DC Beyond

Vincent - Office Building

Vincent stands his ground as the Scarecrow pulls back and sends the gas towards him, calling out defiantly "Gotta upgrade your chest pain gas!" as he feels the stabbing sensation spreading deeper in, like a thin strip of metal worming its way into his body.
This is no time to play. Get rid of him now.
As his opponent readies his scythe and propels himself forwards, the splicer bends his legs ever so slightly, preparing himself to lunge at just the right moment; polearms have the advantage of reach, but can be rather unwieldy when dealing with an opponent below their ideal range. The hybrid tends to exploit just that, turning his body to move his tail to the side opposite the scythe is coming from, dashing forwards as he swings to get past the blade's sweet spot.
You're still playing nice. Stop holding back.
Vincent grits his teeth as the weapon finds it's mark, despite reaching out with a hand to grab the scythe's elongated handle in an attempt to stop its course; the blade slicing through the jacket and into his flank, his scaly hide hardening just in time to prevent the worst of the damage, but still drawing blood, along with a pained hiss from the splicer, holding the scythe tightly with one hand as the other aims an uppercut at the Scarecrow's stomach; one with enough force behind it as to make it clear the dinosaur inflicting it is not playing nice anymore, should it connect.
Go on. Give him what he deserves.

Scarecrow - Office Building

Scarecrow was unable to react in time to Frostbite freezing his hand to his scythe, surprised to learn the dragon splicer had additional powers. To make things worse, this meant he was too distracted to block Vincent's punch, wheezing as he took the full impact of it in the gut.

This wasn't going Scarecrow's way. He was outnumbered, outmuscled, and whatever modifications had been made to the dino splicer, they seemed to be minimizing the effects of his fear gas. He needed to get out of there, and he had to put some distance between himself and the splicers.

With that, Scarecrow started slamming into the surrounding walls to try and get Vincent to let go of his scythe, smashing the stairwell doors open and the ice on his hand apart in the process. Once the ice was gone, Scarecrow ignored the pain from his hand and used it to try and repeatedly smack Vincent in the face, with his fist or the pole of his scythe, to further try and make him let go.

Ymir Wolff: Wayne-Powers Loading Bay (Catwalk)

Ymir... couldn't remember why she had initiated this. The adrenaline high that she was riding on in the heat of the moment was slowly draining from her now, and she found herself sizing up Bane again with a new perspective. A perspective that informed her that this might have been a terrible idea.

So, with a grim purse of her lips, she got into an almost animalistic stance, stooping slightly with her feet planted wide as she stared directly into Bane's eyes.

"Sorry."

A globule of sticky spider silk shot out of her wrist towards Bane's face, as she simultaneously darted forward and aimed to punch the taller woman right in her stomach. Hard. If it landed, it'd probably feel like a moving car slamming right into Bane's abdomen, though there was a strange sensation that Ymir was pulling back a little. Like the same metaphorical car had its driver slam his foot on the brake seconds too late from causing an accident.

It wasn't on par with Bane's on strength, but it was still on a shocking level for someone with such an apparently slender build.

Jurassica - Wayne-Powers, Loading Bay

Her scaley hide was resilient, but the blaster shot to the foot still made her stumble, cursing as she dropped to all fours. Jurassica forced herself to her feet a moment later, wincing at the slight pain in her ankle, but even the few seconds it took her to right herself and steady her grip on her hammer gave the fleeing villainesses more of a lead.

Out of spite, she smashed furniture and vending machines out of her way as she tore through the break room. Then she paused, stooping to tear off the leg of a chair, and as she gave chase she hefted it, took aim, and threw it down the hall at her fleeing prey like a javelin.

"I swear to god, I'll bring down this whole fucking building!" For emphasis, she smashed her hammer into the wall as she ran, gouging a long hole in the otherwise well-maintained walls.

Harley

This was bad. She knew it was bad but didn't think it'd be this bad. Her powers should have done something but the terrible T-Rex kept coming! Where were the guards?! Was they playing hooky or what?! She was more of a guard than they were for God's sake!

"You're tellin' me toots! Think this place would have better service! Zero stars..."

