10965/Hunting the Huntress

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Hunting the Huntress
Date of Scene: 30 April 2022
Location: Gotham Heights
Synopsis: Huntress takes down a Young Widow in the attempt to retake Gotham City.
Cast of Characters: Cassandra Cain, Helena Bertinelli




Cassandra Cain has posed:
Gotham has been bad for years, but tonight is another realm of weird. An unknown amount of fires and bombs going off, people being killed for no visible reason, and nobody having an idea what's going on. The Bats have clammed up for some reason, almost as if they're too busy to talk.

So, so weird. There's a sense in the air, as if there is someone behind you all the time. Shadows moving in odd fashions, people reacting as if they see things and missing them.

Where can you even start?

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress could tell that something was off. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to pick up on it thankfully. She was out patrolling by rooftop where she could keep an eye out while being less likely to get interdicted by GCPD. The Rooftop Express was always handy that way.

Pausing atop a old, long boarded up corner market, she looked down that the intersection, watching for the moment.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Something is off down in the street. The market folk seem anxious. It could be the current situation, or it could be something else. So when the com comes alive on Oracle's channel, it's almost a relief. At last, something!

"Huntress, report." Oracle seems all business. Just then though, a shadow slips past the people in the market, going inside of a grocer's location. Shadows don't move that way.

"City-wide alert, report in immediately."

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress narrowed her eyes at the sight. She wasn't one to doubt her eyes yet she has seen Zatanna work amazing feats of visual trickery. It had been something but what. That was the relevant question.

"Huntress here. Corner of South Kane and West Adams Avenue."

She kept her eyes on the scene below as she waited for further direction.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Coms immediately respond back. Which is good, because there may not be time to waste. "Oh thank g...anyway. If you see anything weird, assume that you're dealing with an underage assassin of above-average skill and a complete knowledge of the city." You can hear her shift her headset, then continue. "And I mean, they've been living here for years under our noses."

The group downstairs look a little bit startled at something inside, then uncertain as if they aren't sure what they've seen. One of the checkout ladies starts to walk inside, while the others look afraid.

"I've got a signal from one at your location, do you see a threat?"

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress listens then replies calmly, "Well that's a comforting thought, thanks."

"I see a lot of agitated people. Maybe some odd shadows or cloaking. But nothing in the open long enough to try and get a solid ID. The old Lee market on Adams has a lot of movement inside and out front. Not sure what to make of it."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
That's when the front of the store explodes outward, sending shards of glass spraying across the street. People lay bleeding, and a lot of people lay doing nothing at all.

The shock wave hits, pushing Helena back slightly. She had some distance on it but it was still enough. Whoever was doing the work in there, they knew their explosives and were going for a complete wipe of the location.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
"...dammit@" Huntress coughed as dust and debris continued to rain down all around here. "Oracle. The market just got bombed. About knocked me over and I'm at almost a hundred yards away. Need rescue crews down here immediately. I'm going in to check for survivors."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
"They're all busy, but I'll see what I can do," Oracle sends. "Do what you can for now."

And then...she should dodge. Something says that she needs to dodge, right now. Instinct perhaps, or a sixth sense from years of being a hunter. Someone is hunting me, right now.

Behind you!

A knife comes from the shadows on the rooftop, thrown with precision. Silent, deadly. Straight for the center of Helena's spine.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress was already starting into motion to grapple off the rooftop. Instead, she twisted and free fell, her cape billowing around her and perhaps taking the brunt of the attack as it was designed to do. Both crossbows drawn, the one in her right hand firing off a grapple line as place only in a different direction now. The left aimed back at the ledge she had just occupited.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
That gives whoever it is in the shadows time to move, and move she does. By the time Huntress is back up, she's taken another tack. She'd run forward, weapon in hand, and is looking over the side to see if she can catch her prey.

So when Huntress resurfaces, she's looking eye-to-eye with a child.

The child who blinks and moves, reflexes taut and prepared. She rolls on the rooftop and pulls something from her hoodie, flipping it into the air between them both.

A grenade. Live, armed. Hell.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Child or not, that left crossbow fires. It will come close to the attacker's head but whistle past harmlessly. Given it was a shot made during a backwards free fall transitioning into a grapple swing to another rooftop it was an accomplished shot to get that close.

"Oracle it's a girl. A kid!" It's all Huntress can call out as she drops onto a rooftop across a small alley, perhaps twenty yards beyond the impact point of the grenade.

"Tossing grenades at me! The hell is wrong with kids these days?!"

Tucking into a roll, Huntress slips behind an already crumbling brick chimney. It will at least take the brunt of shrapnel from the explosion.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
A pistol shot rings out, chasing Tabitha back into cover if she emerges. The 'kid' is clearly trained and willing to use tools that'll give her all the advantages that she really needs. But something's off.

For all the ferocity of the response, that grenade was thrown right between the two of them. And there is now blood on the rooftop, where the girl got caught with the edge of it. She was willing to harm herself to get the best shot on Helena..

That's fanaticism, and as she moves behind a small grate she bleeds.

