10658/Protecting Territory

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Protecting Territory
Date of Scene: 04 April 2022
Location: Amusement Mile
Synopsis: Huntress meets Wraith, a new vigilante in Gotham.
Cast of Characters: Evan Cooper, Helena Wayne




Evan Cooper has posed:
This situation in a dimly lit back alley is one that any costumed vigilante might just happen across by chance. An older Asian man who owns a Chinese restaurant is taking out some bags of trash after the place has closed down for the night, and three rugged-looking toughs were waiting to ambush him. They start shoving the man around, talking about how he stopped making his protection payments and that's a bad move in such a dangerous neighborhood.

"Gentlemen, he hired new security. Me." Everyone -- including the Asian man -- turns around in surprise. A figure in a dark suit body suit is barely visible in the shadowy alley.

"For fuck's sake," one of the men says in disgust. "Everyone thinks they're fuckin' Batman." He pulls out 9mm and empties two rounds into the dark-clad figure, hitting him center mass.

"I'm not Batman," Wraith retorts. "He's a bit more gentle than I am." His suit is really thin and sheer, it sure doesn't look like it has any body armor built in.

As quick as the eye can follow, there is a flourish of movement as Wraith removes a throwing knife from his belt and throws it unerringly at the shooter, piercing his hand and forcing him to drop the knife. "Now then, let's get to work." He starts to approach the men in a casual, easy gait.

Helena Wayne has posed:
While the Bats aren't known for being territorial, this particular part of town is one of the first that Huntress claimed when she arrived in Gotham. It's not that she has anything against other vigilantes, or even anything FOR the local street thugs.

It's really a matter of principle.

Helena Wayne has been properly schooled in matters of theatrics, among her tools of the trade. As the Wraith approaches the others, she repositions herself and darts over to an adjacent rooftop.

Just as they are about to close on each other, a long shadow casts into the alley. Tall and wearing a cape or cloak, the humanoid figure features two distinct, peaked projections atop its head. Just like bat ears.

Evan Cooper has posed:
Wraith has already gone into motion. He interposes himself between the restaurant owner and the thugs, one of whom is howling and holding his hand the the massive throwing knife impaling it. "I'm gonna ask for that back. I make 'em myself and they're a bitch." He reaches out and roughly pulls the knife out of the man's hand, which leads to him howling even more.

Then the three starts to back away very quickly. Wraith, of course, thinks it's because of him. He stands there all cocky, shaking his head. But he notices they are not looking at him, they are looking /up/.

"What the..." he says as turns around and looks up to the rooftops. One can't see him smirk beneath his black body suit as he murmurs, "Figures." The three criminals start to run.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne isn't Batman, but with the light of the moon casting her shadow it's really sort of academic. And the thugs don't look like they're inclined to take chances.

<THOK!> There's a cry of pain from one of the thugs as a crossbow bolt hits him in the calf, causing him to go down. Using the distraction, Huntress fires a grapple line and swings down into the alley. She tumbles with the landing, rolling past the criminals to block their escape.

When she speaks, however, it's not to the thugs. "I take it you didn't register at the Union Hall, otherwise you'd know that this is my neighborhood."

Evan Cooper has posed:
"Well I how dead or robbed or beaten this man would be if I hadn't come along," Wraith says. His tone doesn't indicate irritation or anger or fear, but rather a bit of bemusement. "So you're, what, some sort of Lady Batman? Batlady? Badchick?"

Whatever her name is, she seems to have the situation very well under control, so Wraith goes to help the restaurant owner up. "You go inside and lock the door, sir," he says. The man just /stares/ at Wraith and finally nods his head. He runs into the door and shuts it and locks it. Wraith picks up the trash bags that the man was bringing out. He carries them over to the dumpster and tosses them in. Then he folds his arms over his chest and watches Huntress mop up.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne rolls her eyes, and even with the covered optics of her mask the body language speaks volumes. "Batchick...? Oh, don't you run off, now. We need to talk about..." That's when the thugs decide to take advantage of the situation.

No, she's definitely NOT Batman. But to anyone who's seen the Bat in action, she sure as hell fights like him. With one down, the other two rush her. Dodging aside from one, she dispatches the other with a few, well-placed open hand strikes. Definitely not an amateur.

She takes the second one apart more leisurely, blocking punches and returning them in kind. The third goes limp after a right cross to the jaw, then the caped woman whirls towards Wraith.

"Bat-CHICK?"

Evan Cooper has posed:
Wraith's facial expressions can't be seen at /all/ under his mask, but his body language also speaks volumes. He's smiling under there. He walks casually in Huntress' direction like he doesn't have a care in the world. When he gets to the first downed thug, he leans down and cleans off his bloody throwing knife on the dude's shirt before returning it to his belt.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mock. I have a weird sense of humor. Can we start again? I'm Wraith, and I officially apologize for infringing on your territory.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Hands on her hips, those purple lips pull into a smile that's somewhere between 'wry' and 'annoyed'. She holds her ground as Wraith approaches, expression softening noticeably after the apology.

"Huntress. And I should probably apologize for being a jerk. We're not really territorial, y'know. At least not officially. It just sort of helps to avoid, um, traffic problems."

And that's when she even offers a gloved hand.

