12633/Good, Ol' Fashioned Gotham I

Good, Ol' Fashioned Gotham I
Date of Scene:	08 September 2022
Location:	12633-Qin's Warehouse, Steel Cobras Territory, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Following up on Red Robin and Orphan's report from one Alex Hyde of the St. Patrick Slithers, Balm, Osprey and Orphan take on a Steel Cobra's warehouse where presumably the kids related to the Slithers are being kept, and are joined by unlikely Allies Detective Chimp (following up on the dog fighting ring) and none other than Talia al Ghul, who shows remarkable restraint in not killing everyone. When Balm alerts that there is a Bomb, Osprey springs into action and saves everyone's bacon! ... but the fight is now spilling out and into the street, with Slithers and Cobras, GCPD and who knows what else!
Cast of Characters:	Phoebe Beacon, Talia al Ghul, Austin Reese, Cassandra Cain, Detective Chimp

---

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    GOTHAM CITY - CHINA BASIN

    QIN'S WAREHOUSE

    The intel coming from Red Robin and Orphan's conversations with one Alex Hyde was that eight children belonging to members of the St. Patrick Slithers -- including his niece, Caidance -- were kidnapped over two days by members of Gotham City's Steel Cobras. Hyde had stated he couldn't go to the police -- there was gang warfare involved likely, but more dire was that the Steel Cobras threatened to hurt the kids, ages being 8 and 13, were being held in a warehouse that was also housing a variety of illegal items.

    There is a dogfight occurring currently, in a makeshift ring made of steel fences and plastic drums. Men are cheering as one animal gets slung off to the side.

    The handlers go into the ring to grab the survivor. There's never a real winner in that game.

    There are armed guards around the edges, bearing automatic rifles and knives, the occasional sword.

    There's no sign of the kids from the outside, which means they're probably safer than any person around that ring is at this moment.

    Outside, Balm settles herself on a rooftop overlooking the warehouse. She reviews the information, her hood drawn up as she secures her sidepacks.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul has been keeping track of Phoebe. It's not the most difficult thing. Enough at least for her to have kept a watch on the girl and move along. She owes her a favor after all. A nd the Daughter of the Demon repays her favors. If Phobe can be an aid in getting in touch wiht her son.. Then Talia will take it.
    Perhaps her reputation will be able to end things without violence. As wasteful as it is to use it to disperse such a trivial to her affair. But in the greater scheme of things, it's worth it to allow her to reach her son.
    So, walking along, Talia al Ghul goes to approach towards the warehouse - on the ground, not by the rooftop. But with a simple confidence and a katana over sheathed on her back. Musing to herself, "So beloved, will you be joining us tonight?"

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin has shown up in his armored gear, already masked up and ready to go, "I expect they'll try to use the dogs on us first chance they get." He says, "I brought a few tranq darts to try to hit them with, but I hope it's enough."

Osprey looks over from the rooftop near Balm, "Do we have any specific plans?" He asks Balm, as he looks over at her, taking note of the rifles the guards have. That'll need to be taken care of quick.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
A breath of air passes by Phoebe, pausing in Austin's vision. The rooftop was barren until then, and while Cass tends to stop for Pheobe given the slightest provocation, she is only there to touch base. Someone should let the lady know that things are beginning.

She puts a hand onto Phoebe's shoulder, meeting the lady's eyes. She nods. Then she's running, looking for something. Something specific, something particular.

She finds it, and she looks down through the window. Her face hardens, as she watches the dogs. But only for a moment.

A heartbeat later her boots open the window with prejudice, and her slight form lands in the exact centre of the dogfighting ring. Eyes daring anyone to challenge the right, she stands up from a crouch.

Glass raining down around her, with sparkles in the lights.

She may not be entirely open to the non-violent options.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Talia is not noticed by any of the Bats above, it looks like, but she is witnessed by one of the Cobra guards. One of the automatic rifles is raised, and he takes a steady stance, takimg aim at Talia's stomach.

    He cries out for her to Halt in Mandarin, and then in English "Stop, or I'll shoot!"