As soon as she heard the wind whistle she ducked. She'd been in enough track and field to tell one spear toss from another. She made to pull Jasmine down with her, hopefully saving them from a grisly fate.

"'Hey, watch it!'' Gonna poke an eye out with that thing!"

She kept running, gunning for the entrance. More space was good space, but she was searching for something else. There had to be a panic button, an alarm switch, something she could press. the way Jennysaurus was tearing things up it was a wonder she hadn't set something off! Weren't there any cameras or Big Brothers or anything?!

"Good, whole buildin's probably fuckin'! Ain't like they're doin' their jobs! Buncha' lousy FREAKS!!!"

She screamed that last part, straight at the top of her lungs. If there were any guards around they were bound to hear her. She'd swear they were fucking, rotten bastards...

Edited by kkhohoho on Mar 7th 2024 at 6:42:21 AM

Frostbite - Office Building

Frostbite, seeing that Scarecrow is quite preoccupied with Vincent at the moment, sees an opportunity. She first breathes a flurry of ice directly at his feet in an attempt to freeze them. Immediately afterwards, she charges at him and... tries to steal (or re-steal?) his hard earned loot!

I'm not letting anyone get their hands on this. Not after what happened to me.

Amity-Trying To Enter Stately Wayne Manor

She swore in Vlatavan as the slope of the lawn grew more steep. "I thought I saw someone around by the side door, but with all of these damned shadows...." Changing her mind, Amity headed toward the massive front doors, idly wondering if someone else would open it or Wayne himself. If the reclusive billionaire did answer, her job might be even easier. I'll alert the old man to an intruder, poke around, and maybe the mysterious burglar might surprise us and shoot him. No, too clumsy. But I'll have to think of something.

The doors were large, and she pounded on them more loudly than she intended to at first. A faint, disquieting idea entered her head-that of something deep underground being awoken by her noise, and coming to investigate. Don't you want him to come and see you, Amity? What's there to be afraid of? You'd just be almost alone in a huge empty house miles from the city or anyone to help. Amity pushed the mocking voice away, and knocked again more loudly.

Wayne Manor || Cassies Against Capitalism || This Is Going To Become A Clusterfuck Real Quick

Cassie raises an eyebrow - but she knows she's being ignored. Which is the other Cass' mistake, because they spot someone coming - jogging across the lawn. Maybe a friend - maybe not, and you don't stay alive by assuming everyone is going to be automatically friendly. She wonders about leaving, but - well, she has a hunch about what's about to happen (the gate hadn't opened, this isn't a friend) and as much as she's fine with theft, particularly from millionaires -

Your soft heart will get you killed.

Shut it.

No one gets hurt, if she can stop it. They don't turn a blind eye, or else they're no better than the heroes they despise.

Cassie reaches out and taps Cass on the shoulder, pointing out the person coming their way. "Friend of yours? Because they're not mine," and she steps back, letting the shadows engulf her, "so you should hide."

She steps out, now inside the building, in a quiet corner, an empty room. There's a pounding on the front door, now. Maybe the mysterious gatecrasher changed their tactics, or there's another person visiting this person today. Either way, this is quickly becoming more complicated than she'd like - but she can't walk away now.

Who's house is this, anyway?

Once-Stately Wayne Manor

"What?"

The Nightingale traced the gestured direction and let out a faint 'stab' under her breath as she notices a third joining their thing.

"Alright, I'm hiding. Inside."

She smirks a little under the mask and slips into the unlocked door to find somewhere sufficient to hide inside the manor itself... Well okay, the sound of someone being inside gives her pause, but she presumes this'd be the better option because she presumed they'd go for the loud knocking on the front door first, giving the Nightingale plenty of time to slip around find a hiding spot.

"This is my property, you're trespassing," came a very gruff voice. Followed by the sound of barking, as a large great dane darted out of the shadows, followed by an older man, in his late 60s.

"Get out," he grumbled, and if anyone recognized him, this was Bruce Wayne himself.

Several DKI Goons charged in, one of whom carried a large bazooka like device. "There's the Splicer!"

"Net gun ready!"

"FIRE!"

And with a loud boom, an electrified net was fired right at Jurassica.

Powers and Mr. Fixx entered the labs, the nerve gas compound was nearly ready. A quick dose of this and it would handle the invaders with ease...

