November 30, 2017:
Caitlin and Misfit Play with Toys. Violently.
//Metropolis //
Side street in Metropolis
Characters
NPCs: Toyman
Mentions: Batman Spoiler Robin Starfire Batgirl
Plot:
Mood Music: [*\# None.]
Fade In…
Log Commenced: 30-Nov-17 12:43AM EST
*
Caitlin's boots slap a thunderous rhythm on the ground, flinging up shards of asphalt behind her as her bare legs blur to the naked eye. With a shout of effort she flings herself forward in a flying spear knee, three-hundred plus pounds of impossibly dense muscle and bone behind the spur of her knee.
It hits her attacker right in the fluffbox, and the giant, fuzzy, cuddly teddybear goes flying backwards with a CRUNCH of shattered endoskeleton and broken components. It leaves a two-foot deep dent in a dumpster and falls over, buzzing and whimpering electronically. "Fr-fr-Friendly Freddy is- is- is-"
Caitlin doesn't stop to cheer her actions, fighting as hard as she can. Big, lumbering, cuddly looking teddybears lurch at her from every direction, their soft padded hands sporting claws sharper and harder than any bears. Eyes glimmering an angry red, the teddy bears are currently anything but huggable.
"How many of these ARE there, Toyman?" she demands, a bit breathless. The army of bears seems to march without end, and Caitlin grabs one lunging bear's head and crushes it like a popcan between her palms.
"More than you can destroy, ginger freak!" yells their controller, hopping up and down with angry glee. He might be right, because there are at least fifty of the bears on the street and more keep spillign out of conveniently parked shipping trucks. One of the bears belches fire at Caitlin, who screams more in surprise than pain, swatting at the fire on her legs and shoulders. "I'll fix Metropolis but good, this time! No one can stop me!" He makes an adjustment on his controller, sending more of the autonomous bears out to attack the lone Leaguer in the middle of the street.
*
Perhaps there is something going on. Everytime Misfit comes back to Metropolis to visit what she believes is her old stomping ground and lay a flower at the gutted tenemant where her mother and brother died something happens like this. s it Metropolis, or is it the chaosmuppet. More data is needed.
Right now having heard the crashing and sounds of a scrap she responds, the training and drills of the Man helping kick Misfit into motion. She leaps into a shadow nearby and emerges in a slash of smoke on a high up rooftop then takes off running, bouncing/teleporting as she runs to see what is happening.
"Holy crap… teddy bears!… that is… so ..fricking … awesome!" there is a laugh from the roof after that exclaimation. Then a split second later a blurred form that… maybe batgirl.. but she came out of thin air with a slash of pink and purple smoke.. smoke grenade maybe… and boots a teddybear right in the head. Hard. "Dark Vengeance" pause "Hss!"
For good measure her free hand throws a spray of batarangs, well slightly modified almost M looking ones, that stick into two more bears and then explode. "Hi!" she chirps to Caitlin.
*
Caitlin grabs one of the teddy bears as it lunges at her, gripping a wrist in an awkward motion. It turns out to be a beautifully executed jointlock and she flings the bear onot its face, then curbstomps the back of its skull.
"Look out! Those claws are sharp!" Caitlin says— then grunts in pain as a bear rakes her back with those steel talons. They're sharp enough to leave thin red lines on her back and ribbon the back of her green leotard. Caitlin grabs the teddybear's waist and with a move that would make Andre the Giant proud, she flips over the five-hundred pound beastie and piledrives it six inches into the asphalt.
She grabs a manhole cover with as much effort as someone would pick up a frisbee and whips it at a nearby bear, knocking it and four others over with a terrific WHUNK.
"Are you my backup?" she pants, having made a bit of breathing space. "I can't get to Toyman, these bears keep mobbing me!" she says, expertly boxing one that starts getting too close. "There's some kind of — I don't know, shock cannon he's got? Every time I try to jump clear it shocks me. And it SUCKS!" she complains, sweat on her forehead. Her hair's back in a fighter's tight ponytail, but the exertions of fighting the legion of overstuffed Terminators seems to be wearying her a little.
