2014.03.28 - Gotham By Night

Late night in Gotham. Another dark alleyway; another crime in progress. In this case, it's two thugs -- men dressed in disheveled dark jackets, their faces ruddy from the chill of the night as they charge down the strip toward what turns out to be... a dead end. One of them -- 'Badger' -- turns, eyes widening as their pursuer steps into the narrow space.

Brilliant blue eyes glow. A machine man -- squat, heavy, with a rounded head and two circular 'glass' eyes -- steps forward. He is clad in a honolulu shirt so bright it qualifies as radioactive, along with a pair of cargo pants -- and a belt, with a gun holster strapped to it. When he speaks, his voice thrums with a metallic, synthesized rumble: "/There/ you are."

"Oh crap oh crap," Skinny Pete says, eyes wide. "Oh crap oh /crap/ it's him, he's found us, oh /crap/ it's --"

"Iron man," Badger says, voice whispering with barely contained awe.

Atomic Robo proceeds to lift his metal hands up and rub his metal brows. "Oh, for cryin' out loud..."

Spoiler has had a rough couple of days. She's spent a lot of time hiding out -- she's skipped school two days straight, which is very much unlike her, and she's been trying to stay away from home. As a result, she's out in costume, and she's not merely moping around -- but she's not on the ball. She should have noticed these guys ages ago.

But no, the first thing she notices is the giant robot. Though honestly, she thinks she's doing pretty well to notice that much tonight.

She moves to the edge of the rooftop overlooking robot and robbers, watching things happening down below. After a moment she smirks behind her mask -- it still feels a little like a dream. "Iron Man's red and gold, bozo," she calls down. "And generally stays out of Gotham."

"See?" Robo immediately responds to the voice from above, head crooning up to look at her -- eyes capable of perceiving every electromagnetic spectrum known to man (and several /not/ known) catching sight of the perched caped minicrusader. "/She/ knows. I mean, come on, this is easy, guys. We even come color-coded for your convenience."

"Wh--there's--more of them!" Badger says, clearly panicking as he stumbles back against the wall. "Pete, do it, use -- use that science on them--"

"Look, whatever you managed to steal, it's not going to work on me," Robo continues, stepping forward -- CLUNK! "I'm a 500 pound ROBOT. There's nothing you've got that could--"

Skinny Pete pulls something out of his coat, hands shaking. It looks like a 1950s style Flash Gordon ray-gun; a small spool of wire has recently been added to the base, attached to what appears to be... a small car battery strapped to Skinny Pete's hip.

Robo stops, staring for just an instant -- before: "--oh."

CRACK-KOOM. The alleyway is illuminated with a slash of brilliant, cerulean brilliance; a LIGHTNING BOLT arcs from the tip of the gun -- and slams into Robo's chest. In an instant, the machine man is down; the glow of his eyes has been snuffed out. Smoke swells up from his torso.

Skinny Pete and Badger are freaking out. And /running/.

Spoiler lost her makeshift escrima sticks the other night. She's had to replace it with a plain, unbroken mop handle, and it is less than comfortable in her hands so far. But she has pretty much figured out what to do with it. With little thought for her own safety she launches herself off the building at a run, the leap carrying her toward the retreating figures of Skinny Pete and Badger. Her left foot impacts Pete high on his back, sending him face first into the ground. Even as she lands, using Pete's form to cushion her fall, she rises with mop handle in hand, yanking it upward to tangle between Badger's legs and, for good measure, into his groin. One more strike with the stick dazes Pete, making sure he can't struggle too much while she binds the pair. She kicks the lightning gun out of his reach, and then turns back to check on the downed robot.

Poor Skinny Pete and Badger! These two are clearly not very skilled in the art of vigilante evasion; both go down with a severe WHUMPF, with Badger managing a yelp, and Skinny Pete managing a squeal; the lightning gun is kicked away from his hands -- both of them squirming and complaining as they're bound. "H-hey! Look I can totally explain this--" -- "Oh man, oh man, my dad is going to be /so/ pissed..."

Robo isn't moving. His usually luminescent blue eyes have turned to a dull, lightless gray; there is a scorch mark on the front of his honolulu shirt, exposing just a sliver of soot-covered metal. But as Spoiler approaches -- something flickers in those eyes. Flick, flick, flick. Bzzzzznnn...

