13537/A Very Batfam Christmas

A Very Batfam Christmas
Date of Scene:	17 December 2022
Location:	Grand Hall - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	In the spirit of Christmas, Bruce runs a Nerf hunt through Wayne Manor. Alfred wins. Cassandra ninjas everyone in the end.
Cast of Characters:	Bruce Wayne, Talia al Ghul, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, Dick Grayson, Austin Reese, Alfred Pennyworth

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Bruce Wayne has posed:
Cheery Christmas music pipes through the Grand Hall of Wayne Manor. THe decorations were already in place through the diligent effort of many of the family not so long ago. A few things have changed. Most notably is a large table situated in the middle of the room piled high with objects currently obscured by a tarp overtop. It's one of those nice tarps, fabric, the type one might expect to see covering a car when intending to surprise the recipient. Rich poeple things.

Bruce stands near dressed fairly casual in jogging pants, a long sleeved turtleneck and the grippy shoes one might see on a martial artist. He wasn't entirely Christmas-ed up as he was the last time he was here. If anything he looks as though he may be intending to give mission orders.

Odd given the invitations assured it was a 'casual Christmas gathering'.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
There's an unusual woman present that looks outside of the normal roster. She's got long dark hair tied back behind her head in an elaborate cross-braid. Over on her chin is a ninja styled facemask that looked more like a mistletoe. A paired green and red styled what could best be called 'ribbons' were tied around her body in the form of a corset. A long, flowing bottom of christmas colors with candy canes and cookies going down it and very high heels completed the outfit, and two large metal war fans showing holiday (and murderous) cheer. Maybe Selina got into cosplay?

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara was coming from the kitchen, having garnered herself a glass of wine. Wearing a red dress, with her red hair tied up in a bun on the crown of her head, she's wearing makeup and jewelry. Why so fancy? Well, she had a gala event to go to earlier this evening and had arrived after separating herself from that to make it here on time. Heeled shoes click on the hard floor surfaces, as Babs steps through a doorway and slips in to the room where Bruce is waiting in his 'business casual' attire.

Raising her glass up to her smoky red hued lips, Babs takes a sip from it and walks casually around the perimeter of the room, taking in the decor.

Tim Drake has posed:
    You don't say "casual Christmas gathering" but also "Be prepared" without setting off warning bells in Tim's head. He's here, naturally, but he also spent a couple of sleepless nights trying to figure out what Bruce was up to. Fruitlessly, of course: Tim himself learned from the best about covering his tracks, and that best?

    Was Bruce.

    He's dressed in loose fitting pants and shirt, wearing running shoes. He has a similar moment of surprise as Damian when he spots Talia, though it's mostly contained to a thinning of his lips and a furrow of his brow. Not the camera-stare, though he does check his blind spots for potential League assassins just in case. He's silent as he stands amidst the others who have gathered here today, giving a casual chin-up nod to Babs before he folds his arms over his chest.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian's 'at home' attire is much the same as Bruce's...even before he ever knew the man. Though his shoes had differed in that they were casual leather shoes, and definitely not embedded with spring-action knives. Though the black color did bring out the tan in his skin more, he kinda liked that.

  Turning the corner from the main staircase, his bright green eyes flare out in surprise when he sees his mother looking like she stepped out of a video game. "Mother?" Is all he can really ask, before looking to the camera in the corner of the room, very Jim Halpert-esque. Someone somewhere in the mansion is having a laugh. At least Jon wasn't here...no, strike that, Damian definitely wanted Jon to react to that.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
A particularly loud set of rapid, clattering footsteps can be heard coming down the hallway. The gait couldn't be anyone in the family from how close the steps are together. Plus that sound is almost like they were wearing barely padded wooden clogs or something.

The sound grows nearer and then the source runs into the room. A duck. Hazelduck to be specific. He has a little Santa hat strapped onto his head. It doesn't seem to bother him at all as he just runs past everyone, exploring the room. Running to one side. Patter patter patter. Running back to the other side. Patter patter patter.

