20342/Panic in the alleyways.

Panic in the alleyways.
Date of Scene:	30 March 2025
Location:	Alley
Synopsis:	Holly meets Mother Panic when a bunch of thugs look for innocents to pray upon on the streets of Gotham.
Cast of Characters:	Violet Paige, Holly Robinson

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Violet Paige has posed:
Gotham has so many places like this. Alleys no sane person would choose to walk down even in the middle of the day. Places where unseen eyes follow the unwary looking for signs of weakness. Of course people still use them to get from A to B. People who don't have any choice or who think, for whatever reason, that bad things won't happen to them.

Of course it's not the middle of the day. It's the early hours of the morning. And most of those people who might brave this particular Alley are tucked up in whatever comfortable (or as close to comfortable as possible) bed they can find.

But still the unseen eyes are there.

Watching. Waiting.

The four figures who enter the alleyway don't look like victims though. Big, tough, and not exactly wealthy looking. They're carrying a selection of improvised weapons. Pipes. Crowbars. Chains. Heavy and unsubtle. They laugh and joke. Drunkenly swaggering along. Looking for easy victims. Their particular sport of choice? The poor and vulnerable. Homeless or forgotten.

Anyone that won't be missed.

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson hates the nights and the early morning hours... you only want to find a nice & safe spot to get rest for a few hours, it's cold, and you are hungry. Great, start into any day!

But Holly isn't on the streets for her own fun, she is out on patrol. There has been reports of people missing in her area, old ones and more youngs, males and more females... It looks like a band started to kidnap some girls for human trafficking. She already warned a real x-Man member about it, but for today it's just plain simply Holly who stands the last border.

She is dressed in wide (dirty and torn) blue jeads ober black old uses Converses sneakers, her torso hidden under a wide gray hoodie, hood up to hid her redish hair.

Holly quietly yawns and rubs with dirty hands the urge to sleep from her eyes as she suddenly notice some people approaching, none of her friends, no whores still actives, none of the usual thieves... these guays are worse and Holly , a few meters above the ground, hidden on an old fire ladder, feels the rush of adrenalin pumping through her body.

Violet Paige has posed:
The four guys aren't your run of the mill thugs. From the looks of them they're former military. Lots of tattoos with callsigns and unit designations. But none of them are in their prime anymore. Washed out of the service and forced to work shifty private security jobs. The sort where you get paid not to ask questions and to follow orders.

The sort of people who might have worked at Gather House.

A name that's likely meaningless to Holly. But means the world to Mother Panic. Which is why she's there. Watching the scene from above. Not just a little above. Waaaaaaaay up high. Hovering on her skybike and using the enhanced optics in her suit to look down at the figures as they prowl around.

The thug with a length of chain kicks at a stack of cardboard boxes. Trampling it underfoot to make sure no-one is sleeping rough beneath. "Looks like this one's a bust too," he calls out. His friend, a little further back, lets out a groan of frustration. "Awh man this gas can is getting /heavy/. Can't we just kick a door in and have some fun? Squatting is just as bad as dirtying up the streets. Right Jim?"

Jim shakes his head. "Naw we don't want to attract that sort of attention. You know the rules. No-one that'll be missed. And no evidence that leads back to us."

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson doesn't like this situation at all, one girl versus four tough meanies. But she will never step back from going the right, and the moment one of these guys kick the cardbox house, a fuse burns in Holly's head. This could have been her or one of her friends. A butterfly knife is drawn from he backside of her jeans and quickly opened, releaving a very dangerous and deadly weapon.

"F#CK!", curses between clenched teeth, Tabby was perhaps right to get a phone, but it's too late to think about such stuff for now... NOW she needs to do something, trying to get these men away from the streets. She slowly crouches on the platform beside the fireladder and looks for something heavy, an evil grin on her lips as she finds a metal gas tank, a family inside uses for cooking. She quickly disconnectes it and brings it over the rim of the fire ladder, biting into the rim of her hoodie, not to create any loud noises from her heavy breathing while lifint up the small gas canister, aiming it at the head of one, finally releasing it, as she aims to hit his head from above.

Violet Paige has posed:
The falling metal object connects with a THWOCK that sends one of the figures sprawling. There's a nasty looking bloody mark on the back of his shaved head and he groans weakly from the ground. He's alive but it's going to be a few hot minutes before he gets up again. His friends have some combat experience. And close ranks at the attack. Looking around /and/ up. Assuming Holly is part of some kind of ambush.

One woman wouldn't pick a fight with four guys by herself now would she?

She'd have to be crazy....

Then again this is Gotham. Crazy is the norm.

