13178/4:10 to Gotham

4:10 to Gotham
Date of Scene:	25 October 2022
Location:	NYC to Gotham
Synopsis:	Colleen and Elektra race from New York City to Gotham. Exit pursued by Ninjas. They make it to the Clocktower, but the battle isn't over yet... (Continued in +scene 13257)
Cast of Characters:	Colleen Wing, Elektra Natchios, Barbara Gordon

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Colleen Wing has posed:
Elektra lay across the backseat of the car. There wasn't much time to get away from Josie's bar before the cops arrived. It was a crime scene after all and none of the Defenders want to get caught up in that mess. Besides which, even though they all know who delivered the killing blow, they all contributed to the death of Black Sky. Whoever he really was.

Odds are Armor will dust it under the carpet once they detect the ZZGU vibrations in his cells. When it comes to interlopers there's not much love on Earth after the doppelganger killing spree. Colleen didn't even bother to stop at the dojo to get a change of clothes. She has her sword on the passenger seat and she is trying to drive like a normal person. A normal person whose car has a broken drivers side window.

Half way to the Hyperloop Colleen spots them - two people on motorbikes trailing them. "Hold on Elektra -" but how do you guess what's happening to your friend when an evil dragon spirit enters their body in the heat of battle. First things first though - they have to go to ground. She knows just the person to help with that.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
There hadn't been much time for Elektra to consider what had happened either. Specially as she had went unconscious right after. Plagued with memories. Plagued with visions. She saw it all again, when her thoughts were invaded by that extra-terrestrial menace, when she had joined up with Infinity Watch.

How she looked down on all the people she had killed. All those she cared about.

The woman shifts on the backseat, face contorted in the pain but then her eyes snap open and she rises as if waking from the dead. Eyes are wide, hazy. She doesn't know where she is but no one is dead. Or at least Colleen isn't because she is ..., driving?

"Where are we?" she rasps out, still half-lying on the back couch.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen is focused as she casually switches lanes to move in front of a delivery truck. Some shielding against the bikes following them. "On the way to the hyperloop. Welcome back. We're getting out of New York as quickly as possible because..."

The HAND declared war. "Two motorbikes behind us. They're keeping their distance, looking for weakness." She takes the next turn off toward the hyperloop. There's no faster way out of the city. "Can you sit up? can you fight?" Unreasonable questions but Elektra has always been one of the toughest people she knows. Then again, she did just take a dragon to the soul.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Her head is screaming, threatening to explode, the pain of it having Elektra bring one hand to her forehead and she closes her eyes. She listens to the assessment, remembers last night.

The Black Mark.

"You must .., tell June." Elektra pushes herself up to look over the backseat window. She spots the trailing motorbikes. She doesn't answer to those last two questions. She had been fighting all her life. She wouldn't stop now.

"Where are we going that's safer than New York?"

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen swerves past traffic trying to put distance between them and the bikes. They don't seem to be in a rush to catch them. They're clearly following at this point. "Gotham City," she says knowing that might even get a laugh. "I'm part of a .. another team."

"It's run by ... a person. May be a person. Actually it's hard to tell. Anyway, Batgirl is kind of the leader of the group. Sort of. She'll have a place we can hold up until we've got a plan of attack. There's a hyperloop train leaving at 4:10am - we just have to get there in time." Petal to the metal, she speeds up.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
That Colleen says Gotham City is safer has the assassin arch a brow. But then she goes and mentions Batgirl. That gets downright hilarious for ..., probably reasons Colleen may not understand just yet. Though one of her trademark amused smirks appears on Elektra's expression. "Batgirl, is it?" have they met?

At least that seems to get her mind off all that's happened last night. For a few seconds at least. All until the headache returns. "Black Sky is dead. We killed him." she waits a moment for some assurance out of Colleen.

"This should not have happened. He's not even from .., this dimension." It's all still very confusing to her. She looks down at her hands, turning them one way then another. A sharp sound calls her attention. One of the bikes, swerving just a touch closer to see if they are still in front of the truck.

