11175/A Link in the Chain: Prologue

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A Link in the Chain: Prologue
Date of Scene: 15 May 2022
Location: Sheldon Park - Bleake Island
Synopsis: Mission accomplished! Sick Beats Saved the Day.
Cast of Characters: Qira Quest, Damian Wayne, Carrie Kelley, Bart Allen




Qira Quest has posed:
It's been a few days since the rooftop reunion, Qira's been cutting a swathe through Oswald Cobblepot's men in search of information. And one of them may have finally panned out. She almost feels bad that she punctured his spleen. And broke his leg in three places. Penguin should be proud, though, his guy held out to the bitter end. But now, she has information that some scientific equipment, specifically genetic testing equipment, has been purchased in recent months by none other than Sionis Industries.

Its nearing midnight in the industrial park, things are fairly quiet, with only the occasional truck coming in or out with shipments. This is a grid of warehouses, all leased by various corporations, though SIonis Industries holds the deed on the land. There are signs, some large some small, on each building, listing who is currently utilizing which spaces. Trucks with varying logos that are parked for loading/unloading, or that are owned by the companies themselves.

Qira puts the word out to Robin that she has a lead and to bring anyone good with investigation.. or B&E. She's waiting in the shadows of a warehouse storing electronic components for a communications company when they arrive; in her ninja gear, hood up, mask on. And peering across the way towards one of the other warehouses that's owned by a subsidiary of Sionis Industries. The warehouse she believes to have the equipment in it.

Damian Wayne has posed:
    The sound of a motorcycle can be heard as Robin rides into the area on his Redbird. The sleek bike maneuvers into a dark alley and shuts down as Robin climbs off. "Defense mode," the teen vigilante intones. A few muted beeps can be heard from the motorcycle as its automated defense system activate. Woe be to anyone who tries to touch that thing.

    << Robin to Impulse and Sparrow, I'm at the site now. >>

    Robin knows that Sandcat isn't going to be seen if she doesn't want to be. They were both trained by the League of Assassins, and Leaguers are *not* seen unless they choose to be seen. So he stands somewhere outside the alley where his bike is parked waiting for Bart and Carrie. Hopefully Sandcat will reveal herself by some means other than burying a shuriken in his skull.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
The call came in from Damian, request for assistance in information gathering in Gotham. If there was one thing Carrie and her army of drones was good for, it was gathering information. Suiting up, and by that meaning more blacks and forest greens than the usual green and golds in her full body, armored catsuit, she ensures she has everything she needs. Utility belt, check. Quiver with numerous types of arrows and her bow, check. Slingshot with numerous types of ammo, check. Pulling her black goggles on over her eyes, then the spandex bandana over her face, the hood gets pulled up over her copper red hair and she heads out for the given location on her motorcycle.

<< Sparrow here, I'm almost on site now, going to launch drones before pulling up. >> She replies, even as she reaches into a pouch on her belt and removes three ping-pong ball sized drones to toss in the air. Really it looks much like she's throwing them away, but once they hit the air each activates, goes invisible, and starts to follow her.

It is only a few moments later that she pulls up beside Robin, the read out in her goggle indicating the drone's locations and she sends each one out to 'scout' the area and ensure they are alone.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen got the call from Damian. It may have been a call for Red Arrow, who had a night class. Impulse volunteered to help. He hmms and after getting the basics of the mission, he decided it was in Gotham, and called for stealth, so yellow rain slicker no... red and white impulse costume no...He finds his knock off ninja outfit no. So a quick stop by Army Navy Surplus store, and he has black and gray camo gear, with face grease paint. . He has replaced the shoes with ones that will hold up, and had a belt with a half dozen pouches on them with stuff in it. He makes his way to the area where he is supposed to meet the others, and finds a rooftop to brood from (thats what ya do while in Gotham right) while looking for the others.

Qira Quest has posed:
While Qira does recon, something catches from the corner of her eye and has her looking... up. And spotting something interesting. She stands, stepping from the shadows so she can be seen by the drone. Staring straight at it, she makes a series of hand gestures that Damian will definitely recognize, and some that are fairly universal.

'Stay put, coming to you'

The she's gone again, slipping through shadows and around the quieter areas, then slipping out through a gap in the fencing that she may or may not be responsible for. She moves along the street until she comes across the pair on the street... and the one on the rooftop. Approaching, she looks from Damian, to Carrie, then up to Bart, then back to Damian. "They're with you?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Robin greets Sparrow with a simple nod. "Thanks for coming, Sparrow. Look, when Sandcat shows up just...uh...just be cool. She has a million reasons to be nervous and twitchy, some of which are my fault. And trust when I say that a nervous and twitchy member of the League -- even an EX member of the League -- can lead to a pretty substantial body count." The teen vigilante peers around. "Wonder where Impulse is. Did he get hungry and run to Italy for some pizza?"