*
Misfit ducks as a bear swings at her "Wooah.. " she dances back clear and then fishes around and throws a large quantity of small beads into the group in front of her. There is a series of pop pop pop noises as she removes a whole lot of teddy feet. "I'm excellent backup. I guess I am yours tonight" still chipper, perhaps too chipper. Though she gasps "Oh crud" as those feetless bears keep on coming, crawling even as others just lumber. "Wow there are a lot of these."
There is a yelp as Misfit gets clawed, but she bounces, a slash of pink and purple smoke vanishing. Only to reappear closer to you where you cleared those four bears with the manhole cover. "I can get rid of the canon no problem… um… is he controlling them.. I mean if I knock him out cold will they just stop… also I am surprised this guy hasn't been to Gotham… talk about fitting the nutbal theme.. esh.." she laughs. Not the serious or dour bat, also she looks a little off, like a bargain rack take on Batgirl, skewed ear, wrong colors and symbol is off too.
*
Caitlin's a one-woman wall; she single-handedly is keeping the bears from proceeding down the narrow street. It looks like she might have flipped over the two tractor trailers that are corralling the bears, and Toyman's anger at her actions keeps him sending the bears after her.
But there are still dozens of them coming, and capable as Caitlin is, they are like the worst combination of lemmings and gorillas.
"I think so?" she hazards, dodging a swipe of claws. "I mean, he's sending them at me. He's got a headset and his hand contr— youch!" She yelps as she's raked by claws, and her responding front kick sends the bear flying backwards into his fluffy allies.
"And a controller! Look, take down his air defense and we have some more options!" she says, pointing at a nearby roof. A set of entirely toy-like looking rayguns are on the roof, but periodically they fire a blast of intense electrostatic energy at anyone who ventures into their range. They seem to be intent on denying air access to fliers in the League.
*
"Huh.. okay… your the expert." she isn't in Gotham and honestly she is pretty new to fighting people above street level criminals. Tight leash when Misfit is at home. I mean sure some of the Gotham Villains are pretty scary but not an army of robot scary. Different scary.
The young woman vanishes with another slash of pink and purple smoke, reappearing moments later, though not in your line of sight. Nah Misfit is behind the line of toy rayguns on the roof. Her hand is fishing out of a pouch on her belt and she hurls another round of marbles from the look of it. These though explode with electrity as they impact and spread among the guns. Heavy duty shocks to knock the rayguns out of comission now "pew.. pew pewpew!" come exclaims on the roof as she woops on toy guns. Odd girl.
*
Caitin whoops in excitement as Misfit takes out the shockguns. The Toyman's gadgets start breaking apart, spitting sparks and hissing angrily as she destroys their relatively fragile makeup. "That's great! Get Toyman!" she calls up to Misfit. "Watch out, I don't know what kind of tricks he has!"
She's fighting hard, but being pushed slowly back by the endless army of bears. If too many of the cuddly killers overwhelm her, they'll run amok in downtown Metropolis and be vastly more difficult to run down individually.
Toyman screams in outrage as Misfit breaks his anti-air cannons. "Insolent Bat-Whelp! I'll teach you to leave Gotham!" He reaches into his pocket for what looks like a toy bubble launcher— but the bubbles it launches fly towards her with surprising velocity, and when they *POP* it's with a thudercrack of force!
*
Peering down at you both as Misfit watches to see what next. "Okay I can totes…" she pauses "That is not my name!" she yells down at Toyman "I am going to kick your butt Toyboy.. ACK" the witty rejoinder is cut off as it pops with a thundercrack and sends her flying out of sight. Okay that may leave a mark. I wonder if she is okay. Crud.
… …
Thankfully she bounced again by impulse, though the lens of her goggle is cracked. She though recovers with the bounce, no longer bleeding from her ears and left eye. Of course the blood is still there, but nope she is totes healed and not deafened.
The terminus of Misfit's bounce is right behind Toyboy where she punches him hard and with lightning speed in the head "Jerkface!" and then another punch. "Broke my goggles!" she grabs for his controller "I'll break this!" what is she ten.