Lucky for Holly though she is /not/ alone. Even if she thinks she is. And from up above, even higher than the fire escape, Mother Panic steps off her skybike. Dropping like a stone. Her pure white suit impossible to miss as she plummets down. Cape spreading wide. Not to slow her fall or anything like that. No she hits the ground with a SMASH, hidden cybernetic enhancements taking the force, her bulky metal gauntlets cracking the asphalt.

The cape just looks damn cool.

"Okay fuckwits," the mysterious figure in white says with a distorted electronic voice. "Parties over. Get your friend and go. Or you'll be shitting bits of your teeth out."

The three remaining goons scoff and snort. Spoiling for a fight. Two of the figures try to encircle the cape. While the third looks around for a way to get up at Holly. Maybe a ladder or a dumpster he can climb on. She must have got up there somehow.. right?

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson hasn't either a plan nor a real strategie, if she decided for a figh, she will do it! And while she stares with wide open mouth as suddenly some white ghost decends from sky down to ground, making some rewal impact. Holly on the other side, wont jump down and risking to break her neck.

She notices one of the thugs to climb up the ladder into her direction, forcing her to quickly think and soon a water fill of old bricks, birds cages (sorry!), flower boxes are thrown down on the man on the ladder, Holly waiting at it's end on the platform, ready with her knife.

Violet Paige has posed:
The thing about surprise attacks is they need surprise to work. And all those thrown objects might slow the guy down, but he hugs in close to the ladder, taking the impacts on his shoulders rather than his head. Bruises and bumps. But nothing that'll stop him fighting!

As he nears the top he pauses to pull the crowbar out of his jacket. Ready to swing the length of heavy metal and drive Holly back. At least until he can get upto the same level as her for a 'fair' fight. And by fair of course he means where he can use his superior size, power and reach to bludgeon her to death.

Meanwhile on the ground the two thugs are trying to be cagey. Playing it smart. Surrounding Mother Panic and then attacking from both sides.

It'd be a great idea. Usually even the best fighters lose when faced with two to one odds. But that's assuming they're cornering a normal person.

As the first thug swings his length of steel chain the other thug rushes forward with a length of steel pipe raised.

He swings with all his might and... she's not there. Mother Panic springs forward, chain hitting one of the big armoured gauntlets and wrapping around, the other gauntlet connects with his jaw in a brutal backhand blow.

Not just a normal blow. She hits with enough force to smash bricks and dent steel. There's a horrible snapping sound as bone breaks. And he staggers backwards coughing up blood and teeth.

She warned him.

The thug behind tries for another swing. This time glancing a blow off the back of Mother Panics helmet. BONK. Slowly she turns around. Rolling her neck and shoulders.

"Bad move," she murmurs. She punches one bloody gauntlet into the other. "Now you've made it personal.."

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson would not wait for her best chances to pass and the moment the man is still with his hands on the ladder, but in reach of Holly's sneakers, she would kick.... hard and fast. No chance to catch her so easily, obviously this girl is trained somehow in dirty street fighting.

Such a shame, I didn't hit your brain." she teases the man, "But then no damage would have happened, or Dummie... you are in in the Narrows, you pay for invading our turf." she warns the bigger & heavier man, every tiny piece only done to her own favour, the knife in her right hand, blade still hidden under her wrist, as she keeps her weapon hidden from her opponent.

A quick glance is thrown downwards, there is some ghost in white fighting on her side... okay this is Gotham, it's none of the Bat-Family, Holly should know them. "You need some help?" she asks - no joke - the fighting one whether she needs help? Holly doesn't seem to be the best analyst.

Violet Paige has posed:
"Why you little," The thug shouts. Shifting his grip to a lower rung on the ladder. Flailing at Holly with the crowbar. Trying to burry the hooked end in one of her feet. Sneakers won't do much to protect from blows that send up showers of sparks each time the crowbar hits the fire escape. Clang clang clang. He keeps on swinging. Trying to make space to get up and properly fight Holly.

If Holly's going to strike with that knife better do it soon! Once he's up on the fire escape his weapon has a longer reach. And with his strength and size it'll be no trouble overpowering her!

Violet, in her Mother Panic costume, begins advancing on the guy with the steel pipe. Implacable. Relentless.

He takes another swing. Her hand snaps up. Catching the pipe. Crushing it like it's made of paper.

She pulls the mangled weapon out of his hands and throws it away. "The only one who needs help... is him."

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson isn't really the bnest strategist, but she is experienced with dirty street fighting. Her opponent is double in weight, much larger and has a longer reach with the crowbar, but he is trained like some soldier. Holly is a street cat, she only needs one hit, even if this means to get dangerous close to the man, who is finally at top of the ladder and climbs on the platform. The rusty steel is squealing, a lot of weight on the old construction and there isn't a lot of space to wield the crowbar. It's much more a stabbing with the bar then really swinging it like come club.