Elektra lashes out, head and half of her body out the window and a moment later a knife is flying. Flying for quite a longer distance than should be normal even for someone like Elektra. It hits the man on the shoulder, making him topple and fall right in the middle of the highway.

"Only one left now." she whispers.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen double takes in the rear view mirror at Elektra's knife throw. "Yes. Batgirl. She's practically a walking mech and just as skilled at fighting as the rest of us." She must have missed something. Perhaps the two have met - not that Batgirl is known for sharing information around. It's kind of the whole bat shtick.

"Yes," she answers the question of Black Sky, "He's dead. But the HAND are only just getting started. They backed off when we killed him. Regrouped. But they're on the move again."

Colleen comes to screeching stop in to the parking at the Hyperloop terminal. She scoops up her sword over her shoulders and moves to the passenger door. Opening it, she offers Elektra a hand just in case she's not nearly as capable as she wants to let on.

"Come on, we don't have much time." The motorbike, the one remaining, stays back a little farther and comes to a stop at the intersection to the hyperloop. It looks like they're talking on a cell phone.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Reaching out Elektra rests one hand on Colleen's shoulder and pushes herself out of the car. She takes a moment to find her balance but after taking in a breath she nods. "I am good.." hand goes up to that wound she got on her shoulder when fighting Black Sky... Why isn't it hurting? The adrenaline?

There isn't much time to inspect it now but she begins moving away, a glance over her shoulder to the biker. "He's going to share where we are going.." but what other option do they have now? She grits her teeth. She hates running, she always faces her troubles head on yet the way she is stumbling lets her know she is in no condition for a real life, no matter how precise that last knife throw was.

Adrenaline again?

Colleen Wing has posed:
It's clear as Colleen begins to move and twist her body that her breathing is laboured. She is limping too. Odds are she has several broken ribs. But they both know what Hand training is like. They've both endured it. You keep on going no matter what. Because the Hand don't fear death, they fear failure.

Colleen makes quick work of the walk in to the station. A swipe of her phone grants two tickets on to the train. She carefully sits down on a chair and rests her sword between her legs. People are filing on. She's nervously watching reflections.

Three men board the train who are holding themselves the way Hand soldiers tend to do. "We've got company," she says even though she's sure Elektra will have already clocked them. There may be more. She taps on her phone in an odd way and a symbol of the Bat appears. She's trying to keep it hidden but it appears Colleen really has been holding out on them. She has a way to directly contact Batgirl and several other people in Gotham apparently.

<<"Wing, 4:10 to Gotham, injured and with ally Elektra, pursued by Hand soldiers. They have declared war on the Defenders">> she quickly writes in to the chat app. Who knows how long it'll take for Batgirl or someone else to see that. If Oracle sees it someone will respond. For now they need to survive this hyperloop trip.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
No assassin worth their salt doesn't make sure to keep their surroundings in check at all times if they want to survive, and Elektra is no exception. She has even been called one of the best in the past. So those three are tagged. Along with the old man lingering a couple of seats behind them. That one looks dangerous.

"You can barely breath right now." She says of Colleen's condition, frowning faintly. Hand rests on one of her leather bracers and she draws a couple more knives. It's enough so that the young woman that was going to seat near them thinks twice and moves along. Yep, they look like a mess right now. Bloodied. Armed.

And if Elektra assessed this correctly this will turn into a bloodbath soon enough.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Ding. The doors shut and the hyperloop begins to move. Colleen rolls her eyes and nods as she clocks the old man next. "Yeah. I noticed. Black Sky did one of Danny's ground punches and knocked me in to the bar really hard," she says with a pained wheeze.

She is taking the time to try and recuperate before the next fight happens. Hyperloop trips are short but even short trips can be deadly. The last time she was on this thing the Hand hijacked the cargo portion of the train in search of their fabled black sky weapon.

"So.. what's the play," she asks as her eyes glance at the fuse box for the lights. She also glances at the emergency break but that probably won't help them as much. "We move before the cabin attendant makes their rounds. Or we wait for them to make their move." Because as injured as she is she's not going to stop -- and why the heck is Elektra doing so well?