    Seeing Sandcat's gestures through the feed in his visor HUD, Robin says, "Here she comes." As Sandcat approaches, Robin moves a couple of steps closer to her. "Hey, Sandcat." He didn't even realize Impulse was up there on the roof until Sandcat said something. He peers up and sees the speedster. "Yeah. They're friends. You can trust them. Up on the roof is Impulse. He's...really fast. And this is Sparrow, she's our eye in the sky. Guys, this is Sandcat, and old...friend."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Sandcat, that put a name to the face of the person making all kinds of gestures at the drone. Carrie's eyes narrow slightly inside the goggles, how did she see the drone in the first place? That would have to be something she would ask later, then make the proper corrections.

She offers Robin a nod, accepting that she was about to be dealing with a twitchy, nervous teen who was a former member of the League... fan-fricken-tastic.

The attention of her eyes was on where the drones were looking and moving, so when Damian steps forward she is forced to take a moment to change focus and see this Sandcat for the first time in person as she is introduced. "Nice to meet you," she offers politely, albeit very quietly. "Robin, I'm going to send a drone inside, check out the interior so we know what we're walking into."

She glances up toward Impulse now, one of the three drones flickering by him to make itself known to him. No, the drone could not keep up with him, but she still liked knowing locations of teammates before the speedster took off.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will wave over to the drone with a goofy smile, and then he is off, and down the side of the building to come up to stand with the rest of them. Close you can see the camo face paint is done in stripes across his face that look a lot like lightning bolts. He says "Hey guys, was not sure where you wanted to meet up at." He pulls a protein bar from one of the pouches munching it before asking "So whats up?"

Qira Quest has posed:
Sandcat is holding it together pretty well for the moment, giving a nod to Damian's explanation, then looking to Carrie. "Uh. Yeah. You too?" Then there's a glance back to Damian, as if to ask if she did that right. Socializing is so haaaaaaaaard! But she's trying. Struggling, but trying! And then Bart does his thing and that composure crumbles like so much dust in the wind.

She startles when he suddenly appears. And by 'startles', she leaps about ten feet straight up to cling to the side of a fire escape like a cat on curtains. Panting, wide-eyed, it takes her a moment before she realizes that the guy on the roof is now on the ground. And Damian said he was 'really fast'. Qira drops back to the ground and brushes herself off, chin lifted. No, you didn't see that. Nothing happened. Clearly. She's right here. "Hi." Smooth, Qira.

Looking back to Carrie, she offers, "There's six inside, two of them are in what I'm guessing is an office? There's four more out by the loading dock, and one in the cab of the semi parked there. Maybe sleeping... hard to tell, the engine is still hot, sort of blurs together with the driver. If you can find out what sort of hardware they're carrying and if there's any sensors or alarms active, that would be really useful. I can see -them- but I can't really... I can't tell the difference between them and what they're carrying. Too far away."

Then she's looking to Damian, this part is easier. Mission briefs, intel, data. She can do this in her sleep. "There's been at least three shipments of lab-grade genetics equipment made to this warehouse in the past six months. That's pretty strange for a company that supposedly handles industrial machining components. Penguin's goon didn't know much else, but he was on detail when Sionis made the purchase through Penguin and they arranged transport to the warehouse."

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Robin listens intently to every detail of Sandcat's briefing. Finally he nods his head. "Okay, Sparrow, you're on overwatch with your drones. If anyone sneezes when they're not supposed to, alert the team." He looks to the Speedster. "Bart, you're on equipment duty. Find that genetics equipment without being seen." He turns back to Sandcat. "Cat, you and I will start taking guys out..." He points to her with a gauntleted hand. "...*without* killing. Non-lethal force and zip ties." One corner of his mouth quirks in a small grin. "You can break a couple of bones, but go easy."

    The teen vigilante looks around at those assembled. "Everyone cool with the plan?"

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Given the layout and locations, Sparrow pulls the forth drone from the pouch and tosses it in the air, then the same hand reaches for the command console on her wrist. Simple command to send each drone in through a different location, ensuring that at least one or two can get where they need to go while the others position themselves for observation. The feed from two drones are usually shared, as they are the ones used to watch over the team as a whole. The other two are completely her own and their feed goes directly to her goggles. At the moment, all four are being used completely for scouting, but the feeds will come back soon.

From another pouch she pulls out a ear piece which is offered to Sandcat, they can't coordinate if she can't hear the conversation. She could offer a heads up for the drones as well, but something tells her the she-teen doesn't want or need it.