    Osprey is ready to go. Balm brings her hand to her left temple, and her voice whispers from behind him and Cass <Recover the children. I'm going to see if I can find them and slip in the back, if you and Orphan can--> her voice is cut off a moment. She turns to look to Cass, and her lips curl into a light smile.

    <-- can give me a distraction --> she continues, watching as Cass goes to the window.

    And then goes through it!

    <-- go go go!>

    Below Cass, the shards of glass rain out over the onlookers of the dogfight in their makeshift ring. The loser gets up and limps away, the survivor is snarling and barking at Cass, clearly terrified with its tail between its legs as it's held by its handlers.

    Guns are pulled, knives are pulled, and the air goes suddenly very tense in the area around the dog arena.

    A man in a gray business suit appears, standing up from the shadows.

    "What is the meaning of this interruption of business?" he asks, and he motions to Orphan "Kill the woman and get on with business! We have two cities to run!"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Moving to glance over at the guards and sweep with a hand, "You, you. I was told my arrival was expected. I take it that you're here to escort me?" The Daughter of the Demon would be fully nonchalant. She had been in countless dens of this ilk. Merely walking in over and such in command and control would work wonders.
    "I don't have all day. So don't waste my time." Over as she would hear the sounds of things breaking and entering. Musing..
    "Ah, beloved, have you come in already? You must always go dramatically."

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp had not heard about the kids, but he has heard of the dog fighting ring. Not many nights ago, Chimp has heard rumors of the ring, and has came to investigate. He was climbing the fire escape to get a look at things when he sees Talia heading over towards the building and then the crash from inside it "Well looks like things are getting interesting. He will head on up to the roof to make travel easier, which brings him into view of those on the rooftop, his cigar a point of light for a moment.

Austin Reese has posed:
Well since the party has started, Osprey quickly leaps from the roof, using a cable launcher to hook on a ledge and swing, aiming for one of the upstairs windows. Distraction is what Osprey can do best. As soon as he breaks through the window, he releases the cable and drops, throwing several flash pellets around him as he falls, aiming to land knees first on one of the goons with a gun. He just hopes that the appearance of a second person will throw everything into disarray.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Something like the big fight in Kill Bill, Cass stands surrounded. She has empty hands, but given how her backup is dealing with the front door (exit) and the hostages (cross fingers) she rather wants to make spectacle. Draw attention. She only wishes she wore a mask.

Of course, this means that the crazy 88 can see her eyes.

"SIT," she insists to the dog. She doesn't want to hurt...it.

Kind of hoping someone takes out the guns though. She isn't perfect, and they hurt. Oh well. She lunges at the closest one, and uses him as a bowling ball. There are just so many targets! Ooh, flash pellets. Nice.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The guard looks concerned for a moment, and then coldly says:

    "No."

    And opens fire on Talia, sweeping his aim in case she tries to zig zag to avoid the bullets, this is clearly not a rookie with a gun, maybe even someone who's dealt with the Bats themselves at one time, but he's not going to be a problem for The Daughter of the Demon.

    Chimp isn't noticed by any guards, but he probably notices Talia being attacked! There's a bit of an alarm that breaks out, commands in Mandarin saying to get guards to where the kids are, shoot anyone who isn't a Cobra!

    The party was indeed started; Orphan's urgent entry had alerted the guards who were now... on high alert. One turns, bringing his rifle to face Osprey and Sprey-ing Os with a hail of bullets, the one he took out with knees to his chest going down and acting like a surfboard over a sea of broken glass shards. Luckily he's wearing stab resistant clothing.

    Unluckily it's just resistant; he'll be hurting in the morning. Smoke pellets are popped and Orphan is given cover!

    The canine Orphan was facing pauses, whines, and sits, and then lays down, head between its paws. Good dog. The smoke on the other hand makes everything more difficult for others to see; the handlers yell to one another to get the girl. The guards are yelling code phrases to one another so that they don't shoot each other in the confusion. The man in the suit is silent, and is heading towards his storage area, not wanting to lose his insurance to the Bats!

