14575/Prison is a Riot

Prison is a Riot
Date of Scene:	07 April 2023
Location:	Blackgate Penitentiary Ward
Synopsis:	HIVE puts a bounty on Jinx's head and the prison turns in to a riot trying to claim it. Titan's show up thanks to portals. Jinx almost dies regardless but Dick swoops in with the medical save and the paperwork to get her out of the slammer. There is one clause that has Jinx concerned though.
Cast of Characters:	Jinx, Donna Troy, Harley Quinn, Emiko Queen, Dick Grayson

---

Jinx has posed:
The tension is palpable in the prison. They all know what's coming. There's a guaranteed 'get out of jail free' card on they able and $20,000,000 to boot. Whoever started the rumour is betting their life if they can't pay up. But these rumours are honour amongst murderers. And everybody wants a piece of this.

Jinx has been counting down the hours. It's hard to sleep when you know either you're about to be assassinated or you're about to be transferred to the Raft. The only way off the Raft, in the past, has been with H.I.V.E.'s help and it's HIVE that wants Jinx dead. Odds are they can get to her in the Raft too but it'll be a lot more expensive for them. Here they have willing soldiers able and ready.

Her fingers thumb over the little ceramic owl hanging from about her neck that Donna gave her. It's been a strange set of memories about Donna - that look of pure rage on her fast with fist drawn back ready to pummel her - that odd moment of support 'good job Jinx' - and then turning up to check on her in prison. She's not the only one either.

In Jinx's life she's never had 'support'.. not the kind of friends who break _in_ to prison disguised as psychologists just to deliver cake and a Thelma and Louise style escape plan. She's always been alone even in a team. It feels foolish to bank on the Titan's to help her but she is taking humbridge in the wisdom of Athena whom the owl represents.

Wisdom and Warfare. Handicrafts can wait for another time. The cell doors open. All of them. Some of the guards are definitely on the take. She puts plan to action. If you mosy on out like a Hollywood star you'll get over run and shanked in moments. Jinx does the opposite, she grabs her pillow and rushes out picking a direction, any direction, as the one-shot jail battle begins. Offense is the best Defense.

Donna Troy has posed:
    The 'good luck charm' as Donna had described the owl is both exactly what it seems and quite a bit more. There's no clever technology hidden inside it. Nor is there any enchantment on it. Such things might be detectable. What cannot be detected by any prison authorities is that the owl is a magical /focus/, an object not inherently magical in itself but that is the focus of external magics. Before it was handed over to Jinx, it was the focus of a spell that concentrated on the owl's place in the world. A spell that reports back on where it is.

    Since it was handed to her, Jinx' owl amulet has not moved a whole lot. Mostly it has remained in Jinx' cell. At regular intervals it has moved at a calm walking pace as Jinx has moved, or been moved, around the jail. This fact has been observed in Titans Tower, where a small mote of light has been hovering above a floorplan of the prison laid out on a table, monitored constantly by the tower's VI. The expectation is that something would happen, probably today, but potentially at any time. Care has been taken to ensure a constant rota whereby at least a few Titans would be available at a moment's notice, and either Vorpal or Raven would be on hand to provide transportation.

    When the cell doors open and Jinx makes a run for it, the owl pendant around her neck goes with her. It's not an expected motion. It's not at calm pace. Alarms go off in the tower, and everyone on the current duty roster has their T-Com pinged with warning to get ready to move in moments.

    Barely a minute after Jinx starts moving, a tiny hole appears in the air a dozen feet from Jinx' cell door, and an eye is briefly visible through it. The hole closes up and reopens inside Jinx's open cell, the eye finding it empty. After a few more moments the hole widens to six feet across, and Donna steps through.

    "Close it up after us," Donna calls back through the Rabbit Hole to Terry. "But be ready to reopen it again. Keep the stream from my cam live on the monitor so you can be ready to Rabbit Hole where we are at any moment. And keep me updated over com on the direction the dot of light moves."

    Donna unhooks her lasso from her belt, readying it for use. "Okay everyone, let's get moving. Keep comms open in case we need to split up, but try to stay together. "

Harley Quinn has posed:
Why was Harley at the tower? Well, because she went there in protest about the way Jinx was being left to her own devices inside prison! Because, you know, she had a plan! One that involved a cunning distraction, followed by a trek through the sewers and ....