More human-sounding footsteps come from the hall and Stephanie Brown steps in. She's wearing jeans and a white sweater with a series of snowflake patterns in grey between two bands of grey decoration. She's also wearing a Santa hat. And carrying a box that has been decked out like a duck's dream idea of a tiny condo. But portable. "Hazelduck! Don't run off like that!" she says, hurrying into the room and looking about to spot the duck. As it hears her voice, it turns and patters over to her where Stephanie picks the duck up. "Merry Christmas everyone," she says.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass isn't.

What isn't? She isn't worried, dressed up, or armed to the teeth. She's dressed, but it's black yoga pants and a midriff-baring shirt with short sleeves. She has on some headphones, listening to something that has her swaying a bit and her toes move in some ballet motion, if subtly.

She leans in to put a kiss on Steph's cheek, her eyes wandering about the room. When she sees Talia she frowns lightly but there is apparently a truce for the evening. Hints of Loreena Mckennit drift from her earbuds, but she never really used her ears to do conversation anyway.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick took the invitation at face value, wearing a polo shirt, khakis and running shoes. There is one Christmasy element to tonight's clothing however... Instead of the little polo player on the left side of the chest he's got a little Santa with sack of toys. Following Steph (and the duck) in, he gives a little wave to those assembled. "Hi guys, Merry couple weeks til Christmas."

    He watches Steph's antics with the duck and shakes his head, murmering to her "You know he would have been fine at home right? Damian didn't bring any of his menagerie with him, after all." He does't look upset or even bothered by it, just faintly amused by that fact that a duck has become one of the central facts of his home life.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin had been upstairs most of the day, clearly doing something in his room. What that would be is anyone's guess. Though when he does finally come downstairs, he's wearing one of those blinking christmas light necklaces that is bouncing back and forth between different light colors. Outside of that, he's wearing a loose pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt.

Resting on his left shoulder is Dorito, who is currently sprawled out and seemingly enjoying having a free ride. The cat mews faintly as they join up with the gathered folks. When he hears mother from Damian he turns his head to glance towards Talia, tilting his head faintly.

He supposes Bruce must have had that talk with her.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
With the arrival of most every one Bruce allows himself a smile. It's small but there. It was good to see every one for the holidays whether they be dressed festively or not. Perhaps in deference to the festive spirit of some he reaches out to the table covered with the sheet to pull out a Santa hat. While every one is showing surprise over Talia being there it's tugged on with a little jingle of a bell dangling off the end.

"Welcome every one. You all look well. I thought it would be-" Words that rarely come from him earn another smile. "Fun to do some thing a bit different this year for festivities."

Again Bruce reaches out for the table. This time he grasps the sheet-

And promptly loses his trail of thought at Hazel Duck flop-flapping through. Eyebrows rise in amusement. He knew of the duck naturally. Expecting it was another matter.

Regaining his composure he tugs the sheet off the table with a flourish to display all that was on it. A colorful collection of plastic weaponry is piled high. Mixes of pistols, bows, shotguns, and more. The sort of weaponry he would never allow any of his family to use. If it were real. These are all Nerf or off brand that still used the same poly-foam ammo. A vast arsenal of toys is put on display.

"No holds barred." He states deadpan. "Your targets tonight are myself, and my assistant." Talia is who he means. "She is a guest here tonight so the usual off limit areas remain off limits. Who ever takes us out wins. You can either work together or in competition with one another."

There's a hint of mischeif to his smile while regarding those that were overly dressed up versus those who clued in to this being more than it seemed. "The hunt begins now."

A small shift of his weight cracks the smoke pellet beneath his foot leaving his position encased in smoke that quickly dissapates revealing he was gone. Let the games begin.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul goes to wink over at Damian and goes to mime blowing him a kiss. Then she goes to take her fingers up to her lips to make a 'shhh' motion in a gentle tease. So much for going about in disguise. But, Talia is highly amused with circumstances no matter what. There's a look of appreciation over on her face, the creases of her smile hidden by the mask but visible enough over. Then as Bruce goes to make his comment she goes to wink over at the crowd and goes to get ready. She hums the first few bars of 'Test Your Might' and then goes to likewise flip down a smoke bomb. She's not nearly as fast or sneaky as Bruce, and she's not wanting to use any sort of gadgets over in the room while there's festivities.. So for her it's just a chase.
    She goes in the opposite direction of Bruce, darting along almost silently. Of course, her stealth skills aren't quite on the level of the others, nor her speed. But it's a game and a competition. And the Daughter of the Demon has no plans to go down easily. Those fans are part of her strategy when it comes to dealing with the nefarious Nerfs.

