12853/Welcome to the Bird Nest

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Welcome to the Bird Nest
Date of Scene: 21 September 2022
Location: Penthouse - Historic Clocktower
Synopsis: Elektra and Barbara talk more about the Vampires vs Lycans war, as well as a bit of personal info shared.
Cast of Characters: Barbara Gordon, Elektra Natchios




Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara's Batmobile veered off the street outside and went down through the sub-level entrance in to a parking garage where it was soon lost through a private gate closed in its wake...

Just moments later and the vehicle found itself parked in a spot geared specifically for it. The canopy was opened, and Batgirl exited the vehicle. She moved down off of the platform, and waited for Elektra to join her at a series of computer terminals all lining a alcove just beside the series of parking berths here in the private section of the garage. There are other Bat-themed vehicles here also, from a motorcycle to a strange looking water-vehicle, somewhere between a sub and a speed-boat.

Once the platform was cleared, Babs initiated a sequence that caused robotic arms to raise up around the Batmobile where they began to service the vehicle, cleaning and repairing it where it was needed. The scanning tech was visible upon the display screens, showing readouts of what was going to be replaced, or repaired.

Once the process was started, and Batgirl gave it a moment of watch, she turned her eyes to Elektra. "Welcome to my little abode." She says of the very bland, and boring parking garage ambience that surrounds them. Cement columns, drab lighting with mostly shadows lining the corners, and walls beyond where they are now.

Barbara reaches up and removes her cowl then, taking it off of her head, and running a gloved hand through her matted down fiery red hair. "If you need a place to clean up, we have some rooms here that you can use. The elevator goes to many different levels within this tower, but all of them are 'ours'." She notes dryly, setting her cowl down on the table beside one of her computers where it instantly automatically interfaces with the computer and begins to transfer all recorded information.

Babs watches this as she continues to ruffle her messy red hair. "Quite a night, so I would say." She says, not hiding her face any longer.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
To say that Elektra had been affected by the meeting with Eve was an understatement. It had culminated in Barbara seeing the assassin in a moment of 'weakness', showing more emotions than perhaps she had displayed for the time they had met. It had come and gone though and the Elektra that slides off the canopy is back to being that same Elektra. Shoulders tense, just a touch distant. She hasn't bothered getting her mask back up so the tense line of her jaw is visible.

"The cave of the Bat.." She whispers, looking around the operation Batgirl is running here. Arms fold together and she certainly looks impressed at the tech in display even if the decor itself may look bland. "Little abode, is it?" she smirks, perhaps remembering her quips about having a 'little' penthouse.

Steps are heard approaching that table when Babs takes the cowl off. She takes it for what it is. A sign of trust. She stays silent for a few moments longer, watching her ruffling that red hair before finally saying. "Yes, it was. I wasn't expecting it to take the turns it did." she admits, hand running over her dark hair and she letting out a sigh, gaze straying to the computer screens.

"I thought I would be able to handle it better by now." then a glance over, "Do you have anything to drink on this abode of yours?" her tone not the kind that's asking for juice or water.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Once her vehicle is in good standing with the robotic limbs doing precisely what they were designed for, Babs turns to face Elektra in that fancy suit of hers, looking a bit unique with the pointy-eared cowl off though, cape still swaying behind her calves.

She smirks, "We have a lot of booze. Yes. As it so happens it's quite popular amongst many of the Birds." She replies while reaching for her cowl when it finishes transfering its data. "Come on. I'll put this stuff away, and I'll show you to the good stuff." She calmly states before passing by on Elektra's right.

The assassin will get to see another element of the Bat's life here in the tower. She has multiple suits of bat-themed body armor, each housed in their own alcove and each also attended to by high-tech robotics. The one that Babs steps out of, and puts away, each piece is taken from her by one of the robotic arms, almost like it is very used to working with Batgirl on this transfer process. It leaves Babs in a black tanktop and black silken shorts that she was wearing beneath it all, and soon she is slipping on a hoodie that she half-zips up, and a pair of jogging pants that was folded up on a shelf beside that armor alcove.