... that's when that alarm goes off. And with Harley being there already? Well, she won't stay behind! So as the group goes so does the clownette. All pig-tailed, shorty shorts and ..., no baseball bat. Because why would she need to bring a weapon to the Titans' Tower? Turns out it would had been a good idea...

"Terry, we gotta talk about some ideas I had foh the wedding!" She is fingerwiggling back at Terry when the portal is finally closed and she looks around.

"Chaos. Prison. Running for your life. Sounds just like home!"

Emiko Queen has posed:
Teleportation was... still a means of travel Red Arrow, aka Emiko Queen, was getting accustomed to. But right now it was very much welcomed, getting them into the facility that much more easily. She stepped through the vorpal ho--no we're not going to call it that--the vorpal portal shortly after Donna. Hood up, both ninja scarf and domino mask in place. Compound bow in her hands and ready.

Her first step was to the entrance of the cell, pressing up at the edge of it so she could get a look out in the more open area, a quick tactical analysis that was going to be hard to do once they delve into the case. As a trained assassin this brutal, potentially bloody method of getting after Jinx insulted her on an almost personal level with it's lack of precision or style. But it was still going to be very danger. "Find her and stay close," she replies to Donna. "I'll keep you guys covered." Like the primary ranged combatant should. Not that Emiko couldn't handle herself in a few melee blows if she needed to.

Jinx has posed:
The alarms in the prison are sounded. One guard is exclaiming to another 'There must be a glitch in the system' as they try to shut all the doors again but they won't shut. Sabotage and it had to have been by a guard too. They have no time to contemplate the betrayal because they have prisoners who have been looking for an excuse to settle scores, cause mayhem, and yet - go after the bounty.

Jinx slams in to a skinny guy. His shiv drops to the ground - there were no illusions here that this guy was going to be innocent. He too wears a power suppressing collar about his neck. She briefly wonders what it is his ability is - but eh, it won't matter here. A knee to the ground drops him and she turns to rush past her cell again and collide with a very very big muscular man. Pillow is put in the way of a shiv that stabs at her torso rapidly.

Her mind double takes - did she just see Donna, Harley, and some one dressed up as a modern day Robin Hood? Definitely not Kate. She doesn't have much in the way of time to contemplate that as the big guy gives up on the shiv and simply grabs her and pushes her half over the edge of the railing.

Blackgate Prison is one of those traditional American multistory complexes built in the 60s and then the concept of maintenance promptly forgotten. Old metal with flakes of old paint, aged cement absorbing the blood of previous fights over the decades.

They warden saw no real reason to put money in to this part of the prison since these prisoners are all eventually shipped off to the Raft anyway. Which is to say that Jinx's cell is on the third floor and a two floor drop awaits her as she clings to the metal railing for dear life. "FUCK!" she yells out as more prisoners start trying to push past to get at her.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing was not waiting at the Tower with the rest of the rescue gang, but had spent the last few hours in court with one of the Titan's laywers. It's always just terribly exciting to listen to the legal mumbo-jumbo involved in just about anything to do with the legal system. On the table this day was the fight to have Jinx put into the Titan's protective custody rather than leaving her in prison.

    Fortunately the Titans actually have a pretty good reputation and even some previous experience in this sort of thing as he uses the redemption of one Harley Quinn as an example of the work the Titans have done previously. And yes, he's playing that up for all it's worth.

    Hours later with legal transfer papers in a belt pouch, the Batwing is screaming across the sky towards the prison. Getting an alert on his T-Com, he opens the throttle all the way, getting to the Prison in record time. Setting the Batwing to remote idle, he pops the canopy open and jumps, deploying his glide wings as he falls through the sky, circling down towards the prison yard and the growing riot there.

    This should be interesting.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Harley's presence at the Tower may still raise eyebrows with one or two members, but most of the team has got used to her dropping by from time to time, especially if one of her friends on the team (or guests thereof) are in danger. At this point it would be foolish not to consider her potential presence in the planning, do Donna slips Harley an earpiece. "So you can keep in communication if we get separated," she explains. "It'll pick up your speech through bone conduction, just mutter and we'll hear you."