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred has been around the manor as usual throughout the day, doing his usual Alfred things. Straightening up, setting out sandwiches for lunch, and... well ok he has been doing something that smells like Christmas in the kitchen, but he hasn't brought out the fruits of that labor yet.

He is dressed as he always does about the house. Neat shirt and tie, waistcoat, tailored suit jacket... wait, where's the jacket? He's discarded it. In a "rare" display of casualness, he's got his shirt sleeves rolled back to his elbows, and he strides into the great hall already armed with a ridiculously over the top M60-styled fully automatic nerf foam dart gun.

"Right!" he announces briskly. "Let's do this properly. A real military sweep of the house. I suggest we split up into pairs and each take a floor, or wing. Who's with me?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Finding an arm of a leather sofa chair to perch herself down upon, Babs rests that glass of wine on her lap, held in her right hand. She looks over to all of those who filter in, a smile going to Stephanie and her duck. "Merry Christmas." Barbara replies to her in a soft tone of voice.

She looks at the others, smiling lightly to them before her eyes go between Bruce, Talia, Damian, and then the sheet being pulled off of the arsenal upon the table.

"Oh my..." Babs states at the sight of it. "Well, Alfred will have his hands full cleaning up after this one..."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     As bruce pulls a Chairman Kaga and unveils the secret ingredient, Damian gets to looking at all of the ammo there along with weaponry. Once the smoke settles, Damian gets to the weapons. "Pick something that will not catch the wind easy, and lead your shots. These travel much slower than throwing a batarang." Seems like teamwork was on the menu.

  He takes a shot with some of the pistols, he didn't need a shotgun, he needed something that would fly true. Immediately he took his shoes off, and would be relying on his socks to keep noise down to a minimum. NERF Assassin time.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown slipped an arm around Cassandra for a quick side hug as she received the kiss on her cheek. Stephanie takes off her Santa hat and sticks it on Cassandra's head unless the young Asian woman stops her from doing so, and giving Cass a big grin as she does. Barbara gets another quick hug from her, and a whisper, "You look fabulous!"

As the festivities are getting started, Stephanie sets the box down and puts Hazelduck inside. There's food and water and even a little swimming area in it which she takes the lid off of that kept any water from potentially sloshing about while Stephanie was carrying it.

To Dick, she says, "I figured if Phoebe made it she'd like to see." She turns to listen to Bruce then. As the plans for the night are made more apparent, Stephanie flashes a grin around the room. She pulls off her sweater, revealing a tight black top beneath, the kind of thing she might wear for training down in the Batcave. They were told to come prepared after all.

Moving over to the table, Stephanie eyes the weaponry before selecting a nerf crossbow, and a nerf pistol as a backup which goes into the waistband of her pants in back.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick looks a touch surprised that Bruce is actually.. festive. It's something he hasn't seen in the older man for a while now, and it actually eases a little of the worry he has for his adoptive father. This lasts for only a few seconds before he's lunging for the table, snatching a pistol and rifle. Pistol gets shoved in his waistline, rifle held low while he looks around to see if Bruce left any clue to his direction, even a errant bit of smoke drawn along after him could be a giveaway.

    He looks to Steph and asks, "We going to be a pair, or do you feel like flying solo tonight?" Alfred's entrance makes him smile even wider, "Now Alfred, that's a look that could get people to clean up after themselved more often."

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass looks out from beneath her new santa-hat, looking a bit confused as she fails to entirely grasp the intent of the situation. She pulls out her right earbud, then leans over toward the group and asks, "What happen?" Her english is improving, but this situation is neither combat nor socializing. She apparently didn't entirely 'get' it. Which is clearly why both Bruce and Talia got out of the room in safety.

She sees others grabbing ...well, weapons is an odd term for them, but she peruses the toys for a moment, trying to catch up.

Austin Reese has posed:
As the cover is removed, Austin takes a moment to look over the table, and the full arsenal that's sitting on top of it, "Wow." He whistles faintly to himself, as he looks ove all the options.