The robotic hands are doing just as the Batmobile's larger-versions, cleaning and repairing the set of gear, beneath a pair of spot lights that shine down upon the process from the top of the alcove.

"Alright, lets go." Babs says, leaving her tech to do what it was designed to do...

Moments after that, and the pair are riding the elevator up to the penthouse, where the doors open up and present to them the fancy penthouse apartment... Babs steps out and walks toward the kitchen, themed to look like some kind of 1950s nuclear family kitchen, just sitting amongst the rest of the loft-style apartment, inside the peak of this odd Clocktower. "Whats your poison?" Babs asks on barefeet within the kitchen...

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The Birds Tower. That has Elektra arching a finely-trimmed brow and give the place another look around, "Trusting me enough to bring me up here?", some of her confidence returning, along with those gleaming dark eyes now watching Barbara more curiously. "You -do- like living dangerously.." beat. smirk. "To an extent.." yes, there is a tease there when she says those words. Almost as if daring the redhead to dare more.

The various armors are noted, then the robotic arms stripping the suit from Batgirl. Some amusement goes to her expression as if she had something to say about that on the tip of her tongue but she remains silent. One will just have to wonder what she'd want to say! She follows Barbara to the elevator and leans back against a wall of it while they go up, head against the back. Eyes closing..

Almost as if she was letting her hair down some..

"Macallan. If you have it." It's scotch. Hard stuff. She makes a face at it. Was she stooping so low that she'd go with a favorite of Daredevil's. Ah well, maybe she was starting to learn on why that man loved that stuff so much.

She loosens the straps on the leather bracers that cover her arms, starting to take them off and setting them on the kitchen counter. She sighs and rubs her arms.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
A smirk comes from Babs at the liquor choice, and the words of trust. "I'm not exactly like Batman." She counters as she bends over near the liquor cart and opens up one of its glass doors. She reads the labels before plucking the bottle out. "And yep, here we go." She says, gathering two glasses out of the chilled section of that same cart. She goes to stand across from Elektra then, setting the glass down, and putting her green eyes down upon them as she pours them both a drink.

"I don't fully trust you, why should I?" She asks as she pushes Elektra a glass of the scotch now.

"But I like to be a little uncomfortable nowadays."

The bottle is set down, Babs leans forward against the counter and raises her own glass up for a sip. "Once upon a time, I thought I was safe and comfortable, and a madman barged through my door and shot me in the back..." She clears her palette of the booze, and just smirks to Elektra.

"Now, I figure I need to experience more discomfort, so I don't get too trusting... Or, maybe I've lost my mind, and you'll stab me in the back too?" She flashes a little grin then.

"Either way, at least I learn something. Maybe. Or die, one of those two things."

She then sets her glass down and extends her hand over the counter. "My name is Barbara Gordon. My father is the Gotham Police commissioner. Some people run away from me because of that, others want me dead becaus eof it. So I live a weird life."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"I -will- drink to that.." About Babs not being Batman. She even rolls her eyes at the mention of the good ol' Bat. She had her 'dances' with that one in the past. But that's neither here nor there. The Macallan comes and that's what's important.

"You shouldn't." Trust her. Fingers wraps her fingers around the glass and brings it up, arm folded over her slim waist, the other propped up with the glass between fingers. She nears it to Barbara to clink it against hers.

"To surviving another night.." One night at a time. That seemed to be Elektra's motto where it comes to this life. Maybe that's why she lives things intensely.

She takes a drink then, listening as Barbara reveals more of herself. Of being shot. There is no pity in the assassin's eyes about her story but there is understanding at least. That we can never get too comfortable. And that bad things happen to everyone, no matter who they may be.

"I didn't expect you to be so nihilistic. Or perhaps a realist." another drink from her glass, "But don't worry, I won't do anything to you that you don't want me to."

Her own hand extends over to Barbara and she holds her arm, not her hand. A greeting between warrior's. Of two women that understand what this life is like.

"I am Elektra Natchios." She introduces herself, "And I don't intend to run away from you." eyes on eyes.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara had grinned at Elektra's response to her, and shook arms like that. She'd taken another sip from her drink then before she broke her serious returned stare, and coughed. "God. Scotch." She states, glancing down at it and making a 'Blegh' face. A smirk is shot over to the other woman then. "Come on, lets see what we can dig up about your little mystry here..." She says.