    "If anyone asks, we're here to manage the prisoner transfer, just waiting on Nightwing to show up with the papers which hopefully will happen any time now. However, the doors all open means there've got some guards on their side, and that means we may have to deal with some guards trying to stop us getting to her. Leave making the guards nervous up to me, inmates will be more scared of you though Harley. Us two are going to be very obvious in here, so we use that. Emi can do the sneaky and keep the rear covered..." she gives Emi a nod of acknowledgement. "...and alert us if anyone tries to sneak up on us. Try to keep the shooting people with arrows to a minimum though, please."

    Donna wastes no time in doing her part of the 'be very obvious' as she launches herself out through the door and over the railing into the air, where she can't really be missed by anyone on this level, the glowing gold of her lasso whirring as she spins it round and around.

    "RETURN TO YOUR CELLS NOW!" she bellows. "And anyone I see within twenty feet of Jinx is in serious trouble!"

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen nods at the quick strategy. She had expected guards to be in on it, it was the only way the H.I.V.E. would be able to pull this off, and easier to bribe officers here than the Raft. "I will refrain from lethality, so these fools can properly serve their debt to society." Death in a riot would just be an easy way out to them, even as a trained assassin she can see that. "But if it comes to them, or you guys and Jinx, they lose." That is the matter on that.

She lets Donna and Harley take the lead, to get closer to Jinx and get the attention of pretty much everyone else out there. Only after that does she slip from the cell, using her small stature and stealth training to slip away into a more advantageous position. An arrow is ready in her bow, but she won't shoot until she has to.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley muttering? Like that's gonna happen. Because the next thing that happens is Harley cupping her hands in front of her mouth.

"Ji-Iinnxxxx. DIXY D, WHERE ARE YA?" Yep, that's gonna alert a lot of the criminals prowling about. But there's a cunning to it, because the more criminals focus on the Titans the less will be after Jinx. Harley is so many steps ahead!

Harley then dashes inside after Donna, not losing time when she spots a guy with a shiv walking the hall. She kicks the guy right in the face, "And no shivs!" she calls out.

The scuffle going on ahead calls her attention and she points. "Hey, I think she's ovah theah and in danger!" she exclaims.

Jinx has posed:
'Serious Trouble' versus $20 million, not going to the raft, and a get of jail free card. These criminals are going to take their chances in a fight. They understand fighting. It's in their blood. Jinx even understands the thrill of it though usually she liked to tip the battlefield in her favour with illusion and elemental magic.

There's no magic from Jinx right now, not being inside still and wearing this collar which no doubt has lots of necessary and unnecessary enchantments on it. What it is doing to her, though, is keeping all the bad luck bottled up inside her.

The flakey paint gives way on her grip of the rail and she falls over the edge, grabbing the railing of the next level down which causes all the inmates to suddenly change direction.

Jinx catches sight of Donna as she's falling and then hears Harley yelling out at the top of her lungs. They're really here? How? She scrambles back up on to the cement catwalk as several rough looking criminals come rushing toward her.

Jinx was never the best at martial arts training in H.I.V.E.'s school of scum and villainy. Mostly because she could always fall back on her magic to cheat - but she did learn some things. Enough that she's a decent street level brawler. She charges back at them and leaps with a flying kick right in to the face of the lead guy. The next loops an arm about her and slams her to the ground as the third stabs down with a chiv. Jinx stops him with her shoed feet to his chest and struggles to push him back up he's so heavy.

"Get orf me ya knob." This isn't the Daredevil corridor fighting scene she'd imagined she'd be pulling off - but then she.. OW.. that second guy is BITING her arm. "Ya Fuckin' Muppet who BITES in a prison riot." The look of crazed excitement tells her exactly what kinda guy bites in a prison riot.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Being a hero in the middle of a prison riot is always an interesting experience, and one that Nightwing has some previous experience in. The most important part is to keep moving, never give the rioters time to gang up on you. Next most important is to make certain you have something to keep them from grabbing you and taking you down. Nightwing is in his newest armored suit, and thus has an exciting surprise waiting for anyone who tries something stupid.

    Which of course a number of them do.