<< Two in the office, simple sidearms, shoulder holster, one has a hidden holster in the small of his back. Two on the catwalks with assault rifles, semi-auto, three-round only, and two patrolling the ground with shotgun. >> She begins reporting, using the comm so that the others can move away into positions if they want to.

<< For on the loading docks have no guns, looks like clubs, a baseball bad, and... ew, firemen's ax, watch out for that. >>

It takes a moment to get the drones moved, but she keeps at it, searching out each of the men Sandcat said was in there. << The one in the truck is unarmed, but there is a sawed-off under the dash. The only sensors detected are on the windows and doors. >>

That news specifically has her pulling a small lap top from her pack, holding it with one hand while typing with the other for a moment. << No auditory alarm, but there is a signal sent off site, you're going to want to cut the power to the place. Junction box, near the loading dock. I can use a walker drone to EMP it before you go in, if you want. >>

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will look to Carrie, and says "Got any you want me to leave as I wander through the place?" He holds out his hand for any drones, and then once she either hands him some or tells him no he is gone." Bart is putting on the speed in bursts. actually sneaking a bit and only very very faintly humming mission impossible theme music. He will make his way to a door, and with a moment concentration phase through it and continue his search. Coming across a cleaning closet, he does fill a spray bottle with bleach and continue searching.

Qira Quest has posed:
Taking the earpiece from Carrie, Qira tucks it into her ear and gives a nod of thanks. "Those drones are good, real good. I didn't notice them until I did a UV scan. Something in the casing reacts in the UV spectrum, it was like a little flashlight in the sky." It's offered without explanation as how she did a UV scan, given that she's not wearing a domino mask or eye covering of any sort.

Then she's looking to Bart, "Take the EMP drone with you, set it off, but your earpiece might get caught if you're in the radius."

To Damian, she nods and the shift of her eyes suggest she's smiling, "No death, just light maiming, maybe a little brutalization." She even holds one hand up, finger and thumb very close together. "These Gotham rules are weird."

Then she's off and crossing back to the compound, showing Damian where to find the gap in the fencing, and then the pair can get to work. Probably best if they start at the loading dock and work their way inward from there. The goal? Get the equipment, but also get the computer files. Or at least the hard drive and any usb drives that may be laying around.

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Robin narroweyes Sandcat, trying to figure out if she really understands that killing is off the table here. The two of them moving off together is actually pretty remarkable. They make less noise than a feather falling onto plush carpet. Both were trained quite *literally* from birth by the League of Assassins.

    Once at the loading dock, Robin leaps up onto the dock in full view of the men armed with melee weapons.

    "Hey guys," he says to the shocked group. "Is this Taco Bell? No?" He frowns. "Stupid Siri." Then with the flick of his wrist, Robin sinks a birdarang into the hand of the dude wielding a fire axe. Before he can yell out in pain, a booted foot strikes his windpipe, then an elbow strikes his temple. Ni-night. He hits the dock and passes into dreamland.

    "HEY!" one of the dudes with a bat exclaims as he winds up for a swing. A low, spinning leg sweep sends the dude tumbling off the dock right at Sandcat.

    Two more surprised "sentries" with bats remain on the dock, just now getting their wits together.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Sparrow takes note to ask Damian about the need to tell Sandcat no killing, but for now she offers over to Bart a small drone that is about about the size of a silver dollar (that's a Tooney for Canadians) and just happens to look like a metal spider. She calls them Spyders, which means there's no change to how the name is said, but the use of the Y in her head makes her giggle. Her own personal nerdiness showing through.

<< Let me know when Spyder is in place, >> she informs Impulse, then without another word heads for a wall to parkour her way up onto the roof of the warhouse.

Being unseen and out of the way were two requirements for the 'eye in the sky'. That wasn't to say she couldn't handle herself in a fight, she'd trained with two Batman's after all, it was just so much easier for her to maintain the tech and be ready to call in reinforcements if needed, or the police at the end of the attack.

The minute the signal is given she'll fire the EMP and the place will be without lights and alarm, which will make it easier for the team's infiltration, well the rest of the team... Bart has it own methods.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen continues his way through the building. He will make a stop in one room where he finds a few weapons, and makes sure that all the guns and clips are unloaded and the ammo is hid in another room. He continues making his way through rooms, finding the room h e wants, he almost passes it by as he expected test tubes with clones, and all kinds of mad scientists stuff. He hmms and will put the drone in here for Carrie, and then he calls out over the com in a soft voice. "Do, we want to equipment or just make sure it does not work?"