Elektra Natchios has posed:
With the train starting to move it means there's no way out. Specially when it gets to those higher speeds. Unless one wants to become roadkill. Or is it trainkill? Something ... It's also when those ninjas begin to move. The three in front and the old man on the back. He folds his newspaper and gets up to his feet to start walking closer.

"We are outnumbered and injured. It means we need to even the odds." And what do ninjas do when outnumbered? Smoke and mirrors, take away their opponents advantages. Like one of their senses.

"Hope you remember your blind fighting lessons, Colleen.." One of the knives flies from her hand, hitting the fuse box and cutting through. It fizzles and the light suddenly turns out on the carriage. Some murmurs from a few passengers but Elektra is already moving, prowling. Closer to those three ninjas.

The emergency lights turn on, sending a dim red light across the hall. The old man has moved closer to Colleen and reveals a sword from under the jacket.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Blinding fight. How could she forget it? between Matt, Danny, and Bakuto she had more than enough training in it. Grandfather never insisted on this kind of nonsense but he didn't live in a world with constant war against the Hand. As the lights go out she moves swiftly and quietly to the next row of seats. The sword stays in scabbard.

She knows her breathing is going to be audible. She's holding her breath for the moment as she listens to their approaching foot steps. Three steps, three more steps; and from the other side, one step, then another.

Colleen lets out a breath and draws in a wheezed suck of air and moves. Her sword scabbard sweeps and blocks a cut of the sword from the old man. Never trust old men with swords - they're whiley and full of deception.

Contact with her scabbard is all she needs to move in and palm strike him in the chest. He pulls back his sword and takes several steps back as his sword slashes through the darkness blindly hitting nothing. Colleen is controlling her distance from him and holding her breath again.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
For Elektra this kind of training has been imposed on her since she was a child. Even with Stick.

'A man can't see, a man can't fight.' - She still remembers Stick's words when she was a kid. Words she thought were extremely amusing due to Stick being a blind man himself. But then that amusement turned into something else when she began putting it to practice. Becoming the killer she is today.

Elektra moves swiftly, like a serpent, limbs feeling way too nimble and powerful for how she should be feeling at the moment. But more surprising is perhaps on how her eyes are adjusting to the dark. So when those emergency lights come up one of the Hand ninjas is already on the ground with a knife to the throat.

Whatever happened to no killing?

The old man grips his sword tighter between fingertips and gets into position. A very familiar position, one of Bakuto's students almost certainly.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen can see what she needs to do. The real question is if she can actually pull it off. Her leg is killing her and her ribs want her to stop breathing. When the emergency lights flash back on she lifts up her sword in scabbard and counter positions herself to him.

A small glance to the side giving him a false suggestion there's something of significance there. But she doubts he got on the train and read the safety procedures like she did the first few times. This hyperloop crosses the Delaware Bay and as such has emergency rafts in case of a watery exit.

She moves. He moves. His sword flashes where she would go if she were going to the left. Instead, she draws her sword and cuts in to the over head luggage compartment above them and stumbles to a stop next to the old man.

He draws his sword around and places it to her neck. "Not so impressive now are you Wing. Bakuto is a fool for rating you so highly..." he practically spits the words with jealousy and anger.

It takes a moment but the emergency life raft expands out of its container and blows open the storage door before blasting in to the cabin and launching itself at Colleen and the old man. The difference, though, is that Colleen ducks.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Ninjas don't read safety procedures. That's known. It's a good thing Colleen is no ninja so she doesn't get absolutely slammered against the wall by that life raft opening up. As for the old man? The window cracks with the impact of him being tossed against it and then he falls to the ground, unconscious.

As for the ninjas that were battling against Elektra? They lie on the ground around her, the Sai still dripping blood. She looks down at them and then over her shoulder at Colleen, for a moment her stare murderous. Almost as if she was ready to leap and strike at Colleen.

And then it's gone...