    As he lands, several inmates try to grab him, yelling several variations of "Get him!" The first to reach him grabs for his arm, then with a loud zapping sound drops to the ground twitching. Nightwing smirks for a moment as the self-defense taser system built into the armor does it's work, then starts heading in the direction the HUD is showing the others are. Most of the rioters in this part of the prison are more interested in being out of the cells than in taking on a hero, but he does have to drop a few of them.

    Batons in hand, he makes his way through the crowd, doing his best to avoid contact with anyone not attacking him.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Zeroing in on where Harley points -- and moments thereafter the sight of Jinx falling, Donna swoops in and unleashes her lasso. The weight on her Jinx's foot is suddenly relieved as the lasso catches the heavy man's arm, and Donna yanks him hard to the side, bashing him into the railings. The shiv goes spinning from his hands and skids across the floor up to the feet of another inmate who looks down at it and then over at Jinx thoughtfully.

    "Don't even think it." Donna lands on the ground close by Jinx, head swiveling as she tries to look at everyone at once. "However much you've been offered," she announces. "Forget it. "

    There are probably one or two already thinking "Oh oh, Wonder Woman is here." It happens these days. Before 2017, Troia was famous and almost nobody had heard of Diana, but Troia didn't use her lasso back then. Since revealing herself to the world Diana has become even more famous, and she's the one everyone associated glowing lassos with. If she was Diana, she'd probably now tell them that they were all good people really, and for some reason, most of them would /believe her/ and give up.

    She's not Diana though. Troia does things differently.

    The newcomer reaches down for the shiv, automatically, almost in a daze. Before he can reach it there's a blur of motion and he's lying on the floor, groaning and clutching his gut. Donna has the shiv in her hand, and she smashes it into the wall, bending the metal hopelessly out of shape and rendering it useless as she strides towards Jinx. "...Because however much it is, it's not worth having me tear your arms out of their sockets for it."

Emiko Queen has posed:
Of course the idiots don't listen to the various declarations and threats made. They only see oppritunity in their otherwise miserable, locked away lives. Jinx gets points though for being willing to get into the fight even handicapped, and not just waiting for the Titans coming to her rescue.

Emiko takes a moment to assess the situation, making sure of where her teammates are as well as their crooked opposition. Nightwing's arrival adds another layer of distraction, as several thugs turn their attention on him. And likely woefully outmatched against the most experienced member of the group. She'll keep an eye on him, but shouldn't have to worry too much.

Instead her attention stays mainly on Jinx, Donna and Harley.

She leaps from the level they started on, using her acrobatics skill to vault the railing and flip over it. Then shoots. It turns out to be one of her grapple arrows, which catches onto a convicts uniform.
The retraction device activates just as her feet touch the level they're on, changing her momentum forward to whip Emiko into the convit, and put her knee into his chin and send him reeling backwards away from ganging up on her teammates and Jinx. "A proper assassin would be disgusted by this shameless shitshow," she snaps, getting a little trash talk in to keep the thugs provoked and not thinking.

Harley Quinn has posed:
With a full on riot going on Harley really gets into it. Which means punching the livin' crap out of whoever she finds in her way.

One gets tossed into a concrete wall. Another gets thrown over her shoulder to a flock of prisoners.

Ah, just like home indeed. Because Harley does thrive in the chaos.

And then she is dashing forward to where Jinx supposedly is at. Under all those prisoners. "INCOMING!" she shouts.

Jinx has posed:
Jinx feels the weight of the big guy gone as Donna whips him away. She kicks the guy biting her in the face right before he is grappled by one of Emiko's arrows. The first guy who slammed her in to the ground is about to have his moment in the sun until Harley comes barrelling in.

Jinx rises up, blood dripping from the teeth shaped wound in her arm. The guy legit bit right through her orange prison jumpsuit somehow. "You're all a bunch of plonkers. Ya thought you could just roll on me eh? I'm motherfuckin' Jinx." A little of that Supervillain bravado comes out to mask the utter terror she's experiencing.

She senses something, a little something that she shouldn't sense. Out of the corner of her eye perhaps, she turns and sees a prisoned on the lower floor watching as Nightwing strolls past, pulls out a prison made slingshot and shoots up at her with an improvised dart.

She feels it hit right in to her neck and slaps her hand to it. Stumbling back she topples in to the empty cell behind her and feels the rush of warm blood flow between her fingers.