Qira Quest has posed:
Qira leaps towards the two startled guards, silent as the grave and eyes flashing. She shift her weight, aiming a spinning heel kick at one guard. It connects at his jaw, dislocating it and sending him slumping to the ground unconscious. A blessing, really, given the amount of pain he would otherwise be in.

The second guard gets grabbed and thrown to the ground, catching his arm and twisting it up and behind his body while the other reaches to cover his mouth. There's a heartbeat of a moment where muscle memory kicks in and she very nearly snaps the man's neck. But a glance up has her catching sight of Damian. No killing. Right. Her hand shifts, moving higher, pinching off his air supply until he passes out. Releasing him to slump to the ground, she turns away.

Damian gets a look and she points to both guards, making a fist and mimicking the beating of a heart. Still alive. As requested. Then she's moving towards the building.

<< Can we get the equipment into the truck? If we can get the equipment, we might be able to figure out what they were going to do with it. We also need to get the computer in the office. >>

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Damian turns to Qira. He gives her an approving nod for her choice of tactics. "If all we're after is gear, we may be able to do this without risking any additional lives."

    << Impulse, can you bring any computer or electronic equipment you find in there out to the loading dock? We have a truck and can get it out of here without engaging with any armed gunman. >>

    Then Robin leaps up to the top of the truck then stealths across so he's on the roof of the cab. There is a sudden shattering of glass, which startles the snoozing occupant awake. Too late for him, though. A gauntleted hand grabs him by the collar and suddenly pulls his head into the A-pillar of the cab sending back into a new kind of nap.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Computer equipment and the speedster, that's a winning combination if ever there was one. Sparrow didn't now how much of Impulses ability might carry over to the computers, but she was hoping they were well grounded. Moving across the roof to the skylight, she peers over the edge to the warehouse below. So far not all of the guards were aware of their presence, and she hoped to keep it that way.

Using a suction device from her belt to press onto the glass, she cuts the glass in a large enough circle that she can drop through. One grappling hook and rope later, she drops into the warehouse silently, retracts the hooks, and heads for back of the truck. Her thought, given the lack of knowledge regarding Impulse, was to use a couple of drones in the back of the truck to create an electrical dampening field to protect the hard drives on the computers.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks around the room, and will hmms, a bit. Something most people don't think about when they think of Bart, he is from the future and technology of this type is rather old school for him. He will look around and finds a set of tools. He ends up disassembles the devices taking bits of pieces and puts them back together once in the truck. He makes sure that things are the way they were inside. Any samples they have he will bring with him, and if for some reason he can't they get a good spritzing with the bleach. He goes through the place finding anything that looks important and loads it into the truck. Nascar pit teams aint got nothing on him, and if something looks important to the guys here but not something they need, he will make sure to pull some important parts from them before closing them back up to make sure anything left behind aint going to work right.

Qira Quest has posed:
While Carrie makes her entrance and secures the back of the truck, Bart is the hero that nobody gets to see, disassembling the equipment, carrying it to the truck, and reassembling all the pieces again in their proper order. If Qira could see it, she would be stunned! As it is, she's looking at Damian and murmuring, "I have to try and get the hard drive from the office. I'm sorry.. you guys should get out of here before anyone starts to come to or wander in." Then she's off! She makes a leap up from the loading dock that shouldn't be possible. Landing on the roof before running towards the corner of the building she knows the office to be in. A quick glance towards the room shows the two men are still inside, though the activity outside has started to gain their notice and they're moving for the door. Putting on an extra burst of speed to try and reach the opposite edge. She pulls a small grappling hook and line that was wrapped around her right forearm under her sleeve. Crazy girl means to crash through the window and take out two armed men in a bid for the hard drive!

Now is definitely the time for heroics! Bart graciously offers to stay with the truck and make sure the equipment is secured, allowing the two caped crusaders to do something flashy and amazing!

Damian Wayne has posed:
    << Nope, >> is Robin's instant reply when Sandcat suggests they should get out of here. << We don't leave until the *team* leaves. There is no 'i' in Bat Family. >> He lopes off after the ex-Leaguer. << Sparrow, we're going back in for one last grab. Do you still have eyes? >>

    "The fuck..." Robin murmurs to himself as he sees the impossible jump Sandcat just made. No way she learned *that* in the League. Of course there is no way he can make that jump so he fires his line launcher and grapples up after her. If she goes in, he goes in.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
<< Eyes and ears Robin... about to start the light show. I'll get the truck ready to go. >>

Even as Sparrow talks, all four drones zip into the office and start their rendition of a techno light show. Blinking through the color spectrum as they dip and dive around the room, being used as a distraction, they start playing out 'Let the Bodies Hit the Floor' as if offering up some sort of indication of what's about to happen.