A few minutes later and the two are in the seating area of the penthouse loft. Babs has her large television working through computer files as she sits on the edge of the sofa with her elbows on her knees, her hands in front of her, holding the remote and the glass of nearly finished scotch now.

"So you got in to all of this because of a lovely Vampire woman?" She asks, glancing over to Elektra, she grins at her. "That's romantic. Like a movie." She states, before sending her eyes back ato the television.

"It seems your lovely Vampire woman has had a bad life though. Lots of people trying to kill her, lots of people trying to lie to her, and now... apparently... she's in the hands of ... what exactly?"

Babs has information up on the screen about the Semira Medical Corporation, the business owned by the Vampire Coven in New York. She's glancing over names, and business transactions.

She points at the screen. "This is unfounded, and far fetched, but that girl... back there tonight... she said it was some kind of Human scientist group, studying Vampires and Lycans?" She looks away from the tv then and back to Elektra.

"I mean, it seems likely they'd be connected directly to this Semira Corp, doesn't it?" Babs asks. "Maybe they know where your friend is. Maybe they gave her to them? I mean, if they've been lying to her, for... how long? What do they care about her well being?"

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Not my drink of choice but ...." And the assassin's shoulders go up in a shrug, "... sometimes we just need a strong punch like this." which was true enough with all that was going in Elektra's life. It used to be simpler when it was just doing assassinations. Well, not really.

She does follow Barbara to the seating area even if she does make a small detour by the bathroom to clean up her arms and face a bit at least. It had been a non-stop evening of action after all! The black and red armored suit is still on though because whoever knows what she wears under it? Most likely not a lot. She finally settles down next to Barbara after a few minutes and is looking at the large screen.

A chuckle. "It's more complicated than that.." getting into it because of Selene, "But true at the same time." she does smile faintly back at Barbara when she speaks of it being romantic, "And like all romances it's over. Doesn't mean I still won't care."

Eyes stray away from Barbara to follow the screen again, gaze narrowing in thought. "Yes, it would mean a group with knowledge of them and..." she nods when Barbara makes the connection with Semira. "Most likely. But that could also mean the vampires were behind it." a frown, "Which considering what Eve said could be true, they lied to Selene about everything, perhaps they got scared she discovered the truth. It would be a good place to go dig around.."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Another sip from the scotch is had as Babs listens to the woman's response. She mulls it over inside her head. "Yeah, honestly, it might not be a bad place to start. Especially if you have some clout there, of some measure. They might even let you waltz right in..." She muses before trailing off again. "Did she have any enemies on the inside that you're aware of?" She asks then as she looks back over to the Ninja Assassin woman. "If so, we could pressure them for some answers. I mean, I'll be upfront here, my goal is to get these guys outta Gotham. I don't really care to kill them all, as I don't really want to lay my head down on my pillow at night, and have those memories inside my head too. I got enough nasty stuff in there as it is." She shoots a smirk at Elektra then.

Leaning back on the dark leather sofa then, Babs swigs from the scotch once more and finishes it off.

She exhales, and twists her neck side to side to stretch the muscles a little, since it had been a long night indeed!

"I want to look up who these Vampire Elders might be too. Maybe we can track some money, and track them down. If they really are... wealthy 'lords', they can't have hidden from history. It might give us some good intel on what to expect in the future. Though, I really don't think I'd ever go to ... wherever these guys are to find them." She states with another smirk for the woman to her left.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"That's what I was going to suggest." Elektra says about the enemies on the inside, " ... as an alternative to pursue." The assassin fishes within her belt, a click and a small usb pen comes out. She extends it to Babs. "A picture and some information about someone we had been working against before."

If the USB is jacked in some security camera quality pictures of an handsome, tall man will appear, talking with another who seems to be Raze, the lycan they had fought earlier in the night.

"That's Kraven. A vampire that betrayed their coven to the lycans. He was aiming to kill the coven leader but we stopped him. He disappeared but he may have info on what happened to her. But we'd need to find him first." a small frown. "As for the Semira group, I don't have much clout with them but .., after what I have seen you do here I think between the two of us we can conjure a means to get in there, mmm?"