    Balm was moving a good bit slower than her compatriots, using their loud and obvious entries to swing around to a different window set, pushing the window open, and slipping inside.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Imbecilles. The lot of them. As the guard is going to snap up his gun to go and open fire on Talia, the woman moves to advance on him. She's not quite capable of dodging bullets but her outfit is capable of taking a few. So she goes to charge into him and moves to yank him by his neck. "You are interfering with the Daughter of the Demon. Were I not on the turf of my beloved I would cripple you, then find every single one you ever knew, loved, and cared for die painful, agonizing deaths while they cursed at you for being the source of their demise. But I am in the realm of my beloved."
    The man is if she can grabbed by the neck and his larynx crushed. He'd live so long as he was focused on breathing and not panicking. Presuming she could manage that, she's going to walk on in now through the front door. Having not bothered to draw out her katana. "So beloved, shall I see you tonight or your disciples?"

Austin Reese has posed:
Everyone having guns makes this harder by default, but adding the element of surprise rapidly fading out means that Osprey needs to move quick.

He rolls off the guy he hit as soon as they hit the ground, and immediately throws a pair of shuriken at the closest guy's weapon hand, before pushing off the ground and aiming to strike the guy in the chin with an armored elbow uppercut.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp sighs a moment, as he spots the others using their zip lines "They get all the cool toys he mutters to himself. He will head to the edge of the building and looks about and sees Talia seems to have her goon sell in hand, literally. He spots a cable going from one building to the other and jumps down to it catching it with his feet, and spinning on it to start wire walking over towards the building. It is good to be a Chimp at times. He does think out, seeing if he can make contact <Phoebe, can ya hear me?> There has been a link before so who knows.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Well, it could be worse. They could be bad shots.

Cass actually does better when folks shoot where they're aiming. The reason for that is that she's reading their intention from their movements, and if they're accurate then they're predictable. Wild shots are potentially deadly.

She thinks this to herself as she ducks under a sword, sliding past the swordsman and slicing his legs out from underneath him. She barely pauses, rolling to her feet, and then she's leaping through a hail of attacks.

She'd really be after that nice guy in the suit if she could, but there seems to be a few distractions here.

When Talia enters, she sees a young lady in the middle of a HUGE mess. She keeps touching people and they fall down, though. Which is nice for our side.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Guard Guy didn't stand a chance.

    Talia advances, charging up and moves to yank him by the neck, taking him up and physically lifting him.

    He chokes, his eyes going wide as his larynx is crushed, and unable to make any other sounds as he collapses to the ground, gargling on his own saliva.

    Osprey moves quick. Shuriken fly and strike true, the trigger hand struck which makes him drop his gun, an accidental rapport echoing above the din of the chaos Orphan is creating below.

    and down below there was a bit of chaos -- some of the shots go wild, embedding in walls or going through the steel roof of the warehouse. One guy gives a cry as he's slung over a catwalk and into a pile of cardboard cartons.

    Chimp, following his nose, would find his way towards the kennels.

    The survivor dogs are in too-small travel kennels, barking, afraid, in pain, crying out for help because there's things and sounds that they don't understand going on.

    The ones who didn't survive their bouts... well. They're not making a whole lot of sound, but they're there in the back too.

    And Chimp would hear a different kind of yelling; distant, yelling to people to get the cargo loaded up.

    Chimp's phone would give a ring. A text message from a private number:

DC - good 2 C U - pb

     --it's hard to text via mask some days.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Going to enter in, Talia Al Ghul goes to ignore the sounds of dogs and animals grunting and whining. She's heading in over towards the sounds of fighting and gunfire. She still hasn't made a move over to take out her katnaa while moving along and casually surveying everything over. Musing as she would go to grab at a small throwing knife by her side. Coming in then to see Cassandra's display.
    "Why, lovely. This is -art-." Talia is not often impressed. But as bullets fly, and Cassandra dodges, she is. The kunai is held over in a hand then over as she would glance at the men.
    "The girl is under my protection. So the next one of you that raises a weapon against her will answer to me." She would grin. The men likely don't have much of an idea as to who she is if at all.
    There's only so many ways this night is getting better and better. But the things she does for her son..

