Go figure.
"Yes, May she did. Your agent … might need some training for the field. I got the impression from watching … she's new?"
Kanes already answered about WAND and the redhead backs that up with a nod. "I'll redouble my efforts to check the buildings and I'll get the others on it too. They can check a lot of them as part of their patrols. We'll just have to tell them what to look for."
Watching as he gives the charms to May and Misfit, her green eyes capture his "Monsters are monsters, Kane. I'm not Batgirl. Well I am but you know what I mean." Just don't ask her what she'll do if she finds a witch to deal with.
Oh. That would be Lewis, then. Sitting back a bit, May nods knowingly. "I know who you're referring to then, and field operative training has already been scheduled." And there will be NO complaining.
When Kane offers the crystals to help protect anyone entering Steel City, May nods her thanks, but then pulls a small amulet from a pocket. "A consultant for WAND created a handful of these. They're apparently time consuming and difficult to create, or we'd have several more already. Maybe a combining of effort can help?" It's possible that May has forgotten the recent past, or that she was never informed.
Totally with a mouth full of pancake "She seemed fun and nice though." then she swallows her food. She goes very still there and cocks her head to the right. "Mmrmrrr. .. I …" she shakes her head "I.. need to bounce." she shoots all three of you a smile and tucks the charm in her utility belt. "Call me if you need me like always.. I'm a bounce away…" and then.. well damn she bounces away… and one .. two.. she is back grabbing gear off the chair she was in earlier… and bounce now she is really gone… one…two.. she is back grabbing more bacon… and then.. now.. now she is really gone.
"Could be. I've never tried combining my stuff with someone else's. At worst it'll blow up but my enchantments aren't that strong so blowing up shouldn't be a huge deal." The druid frowns. "I'll have to give these out to some other Bats…"
And make sure they know what they're getting into.
"Right. Well. Food."
"Right." May will leave the charm with Kane to work on, and might take the crystals he's given her to see if their effects (and longer working time) can be translated into reuseable charms like the one sitting on the table.