Elektra gestures for them to put the fallen Hand members into an empty cabin.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen isn't quite sure what she's reading on Elektra's face. Is it blood lust? there's no love lost for those hand soldiers dropped but today they've shed more blood than usual. Colleen grips the side of a chair as she wheezes for breath again, then pushes onward. They have bodies to stash.

As the empty cabin door opens an arrow whips past Colleen's head. Another ninja - this one with a bow. Not as empty as they had thought. He's dressed in a business suit but has a medieval leather quiver hanging from his hip. He's quick too, drawing another arrowing and knocking it.

Colleen just has time to drop to the ground and let the body she was moving fall upon her as a shield. The arrow digs in to the corpse. "Elektra," she says breathily with the weight crushing her already broken ribs. The man draws and nocks arrow.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The call for her name has Elektra react instantly. She runs to that door, leaving the body she was carrying behind and jumps without a single hesitation over Colleen and the body she found cover behind. The ninja's eyes widen briefly at the boldness and he releases the next arrow.

It wheezes by her shoulder as Elektra spins mid-air, through skin and some meat but doesn't stay stuck. What stays stuck a moment later is one of her blades on the man's chest.

"It's safe now."

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen awkwardly tips the body over and gets the weight off of her. She sits up, panting heavily. A nod is given to Elektra as she observes the dead man on the end of her blade. "Thanks," she says and means it. This is getting out of hand. But Gotham should be safer.

The rest of the bodies are removed from sight and Colleen collapses back in to the chair in time for the train to start slowing down at the Gotham station. It's every bit as beautiful a construct as the one in New York. It's weird how you step outside of the brightly lit station in to the gloom that is Gotham.

Colleen doesn't remember the last time she was this beat up. Too much more of this and she's worried she might not make it. She checks her phone again and frowns as she spies exactly what she doesn't want to see outside the hyperloop station. Men in the distance on bikes with helmets down. "Shit," she remarks to Elektra.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Oracle." Babs says from the cockpit of her small Batmobile. "Reroute the Loop traffic from this tunnel. I don't want to get smeared across the walls in here..." She says as she drives the vehicle rapidly around a corner and drops down on to the interior of one of the Hyperloop tunnels.

"I'm already ahead of you, Batgirl." The AI voice responds. "That tunnel has been marked for maintenance..."

"Good..."

Outside the dark armored vehicle roars down the tunnel at tremendous speeds, its heavy tires growling on the pavement as it curves around one of the slowly arching turns within the loop track line...

As the battle weary women find themselves facing down with more enemies, it might seem like they're in a much bigger pickle than they'd like to be, but that moment of possible relief comes when the headlights of the approaching Batmobile fills the tunnel up ahead, along with the roaring engine!

Inside the slim-fit cockpit, Babs activates a target computer, her scanner picking up the life signs of all the enemies ahead...

And a cannon pops up behind the cockpit canopy outside...

"Looks like they've got some fans." The AI says to Babs who is lost in concentration now, her green eyes moving from one display to the next. "Get ready for the drone swarm." Batgirl says with focus taking away all emotion in her voice.

From the cannon atop the Batmobile, one, two, three, four rockets all spew out of its barrels, the smoke trails behind the rockets leaving a hazey wake behind them as they roar ahead in to the tunnel, all slamming in to the floors and walls, where they fill the entire tunnel up with smoke!

And that's when the swarm of Bat-screaching drones start to fly down in to the tunnel from multiple directions! The swarm of drones start buzzing through the air, through the smoke, headed toward the foes here for Elektra and Colleen.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
It had been a looong night fighting Black Sky, or rather getting beat up by it. Then escaping, a train trip. And at all times assailed by the Hand. They were certainly relentless and Elektra knew it well. She had trained many of their operatives after all. Lived among them for years even if not truly belonging. Or did she?

The train doors open and both Colleen and Elektra stagger out. Exhaustion is setting in, their wounds are becoming more felt. Or at least that's how it should be. For Elektra though adrenaline is still coursing hard through her body, propelling her forward. Nevermind that her wounds should had slowed her down a long time ago already. But she had no time to think on that, nor on the rising bloodlust... It was all about surviving.