"--...applesauce." Robo's eyes /flash/ back on; he emits a low, metallic creak. Trying to sit up, but not quite succeeding.

"They're down," Spoiler says, extending a hand toward the robot -- big as he is, she's almost positive he'll pull her down with him if she tries to help him up, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it? "I don't know what you're doing in Gotham, big guy, but you're probably lucky it was me who ran across you instead of the Bat. I understand he gets grumpy."

Robo's hand slowly extends to take Spoiler's. Perhaps surprisingly, the metal is flushed with warmth; it's actually pretty close to what you would expect from a flesh-and-blood human. He doesn't pull, but rather pushes -- with his other hand. "--oh, you -- caught 'em. Bats. Wait, Batman?" And then, there's a synthesized chuckle as he starts to rise. Creeeeeak... "You're the second person I've run into who's mentioned him." Then, as he rises up and inspects her... "...er. Aren't you... a little young to be in the vigilante business?"

"Vigilantism is just as illegal for an adult as it is for a teenager," Spoiler replies dryly. "And after this week, I think I've aged a couple decades anyway. Who are you?" She doesn't mince words -- she has no idea who this robot is, though she's pretty sure that he's one of the good guys.

Rook simply appears on a rooftop overlooking the street. It's not clear that she intended to arrive on the scene of a robo-jumping but that is what quickly draws her attention. Rook looks towards the vigilantes and then towards the poor fellows that Spoiler has bound up. She disappears again and then reappears as if from thin air in front of Badger and Skinny Pete. "Boo."

"Yeah, actually, now that you mention it, I think I started when I was -- 7?" Robo admits, maybe just a little cheekily. The luminescent blue eyes swing over to inspect Badger and Skinny Pete, still wriggling in their bounds. At the mention of 'aging' a couple of decades, Robo responds -- perhaps cryptically: "This line of work'll do that to you. Robo," he informs her. It's a name she may or may not be familiar with; he was a bit of a celebrity back in the day -- a name that pops up now and then in science. Built by Nikola Tesla. Not a citizen -- technically, he's classified as a nuclear armanent.

"--hzzn." Robo's eyes flash a bit more brightly when Rook appears quite suddenly in his range of vision. Skinny Pete and Badger both yelp in unison; rather suddenly (though subtly), Robo has edged himself between Spoiler and Rook.

Nope. Not so much. She'd probably know the name 'Tesla', but then again, they mostly teach about Edison and Marconi, glossing over Tesla's contributions to science by and large. Certainly the name 'Robo' doesn't ring a bell with her at the moment. She's a little out of it, though.

"Spoiler," replies the eggplant-clad teenager. "Nice to mee..." And then Robo's behind her, and she turns to see the woman standing over the two nimrods she bagged. "Hey! Get away from them, lady!" she calls out, eyes flicking toward the discarded lightning weapon on the ground. She starts moving toward that herself -- better not to let somebody else get her hands on it.

Rook isn't making any moves towards the lightning gun. But she does point towards it. "Where did you get that? You two are morons." Rook points out the obvious, while sparing a quick glance over her shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt anyone. Call me Rook, please." The small woman turns back to Badger and Skinny Pete. "Let me know and I'll at least give you a running start on her. No promises on the metal guy he can probably fly or something. Talk to me."

"OhJeezohJeez--" Skinny Pete begins, wriggling in his bonds. "Ohjeez what the hell is this how many of these people are there--"

"We -- we got it from Zoey," Badger gives up the name nearly instantly. "Zoey's the guy who--"

"I know who they got it from," Robo tells Rook. As Spoiler edges toward the lightning gun, Robo follows suit -- though with far less edging and far more striding. He takes three steps toward it -- and unless anyone stops him -- brings one massive foot down to crush it beneath his impressive weight. *CRNKT* -- the metal bends and folds, crumpling into nothing more than a mashed pile of infinitely delicate circuitry. "Recent cache of Tesla-based technology was discovered. It's been getting sold off on the black market. These two morons stole it off a guy, who bought it off another guy, who stole it from another guy -- who's dead."