The collar about her neck frizzles as the incredible bad luck envelops Jinx in that moment of utter chaos and improbability. There was too much bad luck built up and whatever enchantments were in that collar, not even they could keep it inside or contain it.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing is at his acrobatic best as he runs, rolls, jumps and generally avoids the hell out of most of the rioters. Those he can't avoid end up on the floor groaning and twitching since the batons are tasers as well. He may be a little too into the whole electricity thing, but the fact is, it helps even things out when you're relying on nothing but skill and gear against some fairly powerful beings.

    Since magic owls don't show up on hi-tech HUD displays, he just has it plot a course to Donna, assuming that she's likely to be the one closest to Jinx at this point. Entering the main building, his HUD indicates a direction of 'up' for Donna's position, so he raises his arm and fires a grapple that catches on the railing several floors up. The build-in ascender whirs as it takes him up, then he's jumping over the railing and kicking a rioter in the chest. As that guy goes flying away from the general melee, he looks over at Donna and Jinx and says "Aww, you started the party without me. I'm hurt."

    Quick baton work drops the next prisoner who was trying to collect that sweet bounty money, and he moves up beside Donna to help protect Jinx. "We got the legal part done, so all we need now is to get her out of here and back to the tower."

    At which point Jinx gets a dart to the neck. Nightwing calls to Donna over the crowd noise "Keep them off of me." as he drops to his knees, pulling a first aid kit from a belt compartment. "Easy Jinx, we've got you. I'm going to pull the dart out, try to keep still."

    Setting action to words, he pulls the dart free, immediately slapping a trauma patch over the small wound. Clotting chemicals and dermal adhesive go to work as soon as it is in place, working to minimize any bleeding.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna greets Dick with a grin and nods her head. "One exit coming up," she says. She steps into the cell with Nightwing, letting her bodycam get a good look around. "Rabbit Hole to med bay at this location please Terry," she calls over the comms. "Get her stable and out of here, we'll be just behind you," she tells Nightwing.

    She leaves the cell as the shape of the Rabbit Hole starts forming by Dick, pulling the door shut behind her and tearing the handle off so that it can't be easily opened. "Let's have some fun," she tells Emi and Harley with a grin. "When we get word from Nightwing that he's got Jinx secure in the Tower we're getting out, but until then..." she pauses to hurl the door handle down at the slinger on the floor below and bean him. "...Let's have some fun guarding this door."

    Donna tears out a chunk of the railing and offers it to Harley as a substitute bat, then charges up the corridor to simply crash bodily into a mass of assembling prisoners. Two are sent flying from the initial impact. A third is tossed quickly into a wall and drops to the floor, stunned. The fourth she catches with a right hook to the chin.

    The fourth does not go down so easily. His head jerks to the side, but he turns back, grinning. He too wears a suppression collar, and perhaps it's on the fritz or perhaps it just doesn't fully work on him, but it was a punch that /should/ have knocked him down. "That was nuthin'," he says to Donna with a sneer. "Barely felt it. Wanna try again?"

    Donna steps in close and her knee rises up to meet him in the crotch. "Nah I'm good," she replies as he drops to the ground, clutching at his family jewels, eyes watering.

Emiko Queen has posed:
The word from Nightwing that the legal side of the matter was handled is good news. Unfortunately it comes at a point where bad luck also catchs up to Jinx from being contained for so long. While Donna makes the dart shooter pay for it and get their exit plan moving. "Copy that... and gladly. Give 'em hell guys."

Now Emiko may be really good, but she can't take several angry crooks at once like Donna can. At least, not directly.

She can, however, cut down the number of foes Donna and Harley have to defend against. She's drawing arrows even as she's backing up to the group to be ready to make their departure. The first arrow fired is a Taser Arrow, shocking the thug it hits into submission. The second is smoke bomb, fired deeper into the group to leave several blinded and coughing before they can flank the young heroes.

She then turns and fires a third up at where some guards are lining up with their guns, where it explodes like a flash bang to drive them back from shooting. They know some guards had to be in on this, so she's not taking any chances on them opening up on the Titans and claiming it was 'friendly fire' admist the chaos.

Jinx has posed:
~~ The blade cut across Jinx's arm and then leg. She dropped to one knee. Her blood cast splatter lines over the pure white floor and wall. "Get back up," says 'Daisy Cartwright' Jinx's 'legal' adopted mother. Jinx shivers and pushes herself back up. The sword cuts across her again.