She parries a blow from an oncoming ninja, kicks another. "We need to get out of here. This way.." she leads them towards the end of the train station. Where more ninjas appear, surrounding them.

"Seems like ..." she pauses at the sound of a familiar vehicle coming close, smirking. "... the cavalry is here."

Cavalry indeed, for soon enough they are free to run towards the Batmobile, or stagger. Both seem to be in poor condition even if Elektra is moving as if she was still fresh as a cucumber, "Batgirl." she says, tapping on the canopy once they reach the batmobile.

"Care to give us a ride?" Wait. Elektra knows Batgirl?

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen can't help but feel she should be keeping up with Elektra. She knows there's always been something special about her; about her level of skill as an assassin. But she still thinks she should be able to keep up. The truth is, having gotten Elektra this far, now it's Colleen who is slowing them down.

Her running limp is obvious, as is the arm wrapped about her torso suggesting broken ribs. Her other hand holds her Katana, dawn. A shiruken is deflected by her and then the darkness envelops them.

Drones. Batgirl. The cavalry has arrived. She moves with Elektra toward the front of the train and then pauses just briefly. "You know Batgirl?," she asks. Elektra's not a Bird of Prey so.. so how do they know each other? "Good timing Batgirl. The Hand declared war on us. The Defenders. We've been fighting for hours."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The drones have a specific target selected in the form of those ninjas within the smoke, and each one is activating its kamakazee protocol. They're dive-bombing the ninjas, and exploding in a shower of pieces, and electrical blasts that should entirely envelope a person, and put them on the ground in a heap of their own limp body parts!

The sounds pop off throughout the tunnel as the two women approach the now stationary Batmobile. IT's engine revs loudly within the cacophony of noises filling the tunnel around the train, and while they approach the vehicle, the cannon atop it starts cycling settings. Loud metallic clacking sounds as it shifts to a new payload, and begins firing electrical blasts in to the tunnel, in to the smoke, at any of the Ninjas that dare try to approach the vehicle within the haze.

The canopy slides forward and the rear seat behind babs is offered. "Get in." She says. "It'll be cramped, figure out who gets whose lap." She says from her forward facing seat within the two-person cockpit of the vehicle.

While they do this, she's moving her left hand around, using the control on her side pannel to operate the turret extended up behind the passenger section.

Once the two women do get inside, the engine of the Batmobile roars to life again, and the canopy will start to glide forward, to lock, and seal shut once more, with the smoke frm outside quickly being filtered out of the interior of the car.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Casting a brief glance over her shoulder Elektra takes stock of their pursuers. Or in this case of the smoke screen that is keeping them safe for the moment. How long it will last? She isn't too sure. But she won't be waiting to find out. The canopy opens and that dark gaze is on Batgirl for a good moment, head dipping just so. A greeting, a thanks, maybe something more.

And then she is gone again, hand on the side of the batmobile and she pushing herself up and into the backseat in one swift motion, "Come on, Colleen." she taps on her legs. Seems like Colleen gets to be on her lap this time.

She is already looking over the controls on the backseat for the support weapons when Colleen comes in, a glance over sensors and weapons devices. It's clear Elektra thinks they aren't out of this yet. "The others did not take kindly to us killing their greatest weapon." she says, "But Black Sky is finally no more at last." she doesn't sound too convinced of that.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen rises up on to the Batmobile and slides down in to Elektra's lap. She's smaller than Elektra not just in height but body build too; and she's more injured. She rests her sword between their legs, sheathed, and lets out a groan of discomfort and pain.

The canopy is closed and she grits her teeth as the vehicle starts to move. "I don't think it was killing Black Sky that got them riled up Elektra. It was probably when I took that photo of Murakami. That we even know his name must have sent shockwaves through their organisation."

Ending Black Sky was just proof to the Hand how dangerous the Defenders were. They could take out their greatest, fabled weapon? this was an all out assault. If it failed tonight then there would be quiet and different tactics would be employed.