*
Absent the Toyman constantly controlling them, the bears suddenly act unsure of what to do. They mill in place, and only the ones immediately facing Caitlin have the werewithal to attack her. They do so with less enthusiasm, as if their programming doesn't have that level of freedom.
They are, it seems, bears of very little brain.
"Get him! Yeah!" Caitlin cheers, hugging another bear to pieces as it tries to hug her to death. She crushes it into a ball and punts it into the crowd.
Toyman's not much for self defense, and his arms flail around his head to guard him from Misfit's blows. A hand comes up with what look like jacks and he flings them at Misfit's face— each of them conceals a sharp barb, with a powerful sleeping drug coloring the tips green.
*
The thing about Charlie, and maybe why Batman took her on besides the fact she has some useful skills and is an orphan, is that she is a savant at fighting. It is like Misfit had years of fighting and training. Which is impossible right.
Anyhow Misfit's eyes widen "Holy crap!" she yelps and twsts that control pad sideways and then swings it at Toyboy's jacks as he flings them at her face. Imbedding several jacks into the controller and managing to knock a couple back into Toyboy's face. "Shew." Misfit then slams the control pad into her knee breaking it in half. Then she looks at her knee, oh crap a jack is imbedded into her knee. "Woops…" and she sways falls back.. gotta.. bounce…
*
The controller goes flying and smashes into pieces against the edge of the roof escarpment. Toyman screams in anger, and stamps his feet in anger. Fists clenched, face red, he looks like a child throwing a tantrum. Without his direction, the bears start moving more and more sluggishly. Some of them start shutting down.
"That's good! Keep it up!" Caitlin shouts up at Misfit, unaware of the other heroine's plight. Toyman seems immune to the effects of his poison jacks, and reaches into his pocket for a ripcord helicopter and with a yank, sends it into motion. It pinwheels towards Misfit erratically, steam gleaming on the blades of the small toy!
*
On the bright side. Sort of. The blade slicing into her arm when she throws it up jerks Misfit into more alertness. "OW" the armor minimized the slice a good deal but still there is a splatter of blood. "HSss" as she bounces vanising in a slash of smoke >pinkurple>
Seconds later she drops on top of him out of thin air and .. yeah Misfit is doing all right again. Pissed and okay. She slams down from a couple feet in the air with her weighted boots to knock him down. Then the young lady just starts kicking him hard and fast. "Knock… it… off.. ToyBoy!"
*
It's a good thing Misfit wore her ass-kicking boots, because Toyman goes down with cries of surprised pain. She gets him one particularly good blow across the point of the chin, and— well, lights out, Toyman.
Without Toyman directing the bears, they default to a power-save mode and start shutting down. One by one, they fall backwards onto their padded bums and with a soft whine, go into 'off' mode.
Caitlin gets the last active bear dismembered, and steps back. She brushes her hands briskly and puts them on her hips, taking deep, regular breaths to control her heart rate. "Hey! You okay up there?" she calls to Misfit, unable to see how the other woman is faring.
*
She crouches down now and yanks him around and applies a set of zipties to his hands and ankles "I.. yeah I think so" Misfit then straightens and ohs and crouches back down and hooks a line around his ankles and kicks him off the roof. Hope she measured right.
Anywho Toyman drops into sight and ends up stopping and then being lowered to about eye level before being tied off up above.
Moments later Misfit is by you there peering at her own handywork. "There we go. We good down here?" pause "Also.. ohmygod Bears… that was awesome!" her goggles cracked and she totally has blood on her cheek and forearm of her uniform.
*
Caitlin grins a little breathlessly at Misfit. "Oh my god, right?" she says, laughing once. She pulls her hair back from her face, trying to get the curling red hair back into something like a presentable appearance before the media descends. The curses of being a female superheroine, you have to kick butt AND look good. At least she's wearing low, practical boots instead of trying to do it in heels!
"I think we're square. I've called up a response team and they'll take Toyman and his gadgets into custody." There's a small mountain of dead stuffed giant bears behind her. Caitlin tore it up.