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp pulls his phone out and looks to it sending a quick response as he talks to the dogs. <Some guys are talking about loading cargo back near the kennels DC> As he types this he looks to the dogs "Ok I am going to get you out of her, we are going to stop those who hurt you, and your brothers and sisters. Stick we me, we may have to fight some, but if so, don't go after people with their face covered unless I tell you to. or a lady who looks like this." He describes her and holds his hand up to give them an idea of height. He starts opening the cages and if they are locked pulls a knife out to pry the lock off, once has has all of the dogs free, "Follow me guys tonight we fight for Freedom." He says in his best William Wallace impression.

Austin Reese has posed:
Osprey picks the knife out of the sheath from the guy he just struck in the chin, as he shoves the guy off of himself and turns around, just in time to get tackled from behind by one of the other guards. The guard's knife hits Osprey in the gut, finding a plate and glancing off, but still cutting through the outer layer of his suit.

Osprey spins the knife he grabbed around in his hand and swings the butt of it towards the side of his attacker's head, while also bringing his right knee up to strike him in the stomach. Stab resistant cloth usually does next to nothing against an impact blow.

After the knee he drops back and kicks his left foot forward in a push kick to knock the guy into a wall, so he can get some distance as he turns to intercept a guy with a rifle who would have a high ground shot on anytone at ground level, not wanting Orphan to have a shooter with a clear line of sight to her.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Someone else throws a knife at Cass. Specifically at her back. So when Talia sees an evasion tactic taught ONLY by the group that she herself has 'connections' with, it might be a surprise. But the instinctive turn, catching the knife out of the air and throwing it back? That was taught by only one instructor in this lifetime.

Managing to target the man's hand while doing so? The very hand-eye coordination puts her in the range of Lady Shiva. And there is some facial structure similarities. Did Shiva have children?

That's when the lady knocks two heads together while heading over their bodies into another group. She makes no quips, wastes no breath on words.

But for all her work, a sniper would have ended her. IF THERE WERE ANY LEFT!

But she glances at Talia, and without even hesitating she points. Not to her, but to the vanishing figure in a suit. Instant trust, and instructions. Just before she's tackled by seven men who are badly outnumbered. Seriously.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Talia is impressed with Cass; and the men around them take pause, looking at the two women as the smoke clears.

    They're confused. Hesitant.

    But they have guns and swords, and hey, what's two women going to do against six guys with swords? They bring out their dao, and they appear to be at least trained in their usage, working with confidence as the seven try to rush Cass and Talia, one coming in with a crushing blow from on high for Cass, and one sweeping to the side with Talia.

    The man in the suit disappears behind a back door.

    The lights overhead flicker, Osprey is the first to hear an incesant 'beep.. beep... beep...'

    It's probably not a smoke alarm on low battery.

    And that's the moment when doors from the other side are thrown open. Brilliant lights get thrown on before a crowd of angry looking men and women walk in, all wearing greens with snakes wrapped around crosses.

    Players 5-80 have entered the game... The Saint Patrick Slithers.

    "All right yous guys!" barks a voice that would be familiar to Cass. "Smoke anyone not wearin' a Halloween Costume!"

    ANd now the fun begins. Snake on Snake action as the Cobras and the Slithers sink onto pandamonium.

    And that's when the dogs arrive.

    Fighting dogs lead by Detective Chimp, barking up a storm as they literally battle for their lives, each sniffing out handlers to take out their ankles and calves, broken ears and healed-over scab wounds, missing eyes and ears cut with scissors at home.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
There's a sigh from Talia Al Ghul, "Impertinence. Incompetence. I should have you all have your legs cut off at your knees for this display." That would be fine. It meant they could no longer do anything. And this gang had gone from 'possibly useful to her operations' to 'annoying her on a personal level'. Talia's moods could be mercurial.
    And unlike her father, whens he did not have a specific directive, she could meander along a route.
    Talia's focus is mostly on Cassandra. Fascinating. Rapidly making the connections. Those moves. Those maneuvers. Those attacks. Oh -yes- tonight is a good night. She should have come to Gotham months ago.
    The men approaching her have Talia sigh. Live in the moment, never be lost in the past or abandoning things for the future. Yes, yes. Things father drilled into her with discipline and suffering come to forefront.
    "Your motions displease me. For that I shall make you -suffer-." She goes to finally withdraw her katana to approach the men. Her intent is simple. The men approach her with blades. Talia's plan is simply to remove the limbs that are holding the blades. She's not feeling particularly murderous tonight. No, she's leaving a message.
    The men will actually survive it, even! But, limb removal would be no doubt messy.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp charges in with the cavalry .. infantry,? As leader of the Pack. He lets out a screech of his own to add to the chaos, specially as he sees another gang has joined in with the fracas. He comes in right now, back handing the first guy, and jumping up to grab one by the shoulders riding him down punching him, as they hit the ground, Chimp sees one of the swords whose original owner has no need for right now, and picks it up and pommel smacks him to finish his trip to unconscious land. These are goons, and he is trying not to kill, the dogs, well they are fighting for their lives. He points the sword at some of the new gang members and charges. Maybe he can blame all this on hit-monkey.