The ninjas stop advancing on the batmobile once they figure out the range. The sound of motorbikes revving their engines as they begin a slow pursuit. They don't need to get too close for now. It's what they did when they were following the duo in New York too.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara hears what the two say, but she isn't clued-in on all of this stuff. She knows some of it, but not all of it. Her focus is solely on that of the situation outside of the car, really.

The armored vehicle hits the gas and it rolls UP one of the side walls, at least partially, its left side shooting up to sweep over the wall and past some of the ninja bodies laying on the pavement after being downed by exploding drones.

It comes back down once its cleared the bodies, and Barbara looks up in to a camera screen that shows the two of them behind her. "You two really know how to get yourselves in to some serious shit." She says, her eyes shooting back to the canopy before her...

The HUD on the glass shows the skeletal structure of the station outside, along with the train on the right hand side of the Batmobile. When the train clears, the steering yoke is pulled hard to the right and the Batmobile ends up back on the tunnel tracks. It roars down the tracks now, while Babs looks down to her displays, then back up to the tunnels.

"They're following us." She tells the two of them. "I'll try to lose them in the tunnels, but we can't stay down here much longer."

She does just so, and picks up speed, taking a left hand turn down the tunnel system, following the maintenance route that the Oracle AI had locked in to the Hyperloop systems...

The cannon atop the vehicle is aimed backward now, firing off more smoke blockers, trying to make sight to chase the Batmobile much harder...

"Here we go." Babs says, pulling hard on the yoke again, causing the heavy car to slam up a exit ramp and burst through a locked fence out on to the street beyond, the Oracle AI already calling in the damage to the fence, and sending money to the proper channels to pay for it...

"We're headed back to the Clocktower. I have more drones located there, and ... friends."

Elektra Natchios has posed:
"Will you be a dear and slide the seatbelt on?" This Elektra says to Colleen after making sure the young woman is comfortable enough for them to travel, taking surprisingly good care for her well-being.

And then they are off, blasting left and right and even through a fence. She looks at Batgirl through that mirror and lifts a brow at her at one of her comments. "I seem to remember you getting into some serious shit too, Batgirl." a snort, "It's what we do." then her tone growing softer. "Regardless, it's good to see you here. This has been ...., a day."

It's the longest days ever where it comes to Elektra apparently.

"They are trying to follow us so they can mount an ambush ahead." she warns about the pursuing bikes.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Gotham is used to insane criminals, ones with strange agendas. Usually the showy the better. It's the rarer kind of threat that Gotham isn't used to, ready for. The ones from the shadows that creep up on them. Colleen found only the tip of the iceberg when she burned that building down a month ago.

Murakami's branch of the Hand has always been shrouded in secrecy. Its ninjas often better trained, more stealthy than the rest. Its traditions seeped in the weight of time and its purpose as mysterious as its leader. As if to prove the point - on a building ahead ninjas on the roof top shot a grappling gun up at a police helicopter. A motorised ascender takes the pair up and moments later the helicopter turns and starts to track the Batmobile along the streets too.

Which is why when the Batmobile bursts out of the emergency exit, not one block later a muscle car starts to follow them. On a parallel street two motorbikes flank them. A third joins them as the alleyways between the buildings give flashes of motion beyond. Another car skids out of a side street and on to the road they're on and begins to follow behind the muscle car.

"The Hand is a hornets nest and we rattled their hive. I've never seen them mobilise like this before," Colleen says with laboured breathing. She pulls the seat belt across the pair of them.

In a quieter voice Colleen asks Elektra, "Are you okay?" Because she saw what she saw. All of Danny's talk of dragon spirits were put in to laser like focus in that one moment. It was real. May be all of it is real. Not just Danny and his glowing fist; but the suggestion that the Hand come back from the dead; that dragon souls giving special power are real too.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl doesn't reply to Elektra, because her eyes go over to see that muscle car pull up aggressively on her. She doesn't respond, because she's too busy slamming her car in to that car! Right after Colleen asks that quiet question to Elektra, the well armored Batmobile slams side-long right in to that muscle car, before pulling back off of it and swaying back out in to the street to aggressively push at the motorcycle riders! They're likely much smarter though and will sweep their selves out of the Batmobile's way to try and avoid colliding with the crazy Bat behind the wheel!