"And you don't have to justify yourself to me. I am no good samaritan either, I am helping because I want to find Selene and ..." a beat, "You -can- be fun to work with. So that's a plus." bit of a smirk shot back at Barbara.

"I only know about two of them. Viktor is Selene's father, the one apparently responsible for killing her human family. Amelia was the leader of her coven here. I met her when they were here."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The USB is hooked in on a port on the table in front of the leather sofa that they occupy. Babs roams her eyes over the images stored within. "Amelia." She says. "Yeah, that name was associated with the medical group. Nice name. I had a friend in school named that... she loved airplanes, like the explorer." Babs distractedly says as she shifts through the images. She pauses on Krane and curls her lip in displeasure at his visage.

"What a douche bag lookin' fella." She mutters. "I think... I've seen him before too." She states that last part with a bit of potential recognition as she starts to move some files around, pulling up windows with experience useage of that smart phone-like remote she's using.

A search is put in to motion on the computer and Babs looks over to Elektra. She casts her a grin. "We Bat-types are pretty fun to work with, it's true. A bit... theatrical, but we know how to have our fun." She playfully fires back to the woman before a little boop noise signals the end of the search.

Babs looks back to the screen and pulls up the video image from a old patrol. Drone footage. It shows Kraven walking out of a old Gotham building, closing his sport jacket and moving to get in to a car's back seat.

"Yeah... that is him. I remember him, around this time last year. He was flagged as some kind of 'new money' in the city. He was hitting up a lot of our seedier lounges, tossing cash around, and seemingly trying to make a name for himself. Classic contact-sniffing, trying to make friends, so to speak." She states while having the video freeze on a profile of his face next to the image that Elektra had provided.

"You say he and Selene didn't get along?" She inquires. "Sounds... like a solid lead to me then. I wonder if we can track him down... or, make him come to us."

She glances at her scotch glass, then over to Ele's. "Want another drink?" She asks the other then as she moves to stand up, offering to refill her glass.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Elektra's arms fold together and she leans back on the sofa as Barbara starts going through the data on the USB. Eyes arch with interest when Barbara mentions having seen the man before. "That -is- interesting." she says, immediately leaning forward on her seat to look more attentively at the screen.

At least until Barbara speaks about the bats knowing how to have fun. "There's a difference. I said you were fun to work with, not that you knew how to have fun.." now she's just teasing the other woman. "It's a big difference." the boop does call her back to look at the screen, "He had been around Gotham." she murmurs.

"He was also new blood in the hellfire club. He was trying to expand his contacts everywhere."

She is still mulling on how to have Kraven come to them when Barbara offers the drinks. She nods and gets up to her feet too, stretching her back. "This might turn into a long night so I think I will, yes. Your choice this time." she extends her glass back to Barbara.

"Kraven hates my guts, I think we can make him come out of his hideout if he gets a shot at me."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
A light laugh comes from the redhead as she shuffles on bare feet toward her kitchen again, since this is a loft apartment and everything in the main room is inter-connected, with the two bedrooms off to the south behind their own doors.

"How many enemies do you have though?" She asks, glancing over her shoulder from the small distance away. She starts to mix them both a new drink. "I mean, if we could get this Kraven douche, that'd be great. But I don't know if I want to pull in your entire rogue's gallery." She says in good humor, teasing Elektra.

She pours them both some vodka, then a bit of pink lemonade from a Minute Maid carton out of her sky-blue 1950s styled fridge... her whole kitchen styled like that of the popular Fallout game series, not that Elektra would likely know that!

With glasses in hand, Babs starts to walk back to the sofa area.

"But that could be a good enough way. Maybe... maybe... if we check out this Semira group, we could leave a bit of evidence that you were there, maybe that'd get back to him and he'd come looking for you?" She says as she offers the pink icy vodka drink and settles back in aside the other on the sofa, raising her own up for a sip.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The assassin remains on her feet now, hands on her hips as she takes a bit of an aimless walk around the room while Barbara moves into the kitchen to get those drinks ready. Well, not much of an aimless walk as she takes note of the surroundings more properly, the decor, the exits. Making sure she knows the layout. You know, just like every other assassin would do just in case of ..., she doesn't even know exactly what. She is starting to trust the redhead somewhat but it's hard to fight back instincts.