"You did great. And you came along at just the right time! I'm Caitlin, Caitlin Fairchild," she says, offering Misfit a politely gentle handshake.
*
Well Misfit is not used to press, the Gotham crew is one of the not really dealing with cops or press sorts thanks to the Man. This may get awfully awkward if the media shows up. Still she is riding the high of the fight and winning right now so isn't thinking of it yet.
"Misfit." she pauses "Wow no codename or callsign or nothing?" she shakes your hand vigorously there. Yeah definitely not batgirl. Nope. The name is fitting though. "I almost want to keep a teddy bear… I think trophies are allowed?" she isn't sure. I mean the Man has a lot of them.
*
"What would I do with a codename?" Caitlin asks, giggling at the question. "I'm a giant ginger girl who can bench press a city bus. What am I gonna do, put on glasses and a wig and slouch everywhere?" she inquires, without a hint of irony in her voice. "And I'm all over the YouTubes anyway, so — that ship has sailed."
"Misfit, huh? You're from Gotham, aren't you?" she inquires. "I think I've seen some pictures of you on the SuperSpotting subreddit. You're pretty good at avoiding the cameras. Do you hang around with the Bat-Family, or are you doing a solo thing?"
*
Charlotte points at her goggled and cowled attire "Masks .. cowls.. goggles… helmets." she says like it is a mantra and then laughs "Oh.. crap.. yah I follow thosse subreddits. I mean.. it is totes awesome I am on there but yeah the Man does not like us being in the press or talking to the cops. Bag em. Tag em. Fade into the night." the young woamn rolls her shoulders.
"But yeah with the BatFam though I am pretty new to the whole crime fighting thing. I am not usually here in Gotham but .. yeah last couple times trouble now.. and also more on the subreddit. People in gotham just don't whip out there phone and stuff when there is a dangerous situation like they do here.. maybe it is the villians likelihood of exploding fear gas pumpkins.." she is a rambly girl.
*
"It's changing a lot," Caitlin agrees, nodding her head. She waves at the Metropolitan Response Team as the first trucks show up, though they're still setting their cordon up and waiting for the final permission to move in.
"Look, I'll handle these guys— let's chat in a few minutes, huh? Over on the roof of the Adams building?" she suggests to Misfit, politely interpreting the other girl's distrust of the media that will inevitably accompany the cops. "It won't be long, this is pretty cut-and-dried pandemonium," she promises Misfit, drifting a step away.
*
Okay Misfit cracks up "Pandemonium.. thank god they weren't stuffed Panda Bears…. " and she is gone if Caitlin looks back. Just a whisp of smoke. Well she has an edge on the whole vanishing bat ninja angle.
Relocated Misfit wait for Caitlin over on the top of yonder building. Sitting on the edge feet dangling as she has her goggles peeled off and a small screw driver as she works on removing the lens. A replacement by her on the edge of the roof as she fills her time.
*
About ten minutes later, Caitlin joins Misfit. No elevator— she flies upwards, soaring through the cityscape and leanding easily on the rooftop's edge next to the girl without any apparent effort. "Sorry, I tried to get done fast," Caitlin apologizes. Her green leotard is tattered and there's some dried blood on it, but her wounds already look hours old instead of fresh and raw.
"Do you need a hand with that? I'm pretty handy with a screwdriver," Caitlin offers, venturing closer to look at the cracked lens.
*
Charlie looks up and watches your approach there. She has blood by her left eye but it seems fine. "I…" she pops the lens out. "Got it.. thank you though." she works on fitting the new lens in. It has metal contacts all around the lens. Obviously some sort of HUD lens and not just colored glass to a technologists eye.
Misfit asks "How was the press? Are they like vicious sharks?" she works the joint back in around the lens and works on securing it now. "Also that was fun. Glad I was a help."
*
"They're not so bad," Caitlin says, shaking her head. "They want a soundbite, that's all. Something to report on. I learned the hard way, if you don't give them a story, they'll make up one on their own. Easier to explain what happened in short terms, strike a pose or two, look suitably heroic, then leave before anyone comes up with any clever questions," she says, flashing a dimpled grin.