He makes his way up to the table, and grabs a pair of pistols and a bow, along with extra ammo, "So do you two have like, health points? Or is it one shot to take you down?" He figures he might as well make sure what the rules will need to be, "Also...Can you guys eliminate us?"

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred shoots an amused smirk Dick's way - and then his eyebrows pop up as he remembers something. "Ah yes, I forgot the most important detail." He lets the nerf machine gun hang from its shoulder strap as he lifts both hands to his collar. He deftly un-knots his tie, whips it off his neck with a flourish, and then ties it around his forehead as a headband. "There we are," he murmurs, taking up the gun again.

He then does the unthinkable, shifting his jaw a little and declaring in a... eh, passable Stallone, "Live for nothing, or die for something."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The words that Alfred says after tying that tie around his head has Babs releasing a light laugh. "Good lord." She utters in jest in response. "This place is going to devolve in to a true warzone." She adds before raising her glass of wine up for another sip from it.

She watches as guns are grabbed, stowed away in questionable locations, and battle plans are formulated. After a moment, Babs stands up and walks over to the table herself. Though she just eyes the selection that remains... clearly reluctant to jump in to the fray herself...

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The Christmas music is still being piped through whatever speakers had been set up for such. It's from these that Bruce's voice sounds out to answer the questions posed.

"Three body shots or one head shot. We can disarm you."

The simple response is followed afterwards with a bit more information. "The winner or winners will get one free pass to avoid attending a Wayne charity event in the next year. No questions asked." What else do you give as a gift to those who have everything?

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Sure thing," Stephanie tells Dick when he speaks of them pairing up. "And other than Alfred and Bruce you probably know the mansion the best of everyone, so hopefully that'll give us an edge," she says.

Stephanie turns to Cassandra. "Training exercise," she says simply enough. "Bruce and Talia are the targets," she says, motioning to where the smoke is dissipating. "And these are our weapons," she says, gesturing to the table and then giving Cass that same grin she might give Cass before they tumble on the training floor of the Batcave.

Her nerf crossbow is cocked and she gets a few extra rounds of ammo for it, and a clip for the nerf gun. She turns back to Dick. "Shall we?"

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Taking the time to get ahead and some room, Talia goes to grin behind her mask, "Then come, let's play." She moves to snap the fans over in front of her. They're heavy metal war fans, weighted and with razor sharp ends. Ordinarily they could block bullets if the defender was braced. Against nerf guns they would hopefully be effective..
    And it would make ehr get nerfed..
    Or nothing.

Tim Drake has posed:
    It takes Tim long enough to process this whole thing that he's one of the last to make it up to the table to select his weaponry. "Oh," he says as he takes up one that feeds down from the top, where a container of pellets is connected. "I had one like this when I was a kid!" he says with a faint smile, eyes narrowing in delight.

    And then he promptly takes aim and fires, his Nerf auto blaster letting out a stream of... what are we calling these? Not Nerf balls, please. Let's go with ammo. It lets out a stream of ammo that sweeps towards Dick, Stephanie, and maybe clipping Damian too. Then he too produces a smoke pellet (having come prepared with a modified undercover utility belt underneath his clothes) and disappears. "Losers have to run Patrol on the Knights games evenings next year!" he calls out as he scampers away.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dick nods and heads for one of the doorways out, then throws himself into a roll to avoid Tim's itchy trigger finger. Coming back to his feet he continues out the door, confident that Steph will have his back.

    The duck, not so much.

    He leads Steph through a dining room, then through a room which would probably be best categorized as a parlor, then into a hallway. He keeps the rifle in a high port position as they scan the rooms they move through. He's hunting for Bruce today, wanting to see how he stacks up against the man who taught him almost everything he knows about this kind of thing.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     A distinct and crisp >tt< rings out from Damian as he grabs a rifle and shoulders it as he stands in front of Alfred. "Drake is a deserter, I will fight by your side." Yep, he's going there. But if any of the batclan knew just what a resourse Alfred was, it was Damian.

  "Shall we?"