"Oracle. Deploy the second wave of drones. We have a helicopter in the sky that doesn't belong to us. Inform GCPD, see if they can get their birds over here to try and scare it off... Let them know that these people are actively hostile though, and might have shooters onboard."

The AI confirms just as the Batmobile takes a hard turn down a left-hand streetway!

The lights along the street all change to benefit the Bats' vehicle, all traffic on the streets ahead being stopped by redlights, as Barbara slams on the gas throttle again, sending the vehicle rumbling down the street, weaving between what few cars are still moving up and down the street here.

Her eyes go up to the rear view displays to see the Hand's riders and drivers....

"Fun friends, you two have...." Babs says in a vaguely Yoda-like way.

Elektra Natchios has posed:
The question about whether she is okay brings a pause out of Elektra. It's a good question to be honest, and she isn't really sure on how to answer. So she does what Elektra does best. A good ol' lie. "I am quite fine." she even offers Colleen a faint smile. "Besides hurting all over." but that's nothing new with Elektra at least. It's the life she chose.

They continue riding through Gotham. Bumping and sliding past other cars. Gaze goes up to the sky and to that pursuing helicopter. "They are doing it too openly. They risk drawing too much attention to themselves." a tsk. "Reid would never sanction this.."

"Anything we can do to help back here? I think I still remember where most things are.." she flips a switch up, a HUD appearing right in front of Colleen's face. She points to the joystick. "Aim with that. It will deliver a good electrical discharge.." she explains to Colleen.

"They are those kind of friends that are really stubborn.." she explains to Babs.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen groans as the vehicles collide. She sucks in a breath and grips the hilt of her sword tighter. "Remember that yacht we attacked? ninjas everywhere? the guy who owned that boat, Murakami? turns out he's the current head of the Hand. We got a letter delivered to us tonight. A vote, 4 in favor, 1 against. Declaration of War. Old school feudal lord stuff."

She looks out the canopy as the ninjas on the bikes swerve away from the Batmobile. Several more bikes join them on the other flank though and more farther back down the street. The sudden left turn loses several of them but they'll be back. Using traffic against them is slowing down cars but not the bikes.

"I think we might need all the birds," she says and pulls out her phone, tapping open the app. The Bat symbol appearing and flashing forward in an animation as it connects in to the Birds network run by Oracle.

<<Oracle, pursued by even more Hand, we need as many allies as you can get at the Clock Tower>> Because that's where Batgirl said they were going. And it's probably a more easily defensible position than on the streets. Phone is down, she takes the joystick in hand and pivots the targeting to one of the ninjas on the bikes. She fires and the bike swerves and collides with a bunch of trash cans.

A mini-van pulls out ahead of them on the street and its door opens. A person clad all in black holding a rocket launcher aims and without hesitation fires at the Batmobile. At that moment Colleen asks, "Who's Reid?" One of the question marks on their plot of the bosses of Hand.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Cycle the settings with the lower left hand gear." Barbara says when she sees Elektra taking over the cannon controls from the AI systems within the vehicle.

"Confirming:" the Oracle AI chimes in. "Priority alert being sent to all Birds of Prey members. The Gotham Police Department is aware of the situation and several Police Cruisers are enroute as well, though they may not be prepared for what is happening here."

"Are any of us?" Babs asks moments before her green eyes catch the van up ahead. She sees the man stepping out, wielding that RPG launcher, and firing it...

For a moment, Babs considers tanking the rocket. She thinks the Batmobile could take it... but it would likely stop them here, several blocks away from the clocktower... So she has to dodge it.

At least this city street is mostly unoccupied failed tech startups...

The Batmobile swerves to the right then, slamming in to, and over, some empty newspaper dispensors that have been turned in to recycling bins... it completely shreds the metal boxes to avoid the RPG that will scream right past them...