"I'unno. I used to have more problems with them. I think I finally just learned how to talk to the press without inviting more questions, yanno?"
*
"Huh" Misfit notes as she fidgets with her goggles and then works them back over onto her head covering her eyes up again. "That doesn't sound hard at all." she would be totally bad at this. She would be a PR disaster. She must never talk to the press without an adult.
There is a pause at your question though. "Though. No. Never talked to anyone except a handful of other heroes and villians while I am serving them up a handy side of Justice and Vengeance." okaywho talks like this. Evidently Misfit. She has an infectious happiness though. "So how long have you been doing this.. man I need to look up your subreddit."
*
"A couple years," Caitlin says, sitting down on the ledge and letting her legs dangle out over the street. "I got started in Gotham, y'know— purse snatchers and stuff. I got roped into a few things in New York, then Captain Marvel recruited me for the Justice League. Now I'm with the Titans," she says. "It wasn't very glamorous early on. I was running around in a sports bra and a disposable jumpsuit because my clothes kept getting destroyed. After I got sued a few times, I figured the solo thing wasn't the way to go, y'know?"
*
"I think the whole not wanting to be sued by muggers and car jackers is why we do the fade away thing in Gotham." Misfit ponders "I didn't know you started in Gotham.. that rocks. I grew up here in Metropolis but ended up there looking for the Bats. I wanted to fight crime." she laughs "I .. yeah sports bra.. I had a baggy t-shirt with a bad bat logo on it and a skirt and combat boots and a homemade cowl. I thought I could be batgirl when she stopped showing up … like maybe they needed a new one.. cliff notes they didn't."
*
"Justice-League issued, this," Caitlin says, plucking at her torn clothing. "It's much sturdier than my old stuff, and it's partially self-healing. This is ruined, but at least it's not falling off of me. I had a lot of wardrobe malfunctions early on," she confesses.
"How'd you get in with the Bats, though?" she says, glancing over her shoulder as if concerned Batman was RIGHT THERE OMFG. He's creepy like that. "I mean, they seem like good people— I know Robin— but man, they're… scary," she says, diplomatically.
*
"They are actually super nice. Just." Misfit smiles amused a bit as she talks and you do the shoulder glance. She is a little used to seeing it and not doing it, anymore. Either the Man is there or not lookng won't help anything but startling you. "They are super serious. Like all work. Serious. Rawr…." with that Charlie shrugs. "But.. they all have good intentions and the mission is just very central to their world. Robin is cool and Spoiler. Nightwing is kinda like the Man."
"As for how I got in..well I showed up trying to be batgirl fighting crime in my goodwill special and after I refused to be discouraged I think they adopted me so I didn't do more damage than good on accident. Didn't really have anywhere else to go or family."
*
"Oh, you know Spoiler!" Caitlin baps her forehead with her palm. "Of course. She's a good friend of mine," she tells Charlotte, excitedly. "She's just so laid back and fun, I forget she's not one of the Bat-Fam sometimes," she says, laughing at herself. "We hang out a lot. Tell her I said hi, if you see her before I do!"
"Well— I should get back to work," Caitlin says, regretfully. She pushes off the building, floating in the air. "I actually have a day job and my boss is pretty cool about cape stuff, but I do have to get /something/ done today. But hey, it was awesome to meet you," she says, turning to face Misfit. "I don't know if you do the Instagram thing, but you can find me on there really easily. Shoot me a PM, huh? We'll catch up."
*
There is a snrk "Robin and Spoiler aren't around nearly as much as they were for a while there… I think they are busy a lot. So I'll try but you may see her before I do. She is awesome." with that Misfit grins. "Also I have an account but never post stuff, just lurk. I'll DM you though because that would be cool. Maybe we can fight crime or hang out or something." with that she hops up to her feet. "This is my job.. I'm usually free during the afternoon a lot. We only patrol at night really in Gotham."
*
"Sounds good. Be careful out there, Misfit!" Caitlin says, flying away in a short loop. "And it was nice meeting you!" she calls back— and then she's soaring away on a thermal, headed towards the heart of Metropolis in a streak of green and red.