There another stab and Holly moves to left, the end of the bar scratching along her cheek, this will leave some mean bruise, it even goes through the hood, but this means, it's not really very hard, but still restricted in its motion and Holly steps in, closing the distance, tiny dancing steps to the right, avoding the man's free arm and finally lands her own attack, 20cm stainless steel stabbed right in the abdomen and quickly withdrawn again. Holly steps at ones back, her left getting hold of the railing of thje platform, and swinging over it, trying to get as fast as possible out of the reach of the stabbed man.

Violet Paige has posed:
The man lets out a whoop of satisfaction as he thinks his blow has landed. His look of triumph quickly turns to horror as she slips in past his guard. The length of steel punching into his abdomen, hot blood spilling out, he looks confused for a second. Like he can't quite believe what's happened.

His grip slackens.

And the big thug falls off the ladder. Landing with a crash in a dumpster. Maybe he'll bleed out. Maybe he'll get help in time.

One thing is for sure. Mother Panic isn't going to be the one to call for help. She strides forward. Blow after blow. Fists raining down. Bones snap with wet crunches like bags of wet sticks. He drops to his knees. Her foot lashes out so hard he rolls three foot along the alleyway.

She follows in an idle swagger. Then stamps on each hand. Ensuring he'll never raise his fists in anger again.

"Not the scumbags I was looking for," she mutters. "You alive up there?"

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson watches with cold staisfation what happened with the mug she just stabbed right into the body. It's doesn't seem that she feels bad for her actions or even regret it, not will she call for some help as well. She loks down to the street and slowly nods, "Yes." she briefly answers and , gets to the no wempty ladder to quickly climb down, always a glance over her shoulder not to miss any bad guy to come at her while she climbs down.

With both feeth on ground Holly doesn't looks like she would come to aid the ghostly woman, "I diodn't asked for help." she even protests but at least she isn't plaining to atack her, just using the brief moment to wipe of the blood from the blade on her left sleeve of her hoodie, before she snaps the butterly knife together and it's stored in her backpocket of her jeans, "You made an impressive entrance." she states and points with a thumb to the sky, "You are of the bat family?" she wonders.

Violet Paige has posed:
There's nothing ghostly about Mother Panic. Aside from her costume being pure white... Admittedly not a colour scheme you see in Gotham very often. Probably because of how clearly it shows the blood splatters. The tall woman probably spends a fortune in dry cleaning bills!

She taps a few buttons on a small wrist mounted device. Some sort of communications device perhaps? Or a microcomputer. It's hard to tell.

"Didn't care if you needed help or not. I'm looking for someone. Thought it might have been one of these guys," she says with a shrug. "But the tattoo doesn't match."

Mistaken identity. Although given what they were up to it's hard to feel much sympathy for them.

"Don't try copy it at home. You'll break your legs." Probably more. She dropped quite a way. "The Bats?" She snorts. Although the voice modulator makes it into an inhuman sound that's barely recognisable as such. "Fuck the Bats. I don't work for anyone but myself."

Somewhere up above there's the sound of an engine as her skybike begins to speed up. Coming around for a low pass. Best to get a good angle for the pick up rather than risk flying into a wall in the narrow allyway...

Holly Robinson has posed:
Holly Robinson lets out a soft chuckles as she listens to the other person, a girl very obvisously, and not a member of the Bat-famly, which gives a a pro on Holly's side, "Oh... okay." she slowly says, "You know... high tech stuff, active in Gotham." she tries to explain and raises her right hand, scratching her head on its backside.

"You know.. " she makes a long pause and looks on the ground, not able to keep eye contact, "Thank you."

Violet Paige has posed:
It'd be hard to properly make eye contact with Mother Panic. Rather than a mask she has a fully enclosed helmet. No domino masks that just cover the area around her eyes for her! Which is probably a good thing as someone did clock her round the head with a metal pipe....

The LED display that serves for a face changes. Emulated eyes narrowing.

"Anyone can get high tech stuff if they try hard enough," she points out. Leaving out the part where it helps to be fabulously wealthy. Even if that's sort of hinted at by the tech. "Like I said. I only work for myself. No thanks needed."

There's a shrug. Definitely a woman from her figure. Unless it's a very cunning guy with fake hip and bust curves to throw off the police.

Then she runs at one of the walls, leaps up and kicks off it, the motion launches her upwards. Far higher than anyone should be able to jump. Just as a pure white aircraft about the size of a motorcycle comes screaming in low and fast. Mother Panic snatches hold of a handle on the back and gets carried off into the sky.

One of these days she's going to dislocate her shoulder doing the sky hook escape. Or worse. But that day is not today. And just as suddenly as she arrived the mysterious vigilante disappears into the night.