She had red eyes. Not fully red, but something in her eyes was bloodshot? No, not that.

Over the comms, Oracle says, "I'm getting reports, hang on. Look, we think that they're mind-controlled somehow, I'm getting info from Waspette." She has the grace not to tell Huntress how to act on that information. Which is better than most would give.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli says, "That's perfect. If I can get the chance to incapacitate her, I'm going to KILL whoever is behind this.." figuratively, literally, or both. She hadn't decided just yet. It may depend upon how the rest of this encounter played out.

Pulling a smoke pellet from her belt, it was tossed to the left, hissing as it erupted into a billowing cloud of silver gray smoke. The small particles within were designed to interfere with thermal optics if any were in play. then a second is tossed to her right, covering both paths she might use. Except she rolled off the edge to the fire escape just below and moved as swiftly as she could to flank this little hellion attacker, hoping she would be trying to spot Huntres through one of the two smoke screens long enough for the vigilante to get beside or behind her."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
"Ever hear of Black Widow? The Avenger? They're little versions of her, not grown up yet. Long story, not their fault, do your best." Then Oracle cuts off, she sounds really busy on her end too.

Black Widow was an assassin once, that's publically known. Russian. This little one looks American, but that's just looks. No clue what else is going on, as the smoke pellet does its work. Another knife flies through the air where Helena should have been, giving her a trajectory and rough distance of the little bitch.

So when Helena does come up, she finds the horrid little creature hiding behind a chimney. She's holding her side, clearly wounded, and has a pistol ready. And alert, so alert! She scans the entire environment, looking around her as if expecting a trick.

She's got another grenade on the ground beside her, but none of her tools are special. All stuff you could get from any local gang. So, they're equipping themselves from standard gear. That's an advantage at least!

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Helena Bertinelli says, "I'm aware of the name. Well out of my league."

A quick glance to gauge the distance and she dropped out of sight again for a moment. Her mind went to another Avenger, Hawkeye and his gadget arrows. Or Green Arrow. She is going to need to come up with some modified bolts of her own if this encounter has taught her nothing else. A nice big boxing glove to KO the little minx would be handy about now she thought grimly.

Rising up, Huntress aimed both crossbows. Firing in sequence, the first bold is aimed at the pistol with intent to send it skittering away from reach. The second streaks toward the grenade with the same intention; hoping to make it bounce like a pool ball and roll well out of reach. This wasn't going to be easy but with the worst weapons out of the way, Huntress felt she had a better chance against the little dervish."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Both shots hit their marks. Taking someone by surprise has certain advantages, and after an instant the brat is disarmed. Or is she?

The child is turning the instant she hears the thwip of the crossbows, giving no less than an instant to react. She dives directly towards Helena, launching herself with open, empty hands, to try and knock the both of them off of the side of the building!

Suicidal, lethal, and willing to do anything it takes to win? It does sound like mind control. And those eyes, they're so horribly unnatural.

The kid is clearly not a hand to hand expert though. Without her weapons she's a fairly easy target, nobody in their right mind would do a suicide lunge like that.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress could live with close quarters. It was something she understood. She had no reservations over being injured. It would just make showing up for classes on Monday a bit interesting. Wouldn't be the first time.

So she lets the little hellion tackle her and Huntress dead falls over backwards. There were five stories to the ground. Not long. As they fell a grapple line was fired at the ledge. In the struggle, the line was clipped of to her belt harness to free her hands for scraping and clawing with the little assassin.

A few blows as Huntress bore the brunt of those attacks; Through all the blows, she soughtt o overpower the girl, physically turning her around for a sleeper hold around the girl's neck, right leg trying to hook around her opponent so that when they hit the bottle of the grapple link the girl didn't just tumble free.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
She is vicious, but she lacks in knowledge of how to use her hands effectively. This young Widow was not at the top of her class, or if she was it wasn't a very good class. Seconds later the two are dangling from Huntress' line, and the younger of the two is kicking at the air, held secure in a hold that gives you seconds before naptime.

She tries to bite, but it's nowhere near enough. The kicks get soft, then stop entirely. And Huntress finds herself the proud recipient of the first Young Widow caught in the current shmozzle which is Gotham City.

Porcelain skin. Delicate features. Looks like a nice enough kid. When she's not trying to murder innocents and blowing up buildings.

Helena Bertinelli has posed:
Huntress grits her teeth at the kicks and bites. There will be bruises and injuries for certain after this. A nice ice bath and a lot of ibuprofin this weekend. But she refused to back off. That meant risking the one shot to subdue the girl.

"Easy, kid" she muttered through clenched teeth. "Easy. Just... relax.." The pressure on the girl's neck remained and Huntress would keep the girl still till she finally passed out. Finally.

Continuing to hold the young assassin in training, Huntress lowered them both to the alleyway just a few feet below. Laying the girl down, she quickly bound ankles, knees and wrists. She was not going to take chances.

"Oracle. Huntress. I've got her. She's unconscious. Where do you want me to bring her. She won't be happy when she wakes up."