Spoiler is far less concerned about Rook hurting the two men than she is about them being freed. She was kidnapped by the Joker two days ago. She doesn't need to give Batman another reason to disapprove of her. The gun, at least, is no longer an issue. "I don't know you," she says to Rook -- as though she should know most of Gotham's operators. She probably should, at least the major ones. "What do you want?"

Rook does nothing to prevent the destruction of the lightning gun by the robot. She watches it happen, seeming almost robotic herself as it's destroyed. "That's much less interesting." Rook notes, though the words may just be meant for herself. "You two are still morons." Those words are definitely meant for Badger and Skinny Pete. "Do you want every cape in the city on your ass? Because retro-futuristic guns are how you get every cape in the city on your ass. Sorry boys, you aren't worth it." Rook turns her back on the two petty thieves both literally and figuratively. "Nothing, now." She replies to Spoiler.

"--oh my God how do we keep ending up in these sort of situations--" Badger begins. Skinny Pete adds: "Ma'am, I have nothing but respect for you and your austere profession PLEASE don't kill us."

"Yeah, they're idiots," Robo replies to Rook. "I think that's something we can all file underneath 'O' for 'Obvious'. Listen, I don't know what the 'etiquette' on vigilantism is, but I'm calling dibs on this. I was here first -- and I'm a robot. I'm betting that outranks whatever the hell you are." Then, to Spoiler, more to the side: "--by the way, do you realize you're using a broom handle?"

"Shut up," Spoiler tells the idiots she's already caught. "Nobody's killing anyone." Her voice is tight when she says this, though certainly not robotic. Her eyes glance toward Robo. "No -- I thought it was a vacuum cleaner," she says, deadpan.

"I'm not a vigilante." Rook informs Robo. "Well. Not the same kind that she is." Spoiler gets a nod. "I was hoping for a bigger catch, though." Badger and Skinny Pete get a look that is surely accusatory behind Rook's goggles. "Try to take it easy on 'em out there, hero. It's hard for these folks to pay medical bills." The small woman tucks her hands into her pockets and starts to walk away, though she does take a glance at Robo. "...Though I bet a good mechanic costs an arm and a leg too."

"Heh. Funny," Robo replies to Spoiler, without looking to her. Meanwhile, Skinny Pete and Badger seem thoroughly relieved at this turn of events. Robo simply produces a low, throaty 'hzn'. As Rook walks away -- Robo is watching her, of course -- the machine-man reaches into his pocket, pulling out... a small, crisp, white card.

Robo presents it to Spoiler, still not turning to her. "I owe you. For the lightning gun. Got a company, Tesladyne -- up in New York City. You ever find yourself in the Big Apple for some reason, look us up. Maybe we can get you something a little fancier than a cleaning implement. No guns," Robo adds, perhaps a little more firmly than necessary!

"--though seriously, I gotta tell you, vigilantism isn't really much of a career path. Terrible benefits, the retirement package sucks, and eventually -- well, you get unlucky and somebody just shoots you dead."

"We don't use guns in Gotham," Spoiler replies. The action is over now, and Rook is walking away. There's exhaustion in her voice. "People who use guns in Gotham don't stay Gotham vigilantes long." She accepts the card, though, tucking it away into a pouch on the side of her belt. "As for vigilantism, we do what we have to do."

Rook pauses after Spoiler speaks. She looks over her shoulder. "What about arrows?" She asks. "There are a few nutjobs out there and an arrow can be just as lethal, only not as portable." Rook finally turns around fully. "Or do they get a pass just because they're quaint, archaic morons?"

"Lady," Robo informs Rook, "you are totally ruining your mysterious, enigmatic exit." At Spoiler's mention of a gun, Robo's hand drops down to pat the pistol at his waist, before adding: "Well, good thing I'm just a tourist, then. Alright, I'm just going to..." He's reaching down -- to pluck up the squealing Skinny Pete and Badger. Hup! Right over his shoulder. "...deliver these two buffoons to the nearest police station."

"Thank you," Spoiler tells Robo, nodding her gratitude. "If you'll both excuse me, I have to make a mysterious exit." Smiling wryly behind her mask, she leaps to the nearest fire escape and makes her way back up to the rooftops.

Rook looks up as Spoiler makes her getaway. "Capes. Always dodging the hard questions." With that, Rook turns and makes her own escape. Not as flashy, she just turns her back, takes a few steps, and...disappears.