She -does- laugh at the question about the enemies, "More than I would be comfortable allowing a shot at me." she says in agreement to Barbara, "You know my reputation after all. Well, my past one at least." if one was to believe the rumors that Elektra was indeed out of the killing business now.

"A two in one." She does seem to like that plan. "Kraven still has contacts in the vampires for sure, specially here in the States. He will be sure to look into any breach to one of their facilities here." she nods, turning back to Babs to take her drink. Fingertips brush briefly on Barbara's when she accepts the pink vodka, "You moonlight as a bartender on your days off from the cape?" she teases, remaining on her feet even when Barbara moves to sit.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara has a lot of stuff in her penthouse loft that would out her as a nerd. Elektra even walked right past a display case with her original purple and gold costume she wore to the cosplay party she went to as Batgirl, which kicked off her whole life of actually becoming that... that display case also is filled with collectible statues beside video game boxes from limited edition sales. From a Cyberpunk 2077 statue of a girl in scantily clad attire being shot with bullets to a morbid statue of a headless female body with no arms either, pouring blood from it, and large boobs in a British flag tanktop, which came from a Dead Island video game collector's pack from ages ago. But mostly, World of Warcraft and Lord of the Rings statues... yep!

When Elektra takes the drink and asks that question, Babs is seated again, and looks up to grin at her. "College." She answers. "A rebellious daughter of a very stern Police officer father... You get the idea. Alcohol was fun. Sure... I wasn't as wild as some of the other 'kids' my age, but... I am a quick learner." She states with a grin toward the woman.

"I figure even in all your mysterious dealings, you found a way to let loose and get your own fun in here and there. Otherwise? What the heck are we even doing any of this for?" She asks, before taking another sip from the alcoholic lemonade drink.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
There's some curiosity in Elektra's eyes about the various items in display but in the same way she did not figure out the kitchen was modelled after a Fallout game in the same manner she doesn't seem to figure out much about where each item comes from. Unless they do have the actual name of the game there! Not that Barbara gets free of being labelled as a nerd. But that just has Elektra smirk with a touch of amusement.

"We had a very different upbringing..." She comments while still looking over the statues and ..., oh hey, she recognizes Galadriel! Look, not even the assassin skipped reading lord of the rings or seeing the movies. For what would life be worth living for otherwise? "From this life to what you do now. What made you put on the cowl?" she inquires. She does have some curiosity about the altruism she has gotten glimpses from in others, like that infuriating blind lawyer Matt Murdock. "Inspired by your father?"

She finally returns to sit down next to Barbara and lets out a sigh, "When you live the way I do we make sure to live each day as it was the last. There's no other way. Not that I live without a plan but ..., night like these.." she shakes her head slowly. "It just makes us happy to be alive. Wanting to celebrate." dark eyes on Barbara now. "You know what I am talking about, you have had a close brush with death. Probably more than one, but at least one that truly marked you. It makes us appreciate life a lot more. Make us be more bold than we would be in the past.." she takes another sip from her glass and turns a touch on the couch to look at the other woman more fully.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs gently shakes her head side to side. "It wasn't so much the influence of my father as it was the influence of Batman on Gotham culture. I idolized him. Maybe more than I should've. My dad was doing everything he could within the legal boundaries put upon him, while so many others ignored the laws, and did as they pleased. But, Batman? Well, he mesmerized me. He got results, by becoming something the criminals would fear. I wanted to be that too. I dedicated myself to martial arts training, jiu-jitsu and more." She motions to the display area where she has trophies from it all.

She then looks over to the woman beside her again and smirks softly at her. "Kids stuff. But, it set me up for this life. Prepared me for what I'd come in to here. Of course.... not entirely. The Joker paralyzed me when I was still in my teens. But, I found a way through that hardship, because of my life of fighting, believing in myself. Fighting not to let the world around me drag me down with it."