Cassandra Cain has posed:
What is Cass doing? She smiles at Steph, but this is clearly not a training exercise. So she bends over, then pets the duck. She's holding a nerf boomerang, not looking exactly as if she's competing. Yet.

Then she stands up, having gotten down, and turns and walks toward the kitchen. Where she's going to steal something to nosh on.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin finishes prepping as he listens to the last few rules from Bruce, nodding in response to that grand prize. He hadn't attended any of them yet. This would be a good chance to continue his streak, "Ready to go." He doesn't think he needs a partner, he just needs to pick his target carefully.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs tucks a NERF Bazooka under her arm, raises her glass of wine up to her lips to finish it off, and then turns back to walk toward the kitchen herself. She pauses, adjusts the Bazooka and peers inside its forward facing nozzel. "Hmmm.... a pool noodle. Who even comes up with this stuff."

Arriving in the kitchen just behind Cass, Barbara sets the giant plastic cylinder down upon the marble countertop. She goes to refill her wine glass. "How are you doing, Cassandra?" She asks as she grabs the bottle she'd opened up a few minutes earlier.

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
Alfred returns Damian's gaze with a crisp nod. "Excellent. As the ground floor appears to be well-attended, we'll start upstairs. I presume personal rooms are off-limits, but there are still plenty of guest room doors waiting to be kicked in. I suggest you take point. I'll cover you." He takes one hand off his gun to gesture at the staircase with an inviting wave.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The route that Dick takes starts to lead him true to target. There were many doors that led through the parlor however and Tims' rogue path was leading him to the same place.

Bruce isn't necessarily making it easy as all the lights have been cut in the room so only the lights in the hall are bringing any illumination into the area. Shadows abound from furniture, lamps, book cases and that oddly shaped coat rack in the corner where there never was a coat rack before.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin moves as soon as everything starts, making his way towards the upstairs. He stalks down a hallway, stopping for a moment or two in order to try to track if Bruce had left any kind of trail.

He knows that Bruce would only leave a trail if he intended to, at least that's where his brain goes in the back of his head. He looks down at the cat on his shoulder, "You know if you were a dog I could use you to track him." He says to the cat, who mews back at him in response, "Don't look at me like that. C'mon, lets check back down in the kitchen."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Having some room to get herself ahead and defensive, Talia is more than happy to let the Bat-group go after Bruce. This is all funa nd games.. But she's the type who alsoe njoys playing bcak. So.. Given she seems to not be immediately targeted, she's moving to try and double back to head over towards the kitchen where all of the weapons were left out.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Ditching the shoes had been a good idea, and somewhere along the way as Tim has fled, he'd managed to kick his off. Which is how he's able to slide across the floor, hand latching onto a door handle that he pulls open. It leads into the same room Dick has just entered, just from the opposite side.

    And because Tim's whole game plan is apparently to act unlike himself to make it harder to predict what he's going to do, he doesn't even try to scope out precisely where Bruce is. He just starts blastin'!

    Nerf bullets ping-pong off of walls, ricocheting off of surfaces to fill the air with ammunition. He's not too worried about Dick taking a hit, because... well. It's Dick. But he's hoping that Bruce will be caught at least, like... let's say 25% unawares? Yeah. That's probably enough for Tim's wild spray to land a hit, he estimates.

    Don't worry, Alfred. Tim isn't deliberately aiming at any vases or expensive decor, assuming all that hasn't been tucked away for the occasion.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Dark isn't that much of a problem for people who routinely spend their nights on rooftops and abandoned buildings, so Dick isn't just looking. He's listening, even sniffing out any clues. It's handy that he knows the manor inside and out, he doesn't even have to think about where he's heading. Rooms get checked and cleared, and then they move on.

    The latest room seens to be like most of the others, but something seems out of place to him. Since this is all for fun anyway, he pops off a couple shots into the supposed coat rack, since most of those are kept near the front door to actually hang coats on.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown moves along behind Dick, letting him lead the way as she watches their back. She wore good shoes for sneaking about, having been told to come prepared. She puts her back to the wall in the hallway to cover them as Dick handles the doorway and peers into the room.

The sound of the shots going off doesn't pull her attention away though. She keeps an eye out for whichever of the pair that isn't being shot at right now to come jumping out at them.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Babs coming into the kitchen finds...where is Cass? The window is open, the night wind coming in through there. She's scarpered! The little minx!