<< Future note. Had I known about the hard drive, I could already have a copy of it. It's my specialty. >>

Qira Quest has posed:
Qira glances behind her to see Robin hot on her heels. For some reason, this makes her smile. In that split second as she's dropping the hook to grip the edge of the roof, right before she leaps of the edge... she smiles.

Not that he can see it, of course, not with the half-mask that covers up to just beneath her eyes. But she knows. Then she's free-falling to the 'duh-duh' of the drumbeat on Carrie's drones. Meaning the crash of glass and entrance of two ninja into the room is accompanied by David Draiman's voice shouting out 'FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR!'.

The heavy beat is excellent tempo to fight by, with Qira landing and immediately lunging forward towards the shoulder holster guy. She goes up, legs wrapping around his stomach while she rabbit-punches the poor bastard in the face until his eyes close. Just about the time they hit the floor with a thud.

Rolling off and away, she leaves the second guy to Damian's justice while she hurries to the computer. There's not much time. This is loud. This is so loud. She shuts down the pc quickly, then yanks the tower and uses a dagger to pry the side casing open. Hard drive disconnected from its wiring and housing, she tucks it into her outfit, then does a quick sweep for thumb drives. Three are in the desk drawer and swiped up before she looks to Damian, "Time to go."

To Carrie she offers, << I thought I had. I may have missed saying it out loud. I'll do better. >>

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Armed Dude #2 played by Uncredited wheels around to see a pissed-off looking Robin standing calmly with his arms crossed over his chest. The man raises his 9mm pistol to, you know, shoot Robin in the face. There is a flurry of movement and the various pieces of the expertly disassemble weapon hit the floor. "I don't dance," he growls before snapping an elbow to the side of the former gunman's head. That one...that one is gonna hurt in the morning.

    "I'm right behind you," Robin says to Sandcat. He watches her with no small amount of interest after seeing her literally leap to a roof. His expert eyes watch for additional signs of superhuman capabilities.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Sparrow has ensured that the items in the back of the truck aren't going to shift around, closed the back and made her way to the drivers seat. Was she really the only one legal to drive here? Perhaps, but really that part didn't matter. The passenger side door has been opened and left that way for Sandcat and Robin to get in, and while waiting for the hasty dance, dance, kick your arse off, she's making sure no one else comes toward the truck.

Qira Quest has posed:
"Only cause you know you'd lose the dance contest. Cause I'm better than you," Sandcat taunts Robin about the no dancing comment as she hurries past him. As for superhuman abilities... she spotted Carrie's invisible drones, leaped to the rooftop of a building without aid, and now dropping into a slide as one of the AR-carrying guys on the catwalks notices them. She manages to kick the poor guy three times in the groin before hooking the top of her trailing foot around his shin, spinning around, pushing up with the kicking foot until her heel makes contact with the guy's temple. This would normally send him flipping over the edge of the catwalk, but she holds a twisted up fistful of his shirt and instead guides the unconscious man to the catwalk flood instead.

Then she's taking a swin-dive off the catwalk into a tuck and roll on the concrete floor, springing up to her feet. << I hope you appreciate how much more difficult it is to purposely keep these guys alive. >> Sprinting across the floor at a speed that isn't beyond human sight but should not be attainable by human means. The way to the truck is clear and Qira is wasting no time in hopping up into the cab of the truck on the passenger side.

Damian Wayne has posed:
    Robin leaps off the catwalk after Qira but in mid-air he fires his line launcher. He swings wide over the truck to an adjacent building and lands lithely on the roof. Then just like that...plop...he goes off the other side of the building out of sight.

    << Defense mode off >> can be heard over the comm system followed by some response beeps from Robin's Redbird motorcycle. He guns the engine to life and tears out of the alley it was hidden in. << Lead the way, Sparrow. I got recon. >>

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Eye in the Sky, that was one of the things Sparrow was called now. An Oracle, keeping tabs on what was happening all over Gotham. This meant that she had her eyes open and was ready, watching as Sandcat showed off another impossible feat to get to the truck. The drones made their hasty retreat, like little bullets zipping out of the office and out of the warehouse... where they are going is anyone guess, but Robin can see them, all four of them, attack to Sparrow's motorcycle. Then he hears it start up, about the same time the truck does.

As Sparrow drives the truck out, not really checking to see if the door was open or not, not waiting to see if anyone was in the way, then moves out onto the street... her motorcycle follows. Legal speeds required, but the 'getting out of dodge' is complete.

"So, Sandcat... you like pizza?" She idly asks. If this person was important to Damian, she would at least try to be social and civil.