"What about our people?" Fixx asked.

"What about them?" Powers replied. "The guards have respirators, the Dark Knights are completely sealed in their suits. It'll be fine."

"And the new hires?"

"Haven't yet been paid, no great loss," Powers said with a smile.

King Lear, Loading Bay

Lear didn't have time to shield himself from the flashbang before it went off, screaming as he was blinded and disoriented by the light. By the time it had faded and he had regained his bearings, things had moved even further into chaos. He desperately looked around, trying to regain sight of the Batman, only to find he was nowhere in sight.

Dammit, he needed to find him! There had to be a way to draw him out... His eyes drifted to the chemicals which were the reason he and presumably many of the others had come here in the first place, which seemed to be becoming even more dangerously unstable in all of the chaos. Was it too much to hope they were combustible? If there was one thing he knew about Batman, it's that the man was devoted to saving people. Create a big enough disaster, and the caped crusader (though oddly he hadn't seemed to be wearing a cape, or at least not one long enough to speak of) would come running to save all involved. Was it a bit unethical? Sure, but it would all be worth it if he could get close to the Batman.

He did have a match or two to spare. The only problem was, he couldn't guarantee igniting it would have the exact effect he desired. Another glance around in search of other, more reliable solutions later, he decided he could potentially also cause some chaos by allowing the scaly superhuman that was wreaking havoc to continue doing so, as she seemed to be in a bit of a pickle right now. If that lady caused enough destruction, that might also be enough to draw out the Bat, especially if her threats about bringing down the whole building were true. And if he got on her good side, there was a lot less threat of having to fight her later, a prospect he dreaded.

He ducked out of cover, reaching into his pocket and tossing a knife towards Jurassica, the blade clean and glimmering, before arming himself with his trusty machine pistols once more and opening fire on the DKI goons.

"Hello there, boys and girls! Enjoy this present, straight from the House of Lear!"

Vincent - Office Building

The dinosaur splicer holds on tight to his opponent's weapon, grunting in pain as the Scarecrow pushes him against the walls and the stairwell door. Ineffectively trying to protect his scaly head from from opponent's punches with his one free arm, the fear toxin flooding the room suddenly starts working much faster from a mix of adrenaline and his open wound, making Vincent feel like the piece of metal inside of him suddenly shoots up his spine and neck, stabbing him right in the brainstem.

Enough. Destroy Him.

The Scarecrow would be able to see the change instantly as well, the abject terror in the splicer's eyes plain as day; However, the accompanying predatory grin is sending a different message.

Abandoning his defense, Vincent takes a few punches to the noggin before swerving his head to the side to avoid the next blow and immediately bringing it back with an open jaw to try and bite down on the Scarecrow's arm; His freed up hand grabbing him by the throat in an attempt to lift him up and violently bring him back to the ground in a chokeslam, his tail raising behind him and preparing to stab the scarecrow should he be successfully brough to the ground.

Scarecrow - Office Building

Scarecrow growled as his feet were frozen to the ground by Frostbite. He immediately started increasing the thrust of his jetpack to pull himself free, but his anger increased when the dragon splicer grabbed one of the biotoxin containers and tried to rip it from his hand. As he engaged in a tug of war with her, Scarecrow could see the fear in Vincent's eyes. It was clear now that whatever had been delaying the effects of the fear gas had finally given out.

The grin made him realize this wasn't a good thing.

With his mobility restricted, Scarecrow was unable to keep his arm out of Vincent's mouth. While the teeth were kept from sinking to permanent-damage levels by the tough material of his suit, Scarecrow still cried out in pain as he felt them pierce his skin, only to get silenced by the hand wrapped around his throat. However, the thrust of his jet pack was able to slow down Vincent's choke slam long enough for Scarecrow to move his wings to keep himself propped up, and the force got his feet free from Frostbite's ice.

Seeing Vincent's tail ready to stab him, it occurred to Scarecrow that there was one thing that could get him out of this. He'd have to get out of the room, and it would cost him some creds, but he'd at least be alive to spend the rest of them.

"You dregs want these so bad?!" Scarecrow yelled, moving the canister in his hand that he was struggling against Frostbite for into a better position for his plan. "Then I guess I can SHARE!"