Austin Reese has posed:
Oh great. Osprey can hear it, and it's not a good situation at all. He dives for cover as the doors burst open, knowing there'll be gunfire raking in multiple directions as the two gangs unload on each other.

<"Who let the dogs out?"> He asks over comms, totally seriously despite the obvious song quote.

He pops out of cover as two gang members start to reload, the Slithers finding themselves being double clotheslined as Osprey runs over both of them sending guns and magazines sprawling in different directions. The less active guns the better.

Unluckily he catches a sword across the back, which sends him sprawling to the ground, at least managing to get some distance as he gets back to his feet, squaring off against the sword wielding gang member.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass did not let the dogs out. She also was just buried under a pile of humans, all of whom want her dead. But they also want to be ready for the incoming dangerous people with snakes! So they move to take out Cass, fast as possible!

She's not there. She went down, they all saw it. Felt it. She's not there.

Where is she? How? What?

The kids. The kids are in danger, and this is now out of her hands. She slips through the door, after Mr Suit. Someone just sent her a message, and she has to get her head back in the game. Because this isn't about fighting after all.

She's on his trail, and someone's gonna get smashed. And she isn't talking sexytimes. Cass is on full hunter mode now, leaving the fight behind.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Orphan has taken over the part of the hound, chasing the suit with the kids. She'd make sure they call come out all right.

    And that's where the new suit comes in, coming in over the pile of crates, flanked by the former loser of the last bout, there is a Bat who is not a Bat. She moves smoothly as she begins to weave into the crowd, using their own momentumn against them, sweeping and resolving with urgency. She fights like Red Robin for the most part, though the influences from other fighters can be seen. Athletic and agile, Balm moves with purpose through the crowds, incised by the attack on Orphan.

    And she spots Talia in the fight -- pauses -- and takes a sock to the face from a Steel Cobra.

    The Saint Patrick Slithers ARE trying their very best not to hit anything wearing a costume. But there's the occasional friendly fire, and one gets mad enough to try and knock Osprey over!

    And Osprey probably is the one to get the Worst News from Phoebe's Mask-o-Gram:

    B O M B

Austin Reese has posed:
That's what he was worried about. Why would you make a bomb aith an audible sound anyway? Really defeats the purpose of a bomb.

Osprey ducks a slash from the guy with the sword, switching his HUD to focus on the beeping so he can track the bomb's location.

He feints the sword wielding Cobra as he moves towards him, forcing him to block upwards before Osprey drops down and cracks his knee with a punch to the side of the knee. He'll be fine, eventually, but he's out of the fight now.

With the most pressing threat down, he quickly turns his head to use the HUD in the domino mask to track down where the audio beeps are coming from. <"On it Balm.">