She breathes in then, and raises her drink up for another sip.

"Technology gave me my legs back, put me back in the fight. I am arguably much better with tech than I am at fighting too. So we have to focus on our strengths, right?" She asks, eyeing the other woman with a light smile.

"And you?" She inquires then.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Focus on your strengths?" There's a faint chuckle coming from Elektra's lips, "Depends on who you ask, my old master would say you should beat your weaknesses away until they became strengths. But then again I suppose there was more than one reason why he was called Stick." the way Elektra says that name there seems to be unfinished business between the two. "Me? I think we got to do what makes us stronger. In the same way you turned that hardship in your life into a strength."

"In that we are similar."

Elektra pauses then, considering Barbara when she asks her about her own life. How much does she want to reveal? She finds herself not caring too much on what the other woman knows. "I killed for the first time when I was 13." she begins. Perhaps not the most auspicious of starts, "Self-defense. But it was the beginning of a downward path and involvement in a war that was not my own. In a way I lived most of my life involved in others' wars. My Master first, then the Hand then ..." she shakes her head, trailing off. ".. it all just became an endless cycle of violence. I wish I could say I was strong enough to overcome it all on my own but I'd be lying. It was some of the people around me that showed me I could still do something good from what was left of my life. So .., I am doing that." a faint smile.

"It's not easy to go against a lifetime of aggression and killing though." she lets her head rest against the couch.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The information that Elektra does bestow upon Barbara has her pondering it. The bit about being 13 and having to kill someone to defend herself has the redhead showing a clear frown at the thought of it. Once it's said and done, she looks toward the television screen again which is now on a stand-by mode and showing off the full rundown of security systems throughout the tower itself. A schematic of the tower, with security check points pinging in their latest information, and camera feeds showing various points around the perimeter.

"I'm glad you made it through that." She comes to say softly then, looking to her left to the woman resting there. "I can tell you got claws, so to speak, I've met a number of Gothamites who have come through such hard times in similar ways..." Catwoman anyone? "But, you're here, and even if you're wrapped up in arguably the weirdest thing I've heard about this year, or the past several years... you seem to have good intentions with it." She flashes a smile then.

After another drink, she lowers her glass. "The Hand...." Babs says. "Do you know Colleen Wing? I ran across her ... embroiled in a bit of chaos with some of their people recently."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"I am not entirely sure I made it through. Or that I am fully free of it's influence. As I said, hard to go against our nature." Elektra muses, draining the rest of the pink vodka in one go and putting the glass aside. "But if you believe I have good intentions then that's good enough for me." Not that Elektra actually says she has good intentions about it all. But hey!

Mentioning Colleen has her first smiling a bit more deeply than what is her more reserved expression, or maybe it's the whiskey and the vodka starting to affect her. "Do you recall that fully white hoodie I brought to the fight club? With the Dragon on the back? That's hers. Not that I told her I took it but that's details.." Her shoulders rising in a shrug. "You mentioned trouble?" and she furrows her brows then. "What kind of trouble? If I know her she's been following leads on one of our old enemies in the Hand."

She lets out a sigh, "She does have a penchant of getting herself in a lot more trouble than she can chew on her own."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
A nod is given to the question about the hoodie, and then a quiet 'Ah' at the realization. Barbara draws in a light breath then and considers how to explain it.

"Well... she was setting a Hand warehouse on fire... I arrived to make sure it was... contained, as much as it could be, along with a friend. We spoke with Colleen for a bit. She's on our roster here in fact, but has been out of action since a fire at her own facility..."

Barbara smirks faintly then. "Seems she might be adept at getting herself in to trouble more than either of us combined. At least she has made it through, so far...."

Barbara raises a hand up then after Elektra sets her glass aside, she pushes her fingers through her messy red hair. "I should get cleaned up. The fighting tonight was just about as messy as it can get out there." She says with a grumble before sipping a bit more of her drink and leaning forward to set her glass down on the table. Her eyes go back over to Elektra.

"You want me to set you up with a place here tonight? All the free booze you can handle, and a nice comfy bed to flop down in to." She tells the other with a slight grin.