She's looking in the window at Talia, eyes narrowed. Taking this much too seriously, she clearly was leading folks into thinking that she was out of the running. Also she didn't want to have to compete with Alfred.

He's too good, she'd have already lost. Taking aim on the target, watching Babs. Dangit, she's too close.

Austin's sudden assault also? She watches Talia carefully, to see which way she'll leap. Then she throws, aiming for that path. Sneak attack.

Austin Reese has posed:
Only a moment or two after Talia enters the kitchen, Austin bursts in through a second door, spotting her across the kitchen. He didn't exactly make the most subtle of entrances, so he starts firing at her right away, darts flying across the kitchen.

Austin then dives onto a serving cart that was oddly conveniently nearby, riding it along the open path through the kitchen as he continues to empty the nerf magazine darts in Talia's general direction. It's straight out of an action movie, and something he's always wanted to do.

The cart does reach the end of it's possible path, crashing into a counter top as Austin goes rolling off of it, over the counter and onto the tile on the other side. He uses this as a chance to reload.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs is at the counter that Austin rolls on to, and falls off of. She raises her wine glass up in the air to keep the kid from rolling over it. When he lands on the floor, she just looks down at him and smirks.

Picking up the NERF Bazooka, Babs aims it down at him and fires it, sending a huge blue pool noodle slamming right in to him!

"TAke that."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As the flung thing from Cassandra goes at her, Talia Al Ghul goes to snap her fans at it, going to knock it. Grinning and wagging her fan. "I expected more. You'll have to get your own hot chocolate marshmellows tonight." THE HORROR.
    The flung thing from Austin nearly tags her, and hse's clearly on the backfoot from having engaged it. So the next attack on her might actually get her as she would pinwheel!

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The suspcious coatrack rocks under the assault of Dicks' attack. Rocks, and thumps into the wall. It was just another standing lamp that someone had thrown a lap blanket over to make it look like something else in the darkness.

Bruce peels away from his spot in the shadow of a bookcase to exit through the door that Tim had launched himself through. If not for the erratic attack he might have gotten away unscathed. A single errant Nerf pellet bounces off his shoulder earning a begrudging grunt of, "One, Tim."

It's said just as he ducks behind Tim and out the door he'd just come through. As soon as he clears the doorframe his arm shoots up to fire off a grapple hook that launches him into the air up to the second floor.

No one said he wasn't bringing tools.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Since his attack was a little more precise than Tim's, Dick gets to see and hear his darts hit the target, and it isn't Bruce. He then instinctively dodges some of Tim's barrage, taking a couple hits. Fortunately, there were no rules covering the hunters getting shot, so he charges across the room and out that door, looking up. The grapple ascender makes a small, but noticable noise when in use, so he's got a clue to Bruce's direction.

    He, however, did not pack tools, so hurriedly says "This way!" to Stephanie and runs for the nearest stairway up to the second floor.

Austin Reese has posed:
The thump from that pool noodle slamming into Austin's torso makes a pretty solid sound. He finds himself laying there looking up at Babs, "Ow." He says, clearly not actually hurt. He does fire one dart back at Babs in reply though, before he gets back up to his feet, "That only counts as one hit!" He defends, as he gets back up and looks for where Talia may have vanished to. If he can spot her, this time he's going to pull out his bow and actually aim for a headshot.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The blond coed peeks into the room, alternating between looking there and watching the hallway. She sees Dick's motion towards her and heading for the other door. The floor is littered with the spongy remnants of the fight. Clearly it was hell in there, the kind of fighting that can lead to psychological problems. Thankfully she and Dick already have PTSD. A Phoebe Transferred Super Duck.

She follows along behind Dick, slowing only as she is pacing Tim lying there where he's been shooting all the nerf pellets from. She gives him a smile and up-nod. Then shoots him in the forehead with her crossbow. "Just putting you out of your misery," she says as she hurries off to join Dick, cocking the crossbow and inserting another nerf arrow.