With that, Scarecrow thrust the canister at his own scythe blade, slicing through the side, and then let go as a green gas started to seep out of it. Scarecrow then used his jet pack and positioning with his wings to fly through the upper part of the stair doorway, aiming to slam Vincent on the upper portion. Hopefully, that combined with the biotoxin would make him let go, even in his animalistic state, and Scarecrow would be able to get into the stairway to flee.

Edited by RapidFirestormer on Mar 23rd 2024 at 11:02:40 AM

Jurassica - Wayne-Powers, Loading Bay

And there was the goon squad. All but confirming that the clown was Wayne Powers. Why the hell the Jokerz of all people were buddy-buddy with the megacorp was beyond her. All she cared about at this point was wrecking shop.

A measly net wasn't going to stop her, electrified or no. She swung one claw forward, catching the net on her arm so it didn't fully envelop her. It nonetheless tangled up a decent chunk of her body, and the electricity arcing through her made her grit her teeth. But compared to the pain of her body being twisted and reshaped, it was a prickle.

Actually tearing through the net was harder than anticipated, but thankfully someone tossed her a knife. One of the masked weirdos, she assumed. Score one for fellow vigilantes.

With the added leverage of the blade, she tore through the net, before barreling at the goons that had dared to get in her way, knife in one hand and sledgehammer in the other.

"I'll crack your skulls like eggs!"

Carpenter

Finally, the cavalry had arrived!

Annnnd they looked like they were going to have their hands full with the angry dinosaur lady.

Jasmine would love to help, really. But she'd had her share of heroism for the night, thanks.

"Lady I just met." Jasmine started, clapping the clown girl on the shoulder. "I think it's time you and me got the H-E-double-hockey-sticks out of here. Before she remembers who she was originally chasing."

Harley, Wayne-Powers Building — Exit Stage Left

Harley whooped and hollered, jumping up and down, jiggling her hips in jubilation. She knew they were a bunch of jackbooted thugs but who cared, they were saved! She gave the guards a whistle, sending a wave of pure ecstasy, waving her hands in celebration.

"WOOT! Go get 'em suckahs! Give 'er one for Harley!"

It didn't last. Thrilled as she was, the Carpenter brought her down. She'd love to see that overgrown lizard get taken down a peg, but wanted to live to see it. They'd better have been recording this...

"Sounds good to me toots! Don't wanna get torn to bits. This lil' number ain't exactly kevlar..."

She pinched the front of her suit for emphasis, giggling as it snapped back in place. As soon as it settled she ran for the nearest exit, making sure Carpenter followed along.

"Do it to it dollface! Work those gams!"

The entrance was their best bet, but if there were any costumed crazies they'd need to stay clear. She glanced back, stopping just long to give the t-rex a raspberry.

Edited by kkhohoho on Mar 12th 2024 at 11:26:18 AM

Wayne-Powers Loading Bay (Catwalk)

Bane instinctively raised an arm to shield herself from the incoming projectile, though that didn't stop a little from skating past and hitting her on the forehead, creating a sticky strand that connected the two together. It didn't look like much effort for her to tear it apart simply by pulling her arm away, but it served to distract her for just a moment, catching her off-guard as Ymir's punch connected with her abdomen.

The giant mercenary grunted as Ymir likely heard a visceral impact, mixed with the faint noise of creaks and servos, an indication she was dealing with a cybernetically-enhanced opponent. With an ear-splitting grind, Bane was pushed back against the metal catwalk, a series of skeletal supports and shock absorbers helping to nullify the worst of the impact. Instead of falling over, she shuddered and briefly dropped to one knee.

Then she looked up and locked stares with Ymir, a fierce glint in her eyes. Bane thrust a hand for Ymir's throat, gripping it tight, and rose to her feet, attempting to lift her in the air by her neck. Assuming the spider-lady didn't find some way to weasel out of her grasp, she'd spin around and begin furiously smashing her enemy's head into the steel wall next to them, hard enough to create a dent.

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Mar 13th 2024 at 3:47:30 PM

Ymir: Wayne-Powers Loading Bay (Catwalk)

"Gheurk-!!"