As soon as he has the bomb in sight, or at least has a bead on it with the HUD, he'll sprint for it, weaving his way in and out of the fighting Cobras and Slithers, hitting folks as needed but doing his best to not slow down until he gets to the bomb.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul is quite content to cut her way through the enemies. The disappearance of Orphan is noted. She'll be investigated later. She goes to one of the men over that she's assumed is somewhat higher ranking due to the quality of his attire. "Now.. I'm going to ask some questions. How much I like your answers and how fast I get them will decide how many of your limbs I permit you to retain. There are so many parts of the body that can be chopped off befroe one goes unconsciuos from shock. They can always prop you up on a gurney in a hospital and put you in an iron lung and catheder until you die of old age." Katana held up casually, blood and bone dripping down it. "I can start with your feet and hands. Those are ones that proshetics can never cover."
    A glance given over in the direction of Balm. Sighing. The girl needs ot focus.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp sees one of the guys fixing to open fire on some of the downed cobras, he brings the sword up, and down onto the man's wrist, luckily it is a sword that is only sharp on one side, and he is bringing the back of the blade down on the guys wrist, snapping it but not cutting it off at least, to make the man drop the gun. He surveys the fight a minute, to see where he and the dogs maybe needed.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Slithers WERE on the Bats' sides. But repeated clothelines, fighting and intaking -- and now the Chimp breaks some wrists -- the tide is turning, and the fighters are now combating on two fronts. Someone's yelling to stop trying to hit the Good Guys in a panic.

    He had promises to keep, after all.

    Talia grabs one of the guys who looks like he might need a brushing up on his manners, he gags a moment in surprise when talia grabs him, and he yelps "What do you want to know?!"

    Chimp's oppoonant cries out in shock, sword snapping the wrists easily as the man drops his gun, backing up and tumbles over a loading dock.

    The dogs are not creatures of logic, but they are creatures of instinct. They know Freedom when they see it, and they can smell the cool night air as the Slithers come marching in, and they escape towards the streets, barking, snapping and snarling.

    Osprey cracks knees, and although we may never know the reason why the bomb was built with a beeper -- perhaps it was made in China? -- he has the bead on it with his HUD.

    Then he gets to the bomb.

    Which is connected to another bomb.

    Which is connected to another bomb.

    Wire hidden in the shadows and carefully looped closely inside of supports for the roof. Osprey has two minutes to clear the warehouse.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would smile over at the man with her blade out, "Everything. THe leaders of your operation. The extent of it. Your suppliers. Make it quick. There are a great many men in the room and I'm sure that they'll be much more enthusiastic to tell em what I want to know after I remove your limbs and then sear the bleeding with a lighter. So do tell me -very- quickly before I decide you're not informing me fast enough." THe woman that had left a trail of limbs before her in casual violence would not be the type to leave a 'but you wouldn't' impression over on the man now, would she?

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will look at the man and says "No killing." As he starts too run. He will have to try to wrangle the dogs later see if he can figure out a way to help them. He looks around and his short stature does help him avoid being a target a bit. He will move towards Balm, and bonks a goon with the flat of the blade, "So whats going on? "He asks her,

Austin Reese has posed:
<"We've got a problem. Under 120 seconds and multiple bombs. If you can get those kids to the exit, do it." Osprey won't, of course. He knows he can disarm all of them before the timer runs out.

After scanning the bomb he knows which wires to cut in order to disarm it, but he'll have to move fast to track the wires to the rest of the daisy chain.

<"This looks too complex to be planted by the SLithers, has to be some kind of self destruct by the Cobras."?> He snips the wires on the first bomb with the knife off his belt, and then quickly heads for the second. No time to even stop and fight anybody, he's just going to have to make his way there as fast as his feet can carry him.

Hope he's been putting extra time in on the parkour course.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Austin, Talia and Chimp would feel the whisper of Phoebe behind their ears:

    <Explain later Detective. Children are clear. Orphan has them.> Phoebe 'thinks' to the others, coming back to her feet as she begins to start to push forward against the crowds of fighting Slithers and Cobras.

    She pulls one of her throwing knives, and with OBVIOUS intention she lobs it -- handle first -- to Talia to get her attention. She points up, and then she looks to where Austin is in the rafters, and she goes to cover him.

    She bounces off some crates, catches against a railing and swings her way up.

    She holds her hands out, her rose-gold shield providing cover to Osprey as he dismantles the bombs.

    The first deactivates. The second is still counting down.

    One of the Cobras (COBRAAAAA) attempts to pipe Chimp in brainpan!