"Hit the van back." Babs dryly says to her cannon turret gunners behind her while the vehicle roars around behind the Van that fired that missile!

Elektra Natchios has posed:
Cycle, cycle, cycle.

Elektra slides over the controls just as they swerve and dodge that missile. Ninjas with RPGs. Stick would get an aneurysm if he heard of this. It's perhaps a good thing he is blind so he will never have to see it. But being the purist he is ..., well. It amuses Elektra in a weird way so even as they are dancing with death there's a touch of a smirk to her lips. Maybe she's getting crazied. Or maybe she isn't really fine.

Whatever may be happening with Elektra though it doesn't seem to have hampered her ability to point and shoot. She turns the crosshairs towards the van that just tried to murderize them and shoots. A volley of turret shots peppers the van from top to bottom, tires literally exploding and the van being sent on a toppling disaster down the street. It doesn't explode at least so the ninjas within are probably 'ok'. Even if most likely unconscious, and hurt.

"I can tell you about Reid later." Or maybe never. Elektra has that habit of saying she will talk of things later on but then she never picks up the subject again.

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen groans as they bump and grind over those newspaper stands. Far better than being hit by an RPG though. The grenade hits the road and explodes in fire and flame. A manhole covers shoots up in to the sky from the sudden and unexpected pressure.

The ninja with the rocket launcher reaches back for another grenade and just barely misses having the van electrify. He rolls out of the way as the Batmobile shoots past them. The driver of the van slumps forward and its engine cuts off.

Several more of the bikes rejoin their tale and a new vehicle slides in from the right. The clocktower is not far now as Colleen swivels the canon around and starts taking shots at the ninjas. Sword is her thing but she learnt how to aim - knives and darts mostly. Guns are somewhat easier when they're computer aided and stabilised.

Colleen knows it too, what Elektra is thinking. The Hand are burning assets for this war. It's an expensive war and that means the others back in New York are probably being hunted too. If they win today Murakami will have overplayed his hand. Pun intended. As for Reid... "I'll hold you to that."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"Short cut!" Babs announces as she yanks on the steering yoke and sends the Batmobile through a set of construction road signs! They break apart in to a hundred pieces as the heavy vehicle bounds up on to the sidewalk and then right up on to a set of concrete stairs that leads up to an unused stretch of park. The park is being remodeled by a new company that has purchased the skyrise building that is just off to the south of this little plaza area that the Batmobile is now racing across!

"Well." Barbara says as she drives, keeping her green eyes locked forward at the HUD showing her precisely the helpful information she needs to make all of this crazy driving a little easier. "I'm glad you two brought another War to Gotham. We didn't have enough of them, you know?" She chides the two ladies behind her seat within the cockpit. "Nice shooting too." She adds.

Right through a cement half-wall the Batmobile bursts through! Taking to the air now, the armored speedster-car shoots through the sky and slams down a 15 foot drop in to a pool of water with a massive splash of fountain-water in all directions!

Now, spewing the water up in a tall wake of white wash, the vehicle bursts out the side wall of the same fountain and the water rushes out across the little commercial plaza. "That'll be fun to reimburse for..." Batgirl mutters while the Batmobile sheds water, and jets out on to the city street leading down to the clocktower...

It looms, right ahead...

'Home sweet home.'

Colleen Wing has posed:
Colleen has never been in such a violent vehicle before. Batgirl is a legend in her mind and she doesn't disappoint when the cards are on the table. Still, broken ribs and so much jerking about even with internal stabilisers and shock resistance hurts a whole heap and Colleen draws in a rasping breath in Elektra's lap.

As the trio make it in to the Clocktower, the police helicopter pauses in the air. Bikes and vehicles begin to pull up near the building and stepping out from them, the army that is conducting this war.

Ninjas of the Hand. Lots of them. They are geared up and ready to fight. Something about them seems particularly motivated tonight, here, in Gotham. May be it's not just that declaration of war after all. May be it has something to do with ... Black Sky.

TO BE CONTINUED > > >