Tim Drake has posed:
    A quiet hiss of "Yessssssss," sees Dick out the door, because Tim is still crouched there on the ground fistpumping. Calculations correct! He has to pause to refill the canister feeding ammo into his Nerf gun, however, which means digging around in the pockets of his sweats.

    Don't ask when he snagged more Nerf pellets, okay?

    He's about to push himself to his feet when Steph skirts by him, and he looks up just in time for -- THUNK! -- right in the forehead. "Boom, headshot," is the only thing Tim can muster to say. Sadly. It's the saddest boom, headshot to have ever happened.

    But he's out the door and following a moment later!

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As the darts fly forth, and Barbara and Austin are distracted with one another, Talia goes to scramble out of the way. Then she eyes what is obviously the equivalent of shrapnel by weapon standards.. Namely a large bag of packing peanuts. She moves to yank the bag, and tears it open, and goes to throw it through the air over at Austin and Barbara!

If anything could have Alfred go on a rampage, this level of mess might.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cassandra Cain isn't there. She vanished from the window the instant she'd thrown. As usual, she's doing it her own way.

Oh, and Damian will be found tied up in his room, violently angry, after the event.

Yes, I did.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara is hit in the head with the foam projectile from Austin's weapon. The suction tip latches on to her forehead, and she just leaves it there. She's leaning against the counter, her eyes down on her phone, and her left hand holding her glass of wine. When the foam peanuts start to rain down upon her, Barbara doesn't look up... she just covers her wine glass with her hand, and keeps her eyes upon her phone.

Her right hand tap tap taps the screen, sending a message to someone, as she's covered in packing peanuts now, with a nerf dart still attached to her forehead.

Her glass is raised up to her lips for another sip...

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Up the landing Bruce goes in one quick zipline ride. It would be a lot of cleaning up later of course. For now he abandons the grapple line as he launches himself down the hall ducking and weaving down the corridor into some side rooms. All so that he doesn't make himself an open target while he moves. Somehow he manages to move without loud foot falls to lead someone in his direction.

The hat he had adorned himself with is tugged off to throw in the opposite direction trying to lead those on his tail in the wrong direction. They might just figure that out of course so he doesn't stop moving.

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
After clearing the upper landing and guest rooms for any potential hiding ninjas, Alfred and Damian part ways to cover more ground. Alfred is just standing at the top of the stairs for a moment, head tilted to identify the various noises of chaos from the kitchen, and thinking with an inward sigh that he's going to have to take someone to task later for suggesting this ridiculous activity.

But then Bruce grapples up to the second floor. He's off across the open space from where Alfred is stood, but that doesn't stop the butler from barking out a sharp, "Oi! I can see you, you cheeky brat!" and letting fly with the full-auto mode on his nerf weapon. Little foam darts spray in a wave in Bruce's direction, not very accurate perhaps but who needs accuracy when you can fire so many rounds at once?

Following up the offensive volley, Alfred sprints across the upper landing to catch up to the quarry as he stuffs another preloaded dart magazine into the toy.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Charging up the stairs, he hears Alfred tell and fire off a spray of darts, so it seems like Bruce stayed with the second floor for now. Getting to the top of the stairs he spots Alfred and calls out, "Which way?" If Alfred decides not to rat out his employer, Dick will simply go in the direction that has the most darts lying around as he knows Alfred is actually quite a good shot.

    "Steph, you check doors on the right, I'll take the left." he says as they step into the indicated hall. Methodical might work if Bruce has gone to ground. If not, the billionaire is gaining a precious lead. Still, it's a matter of actually checking, or just running about and hoping to get lucky.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown moves up the hall, checking behind them as much as she's looking ahead. She gives Dick a silent nod and moves over to the first door. She pulls something from a pocket and then opens it reaches around the corner to shine a very bright LED flashlight into the room a second before she looks in, trying to take advantage of any dazzling by the light to spot Bruce and shoot before he can spot her.

She proceeds forward, one room at a time like this, that crossbow held at the ready in her best Huntress impersonation.

Austin Reese has posed:
Austin finds himself burried under packing peanuts. At least part of him is still visible under there, as he looks up at Babs, "Yeah I think I'll go with your plan." He says, before he lays his head back down into the peanuts.

He's actually pretty happy he even got close to getting at his target. Plus he hit Babs, though she didn't really put up much of a fight.