~~ "No one will be there to help you when you fall Jinx. So you better learn to use your magic or you'll bleed to death." The unloving smirk on her face tells Jinx that her words are true.

Jinx snaps back from the unpleasant memory as she feels someone trying to remove her hand from the bleeding neck hole. It's Nightwing. She is hesitant to take the pressure off even though it's him. But she's hardly in a position to argue as he pulls it out and slaps on a battlefield patch.

She cups her hand to his cheek leaving a bloody red smear of fingers and feels that shiver running through her body. How is it everything she thought she knew about life is turning out wrong. Is it all just a big trap waiting to crush her if she gets her hopes up.

"Why.. you could have just left me for dead. It'd solve all your problems and I deserve it," she whispers to the Gotham knight. The compassion and empathy the Titan's have shown her does not compute - yet she knows in her heart it should. It's what -other- people have. Just not what she ever had.

Dick Grayson has posed:
    Nightwing nods to Donna and says "No problem, I'll get her out." One hand applies light pressure to the patch on Jinx's neck as he doesn't want to choke her out, just control any bleeding. He shakes his head when she speaks and replies "Everyone deserves a second chance, look at Harley out there. Nobody would have thought that she would ever go legit, but she did. As long as you are willing to change, we'll help you."

    Once the Rabbit Hole opens he helps Jinx to her feet and walks her through the portal and into the medbay, getting her onto one of the treatment tables. "Dart to the neck, here it is to test for substances." He deposits the dart into a specimen bag one of the nurses holds open then moves down to the foot of the table since the head end has a doctor and nurse working on the wound.

    Trying to distract Jinx a little while the medics do their job he tells her "The legal stuff worked, you don't have to go back to prison. You're officially in protective custody with the Titans now, so we're all set."

Donna Troy has posed:
    Once Dick and Jinx are safely through the Rabbit Hole, Terry lets the remaining three in the prison know to expect a Rabbit Hole themselves. Moments later it opens up just outside the cell door, and Terry beckons Emi, Harley and Donna through it into the safety of the tower.

    Donna pats the whimpering man who she'd just introduced to her knee on the head and says "Playtime's over, sorry!" before retreating back towards the door and the Rabbit Hole. She lashes out all around her with her lasso, not using it to capture anyone, but just whipping the end around to make sure people are keeping their distance and give the three a chance to make their retreat without anyone foolishly attempting to follow them through the portal.

Emiko Queen has posed:
When they have the word Jinx is safe and Terry is ready for the rest of them Emiko lowers her bow. "Maybe if you asshats tried to be more like that girl and not a bunch of greedy arrogant thugs, you wouldn't be stuck in the slammer." Her arrows aren't the only things that can be pointed and sharp. But she isn't shooting any more of those. Instead she pulls a handful of more standard marble sized smoke bombs from her belt, and flicks them in her wake to give the Titans that extra bit of obscuring cover before heading into the portal back to the tower.

Jinx has posed:
Jinx's stay in emergency is short lived. Dick's actions were swift and correct and the dart was just a small piece of metal. A big needle for tetanus is given but no other concerns about toxicology come back.

As the Titan's leave the prison riot control squad moves in. The prisoners know their fun is done and their prey is gone. The man with the lucky shot can only hope that Jinx dies from it and he gets the prize.

The prison is, at first, up in arms that the Titan's broke Jinx out of jail. The paperwork, though, trickles through the system and there are a lot of fingers being pointed at the Warden that he was previously made aware of an expected attempt on Jinx's life that he ignored. Wanting to avoid those finger pointings, he lets go of the 'prison break' charges.

Jinx looks over the paperwork Dick secured for her release. In the protective custody of the Titans is the main take away but once she gets deeper in to the paperwork she spots something in one of the clauses: 'As a capable metahuman of significant ability and power Jinx is expected to act as a faithful accomplice to Titans activities or this custody agreement is null and void'.

Jinx stares at the words for a little longer. The machine next to her making a beep sound - a catheter connected to her arm giving her fluids. Nurses are doing their rounds. It's an otherwise quiet ward in the hospital until Jinx says, "What the Actual F-"