Ymir came to regret most of her decisions that day when she found herself unable to breathe, staring fearfully into Bane's eyes as she was picked up by the throat and found herself floundering for air. Amidst the pain of her throat being squeezed, survival instincts took over—any sense of holding back her strength was forgotten, any moral uncertainty or thoughts beyond living were suddenly no longer important. With a noticeable change in her expression, she became feral, and her hands found purchase on Bane's own while she was still lifting Ymir up off of the ground.

-shnikt-

As her hands clutched Bane's own forearms, out from each of her wrists erupted a bony, sharp prong; digging into Bane's flesh with tremendous force and (rather worringly) seeming to inject something into her system. Banking on the shock and pain weakening Bane's grip, Ymir summoned all of her strength into pushing her arms upwards and trying to escape the stranglehold by pulling her head down—the two venomous prongs snapping from her wrists and leaving themselves embedded in Bane's arms. Ymir wouldn't leave it at that, however.

If she managed to get free from Bane's grip, she would divert her energy into what was essentially a donkey kick with all her remaining strength behind it; attempting to knock Bane into or through the steel wall that she had been intending to smash Ymir's own head into. If not, then Ymir would be banking on the paralytic poison to work its magic sooner rather than later.

Edited by Enirboreh on Mar 13th 2024 at 12:10:51 PM

Frostbite - Office Building

Frostbite, seeing the biotoxon and being unwilling to take any chances, retreats and fires icicles at scarecrow from a distance.

Edited by HilarityEnsues on Mar 14th 2024 at 3:09:24 PM

Two of the Dark Knight Goons looked to each other, then back to Jurassica. The Net had failed, all they had left Wayne-Power blasters, and this gal had proven already far more durable than expected.

Nothing left to do but call out the heavy artillery.

"DISPATCH! NEED A STREET CLEANER! NOW!"

"Roger that K-12 dispatching support now."

There was a loud hum of antigrav engines, common among Neo-Gotham's streets these days... and then a spotlight hit Jurassica, followed by the revving of a rotating barrel. Hovering overhead was a prototype model, from the Derek Motors side of Wayne-Powers. Supposedly this was going to be given to the GCPD soon enough, but for now.

It was a gunship meant to protect Wayne-Power assets.

It opened fire, dummy rounds meant for testing, low yield and not lethal.

Not unless you counted potentially getting your skull shattered as lethal.

Cain Adamson—Street Outside Wayne-Powers; Confronting the "Street Cleaner"

Beneath the bark of not-quite-gunfire, it would have been hard to hear the telltale click of a lighter being flicked open, but it was there, behind the gunship. Cain reared back for a textbook-perfect baseball pitch, except the projectile was in fact a Molotov cocktail, the pitcher was a vampire, and the gunship was focusing on something else and, most importantly, did not have a bat to swing back. Seeing as the anti-grav engines didn't exactly run on traditional fuel, Cain didn't have much hope for a dramatic explosion, but he still aimed for the whine of the engine, in case anything else could catch on fire. With the sheer force the bottle was thrown with, something was bound to get pierced or dented by glass anyways.

The wily cabbie had left his phone leaning against the nook of a nearby building, with the camera turned out and set to record. If the gunship turned around and dusted him, well, he could heal from a shattered skull, but he could also make it look like it was worse than it was, and the media vultures would have something juicy come tomorrow. "Hey! You leave those kids alone, now!" he shouted, trying to seem older and more crochety than he really was. But really, how many senior citizens these days were still capable of throwing Molotov cocktails? "Get out of Neo-Gotham, Powers! Y'ain't welcome here!"

Edited by JumpingFruit on Mar 16th 2024 at 10:53:54 AM

Stately Wayne Manor-Bruce Wayne

Bruce scanned the young ladies in front of him with his customary frown. As Ace prowled ahead, Wayne reviewed the manor's security resources. As it stands, I've let this place go to hell the last few years. Kept meaning to reinforce the doors, and put plastisteel sheets in the windows...but there just wasn't enough time. If Alfred was still here, he'd politely rip off my hide for all of these dust and cobwebs...

As he paused, momentarily caught up in uncharacteristic grief, the phone rang. It was a harsh, dissonant noise in the old house. Bruce clumped quickly over to the handset and picked it up.