Evan Cooper has posed:
There's...something about the offered hand that causes Wraith to hesitate. It's a hard thing to read because he's totally covered head to toe. But he does reach out and give Huntress a good, firm shake. The vigilante's life is strange. Who else could just stand around casually in a dark alley in a dangerous neighborhood with three unconscious attackers on the ground, and talk casually?

"So, what do we do now?" Wraith asks, amusement clearly in his voice. "Should I have my lawyers draw up papers to purchase a hunting license for this neighborhood?" He folds his arms over his chest and leans his shoulder casually on the alley wall.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne's hand is slender but her grip is firm and capable. She gives him a nod, for good measure. "We trade business cards and booking agents." Huntress quips back. "Seriously, though, we do use a comm frequency to help coordinate. It's really useful if you don't want me to accidentally shoot you."

Huntress reaches for something on her belt, slipping a smartphone from a hard case. "You have a unit or do I need to get you an earpiece?" Pause. "Then, ordinarily, I require newbies to buy me an expensive dinner. Sushi always works. But I'll settle for coffee 'to go', if you're shy."

Evan Cooper has posed:
Still standing with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the alley wall on his shoulder he says, "Oh I'm super shy and coy."

"I have comm equipment back in my, um, personal Bat Cave," Wraith says in a friendly, bantering tone. He, too, pulls out a smartphone from a compartment on his best. It's definitely not a Batman-level utility belt. It mostly holds his wicked-looking throwing knives and has a couple miscellaneous compartments. "The mask makes it kind of hard to eat in. I guess I should have designed it for having dinner with an attractive woman. Put like a little food flap or something in there." He puts one hand over his mouth and 'hinges' it up and down, pantomiming like he was opening and closing a flap.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne tilts her head, smirking at the 'personal Bat Cave' remark. "And here I was, thinking I might need to upgrade my apartment." She leans in a bit closer and chuckles when he makes the flappy-flap motions.

"Of course that's why I opted to go with the half-mask version, myself. It's easier to eat or drink or..." Kiss. Wait-what? Where the hell did THAT come from? Helena suppresses the thought mostly without skipping a beat. "... other things."

"Nice costume, by the way. Aside from the accessibility issue, of course."

Evan Cooper has posed:
How can there be sparks between two people who are completely covered in ridiculous costumes? But Evan stands up straight from the wall and turns fully in Huntress' direction. "Accessibility was stupidly not on my mind. Going to the bathroom in this thing is..." He laughs, shaking his head, letting that thought trail off.

"Hey, check this out. I designed this myself!" At this moment, he's no longer a vigilante crimefighter. He's straight up just a boy trying to impress a girl. Wraith flattens himself against the alley wall. Then suddenly his suit starts to change color taking on the colors and patterns of the alley wall! Huntress can obviously see him there because she watched the camouflage activate, but if someone didn't see him do that, it might be quite difficult to notice him there.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne raises a gloved hand, shaking her head at the bathroom remark before finishing for him. "... too much information." she declares. Then he presses back against the wall, blending in extremely well.

She whistles low at that. "Really nice feature, there. Wraith... quite appropriate." Holding up her phone, she gives it a wiggle. "Let me give you our frequency, so you can introduce yourself before getting punched. I'll also put out a brief note on our meeting, so people don't confuse you with the bad guys."

Evan Cooper has posed:
Wraith steps away from the wall and deactivates the camouflage mode on his suit. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do," he confesses. "This is my first superhero meat-up secret-handshake thingy." He unlocks his phone and hands it to Huntress.

It was definitely a show of trust, to just hand his unlocked phone to a stranger. "Like do your thing and I'll wear my comm earpiece from now on when I'm out. I'm only in Gotham part time, sometimes I'm in New York. I have safe houses in both places."

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne holds his phone near her own, sending the frequency to him in an 'air drop'. She gives a nod as her phone emits a soft buzz to acknowledge. "It's really safer if you do. Besides, people can always use a hand." Her gaze strays to the unconscious thugs in the alley. Okay, so maybe not always.

"What next? You either get your mask modified or get over some of your shyness, so next time I can wrangle up a couple of coffees for a rooftop picnic."

Evan Cooper has posed:
Wraith's body language seems to indicate nervousness all of a sudden. He looks at his phone, then tucks it away in a compartment on his belt. He looks down at the three thugs. They're clearly unconscious. They aren't going to see anything. "Oh fuck," he murmurs as his breathing rate increases a bit. "Fuck it." He just reaches up and tugs off the form fitting mask, revealing his face to Huntress. But it's a super tight mask so he has an epic case of hat hair right now. He gives her an are-you-happy-now kind of look. "There. Not shy." But he does glance around to make sure nobody is near, and his anxious body language is more like someone who is standing there naked rather than just with his mask removed.

Helena Wayne has posed:
Helena Wayne watches him reach for the mask and holds up a finger to stop him, but it's too late. It's a quick look before she steps up close to him. Almost like she would screen the view of his face with her own, caped figure. Taking both hands, she almost tugs it right back down again. "Um, rooftop!" she hisses. But the woman is smiling all the same. Smiling in one of those goofy, half-pleased and half-annoyed ways. "Coffee. Next time. Call me." she offers. No, she doesn't want to push things, although his reaction was definitely a surprise.