Tim Drake has posed:
    The muffled sound of Tim's footfalls rings out from behind Steph and Dick. He skids to a stop by their side, not immediately raising his Nerf weapon towards them, and instead he skims a look back and forth. Before he lifts a free hand to point. "Hat!" is all he calls out, before "Thataway!"

    And then he takes a silent, stealthy backstep, headed in the opposite direction as he's senses the fake-out.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
More targets for Cassandra to take down. Talia goes to call out, "Your disciples seem to not be participating with appropriate vigor. There should be incentives or reprecussions.." That's more her own style. She glances down at the downed Bat-Kids, then looks over.. "Are those fresh?" Over at the muffins.

Any further attempts at nerfing it up are for now forgotten in the face of snacks.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
When Tim passes near a window though, something happens. One by one, people seem to be vanishing, and Tim is the next to go. Hands reach through the window, and then another person just...isn't there.

The team might not be used to being hunted while hunting, but Steph did say that this was training. If you're not going to make it challenging then Cass will.

Nobody was hurt, but there are less people on the hunt now. or are there.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Betrayal of the highest order. Bruce knew how skilled Alfred was with weaponry. Even if it was Nerf it was hard to get away from the butler. In fact he doesn't. One smacks into his shoulder as he dives through a door seeking escape from the barrage of weaponry. Of course Alfred went with the automatic speed loader version of the toy.

A mental count of how many hits he's taken is run over. One by Tim, one by Alfred- The mental calculation ceases when another dart falls from the collar of his turtleneck where it had hit, been cushioned and trapped, then fallen.

Bruce stops to catch it as it falls staring down at the dart with a look of quiet bemusement.

Over the speakers his voice comes.

"Tim one, Alfred two. I'm out. Congratulations."

Alfred Pennyworth has posed:
"He went this way!" Alfred did indeed call back to Dick and Steph as they came charging up the steps. He appears in the doorway that Bruce ducked into, just as the latter broadcasts his concession. But... he just reloaded. That's a shame. Not wanting the darts to go to waste, he unloads the full clip on his employer with a mostly deadpan expression - although he's not entirely successful there, as amusement tugs at the corners of his mouth.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Up from her stool in the kitchen, covered in packing peanuts, Babs swigs the wine again as she starts walking back toward the dining hall, her heels clicking on the floor with every step, and packing peanuts trailing behind her as she goes.

Her free hand goes up to her forehead and she pops the dart off of it with a suction-y popping noise. She glances at the dart, and then tosses it over her shoulder.

"Are we going to eat the duck, or what?" She calls out, not sure what the status of the game is.

It's possible she's had a bit much of the wine!

Dick Grayson has posed:
    At Bruce's announcement, Dick lets the rifle down into a carry position and looks at Steph across the hall. "Well, we almost got a shot at him. Trust Alfred to be the one to finish him off. I wonder where Tim will end up, I don't know how much of this part of the manor he's familiar with."

    "Let's head back downstairs, we can raid the refreshments and spend a little time with whatever members of the family haven't vanished from the face of the earth."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Having not been officially deemed incapacitated, Talia Al Ghul is not particularly minding of those that have not taken upon to the training session with fervor. They'll be the ones that have to attend all thsoe gala charity events. And all the more prey for Cassandra. The girl is definitely a marvel.
    Just the same as her mother. Whom would probably be both proud and disappointed should she see the state of affairs.
    This is ruminated on as a muffin is finished. "Any particular vintage you would recommend?" She would inquire to Barbara in Arabic.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
That's when the lights flicker. There's something going on, something odd. Something ominous. Some have already vanished. But that flickering - the Wayne Mansion does not have power outages.

What?

The lights flicker, then...then it goes dark. And then?

Muahaha.

You feel hands reaching around you, and then.

Silence.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce Wayne turns to face Alfred head on as he gets gunned down. Even as Alfred smiles, so does he in turn. "Ow." The response is deadpan, almost emotionless, in spite of his smile. If anyone was going to treat him like that and get away with it, it was Alfred. "We should go join the others."

At least until the lights go off. It doesn't take long for him to realize with a sigh.

"Cassandra."