"Wayne here."

"That's a relief. I was afraid a crotchety old man would answer instead." The voice was bright, and businesslike with a touch of warm teasing.

Bruce's frown eased perhaps ten degrees. He was practically smiling. "Barbara. It's good to hear from you. What's going on?"

"As usual, it's trouble. There's some kind of riot involving Freaks downtown at a Wayne-Powers building, someone says they've seen a dinosaur and a clown, Batman's been sighted, and Powers has sent someone to kill you." There was a pause, and then she sounded slightly puzzled. "Hang on, what are you doing upstairs? I just tried this number by chance. Why aren't you in your room?"

Clever. Even after all these years, she still knew that any line might be tapped. Even mine. "I heard someone up here. Ace is with me, and he certainly has a scent. I'm going to find out what's going on. What can you tell me about Powers' agent?" His voice was all business now, and if someone from the old days heard it, it wouldn't be hard to imagine a cape flapping in the wind behind him.

"Not much. They're pretty good and might have extra abilities. Maybe cyber. This comes thirdhand, after all. Powers has deep pockets, and we just don't have the manpower for real undercover work. Be careful, Bruce." She hung up.

The frown returned, and Bruce began walking forward, flicking on the lights as he stepped forward. I'm not thirty anymore, but I'll be damned if I can't handle some lousy hired thug.

"Now, who are you two?"

Edited by Booky on Mar 15th 2024 at 3:58:01 AM

Cassie || ?Wayne Manor? ||

Fuck. Cassie refrains from hissing (but barely) as the lights turn on, revealing her, blatantly hiding in a corner, and the other Cass, who is - they genuinely don't know what the other Cass is doing. She had been hoping that he'd get distracted by the knocking on the door and she could go about her life but. That isn't happening. Instead, they're face to face with Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne, of all people - though it does explain how she ended up here in the first place.

The people they've talked to - they liked him. He used to have a good reputation, for looking out for the little guy. In the way that multi-billionaires do. But he hasn't been seen for years, really.

"Name's Cassie," they say dryly, reaching behind them, into the shadows, in the hopes of pulling out something a dog would like. Surely they have a bone in there somewhere. "I'm here by accident. Nice to meet your dog." What she manages to pull out is a almost comically oversized t-bone steak, still in the supermarkets packaging. She waves it like a peace offering (and hopes her hand doesn't get bitten off).

Estately Wayne Manorisms

Ah. Frag. The Nightingale took a moment to stand, trying to subtly lower her face mask in the process.

"Mister Wayne, is it?"

The Nightingale nodded and got her phone out, tapping at the screen as though doing something very important.

"Wellness check, no one has seen you in years Mister Wayne. You clearly—"

She gestures at the knocking going on.

"haven't been answering your door. Or your phones. Mutual friends got concerned."

King Lear, Wayne Powers Loading Bay —-> Loading Bay Catwalk

Lear was initially pleased as he ducked back to safety, seeing that Jurassica was causing chaos. However, the arrival of the gunship showed that he couldn't simply rely on her to create a chaos to draw back the Batman. Though he groaned as he realized it, he was going to have to go back to his original plan. But he couldn't simply go inflaming the dangerous chemicals while he was very close to them. He had to get to a safe position, where he could both cause some chaos and be reasonably far away from its effects at the same time. His gaze drifted upwards to the catwalk where who he assumed must be Bane and that other spider-like superhuman were still having a vicious fight. If he could get up onto that catwalk, he'd be high enough above the mayhem to avoid danger, he suspected. The only problem was who was currently occupying that catwalk, especially considering he'd already pissed off Bane once and seen what was very likely the least of the consequences she could deal out. Still, perhaps he could resolve that if he could just manage to strike an alliance with the spider woman.

He looked around and quickly spotted a nearby ladder, dashing over to it and beginning to climb to the top as stealthily as he could manage, hoping not to attract the attention of Bane too early or distract her opponent from the fight. He managed to clamber to the top, and tiptoed his way around until he was positioned directly above where the dangerous chemicals lay. Then, he pulled from his cloak a box of matches, lit one, and tossed it downwards, hoping for the best (or more accurately, for the worst).