Talia al Ghul has posed:
The flung blade is caught over by Talia. In very much the same way that Orphan had earlier, and the blade is flung along just as quickly but not past Balm's cheek but over to the side instead. She goes to take a moment to acknowledge the girl and goes to let out a sigh and moves to take out anotehr throwing knife. "But later." The man is kicked to render him unconscious, then she goes to quickly jump up and over towards the rafters. She's not got a grapple. She doesn't have the sheer strength the others have to clear such a height. So she goes to jump and start climbing up.

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp is a detective, he is trained to notice things, but the Cobra almost gets the best of him. He gets the sword up in time to keep his skull from being caved in, but not quick enough to totally keep his bell from being rung. He will shake his head a moment to clear it as he turns himself around trying to hide the fact his vision is a bit blurry, and he bares his fangs and screams at the man.

Austin Reese has posed:
One down two to go. Austin rushes across the rafters, making a leap that's probably too far, and barely managing to grab hold and haul himself back up. He gets to the second bomb and gives it a sc an to be able to disarm it. He clips the wire, and the count down deactivates on the second bomb, <"Two down, one to go."> Is there enough time though, he wonders? He can't think like that, he has to get to that bomb and stop it from going off. At least the kids are out of the building if he doesn't make it.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Two down, one to go.

    Balm has dropped her shield, and looks over the crowd below, all out warfare. There's some deaths, she can smell it. Taste it. Sense it. Feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise up.

    

    Talia climbs up to the rafters as well, and has a bird's eye view of the inelegant bloodshed below. Fighting has spilled out into the streets, there is an occasional gunshot as the brawl rocks the streetside in Gotham's Chinatown, and in the distance the sounds of sirens begin to wail.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Lovely. The rest of their brethren are on their way. Talia goes to check on the group.. Then over at Balm. As if she could read the expressions coming over across the girl. "Men will kill one another over such petty, paltry things. Hate such as this.. You cannot stop it. Not without tearing it out by the roots. Or one merely postpones it. One morely relocates the violence. Whether to where they are incarcerated, amongst the other eleemnts of the gangs." They will die of their own choice and frailties.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The Cobra (COBRAAAAA) almost gets the best of Detective Chimp.

    Almost.

    The sword comes up to stop it from striking the good Detective, and as the simian clears his head, the poor Cobra on the other end of the pipe gets a concerned look -- which turns into fear as Chimp bares his fangs and screams.

    "AAAAAAAAH!" the guy screams in fright, yelling out he wasn't ready to die today, and he drops the pipe and makes a quick exit

Detective Chimp has posed:
Detective Chimp will watch the man go, and steadies himself, he does duck in between some boxes for a moment and shakes his head, reaching into his pocket to pull out a flask and take a long sip of it.

Austin Reese has posed:
The constant beeping of the bomb means Austin isn't dead. As long as he can hear that beep he's still alive. His mind is racing as he dives for the last bomb, scanning it on the fly, as he watches the timer tick down towards zero.

As soon as the scan comes through, he grabs the wire and snips it, as the timer reaches the last few seconds to go. The beeping stops.

Austin finally is able to release his breath. He waits, for a few moments, until he knows that the timer would have passed, before he finally breathes out, <"Bombs are clear.">

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The humany types are in the rafters, the chimp is taking a break between some boxes, and the fight is spilling out into the streets of Gotham as the police try to contain the rabble.

    The beeping of the bombs stops.

    There's a soft 'tick', and the last bomb's case falls off, showing the C4 that was placed into the bomb and its wiring and internals. It's enough to have collapsed the roof of this warehouse -- and the block of shops and apartments across from it.

    If it had gone off, Osprey wouldn't have had anything to worry about other than what people might say at his funeral. Lucky him, he got to them in time.

    It seems to be the best moment for those who want out to run, and those who want back in for a fresh crack at the Steel Cobras to join the fight.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
And with her final comments to Phoebe done, Talia Al Ghul is going to vanish into the night. This is not her fight. She has repaid her debt for now. She has seen some things in action which she has found very useful. And she has no further business here. She does not vanish like Batman. her disappearance is not sudden.
    It is merely her walking out of the building, into teh shadows, and calmly on to whatever her next step is.