15489/Herald of Misfortune, Pt. 2

Herald of Misfortune, Pt. 2
Date of Scene:	29 July 2023
Location:	Gotham Wastewater Treatment Facility
Synopsis:	The Outsiders investigate a wastewater facility while searching for three missing persons. Who they, unfortunately, find... having been mutated into giant lizard people.
Cast of Characters:	Tim Drake, Phoebe Beacon, Conner Kent, Laura Kinney, Emiko Queen

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Tim Drake has posed:
    An Outsiders call had gone out near dusk, low priority, for backup at the Gotham Herald building in Sheldon Park. That was a few hours ago; now another call makes comm units vibrate and sends a discrete push notification to phones; another call for backup, again by Red Robin, this time a few miles south at a wastewater treatment facility.

    The moon hangs heavy overhead, nearly full but not quite, providing ample light to see by. Nearby, the roar of the ocean is loud, as the facility is located on a particularly scraggly section of the eastern shore where the rocky sand and scrub brushes are all the eye can see.

    At least until you turn back and look towards the city, which is lit up in a thousand lights even this time of night. The grey concrete of the wastewater facility stands against it, shadowed and utilitarian in comparison.

    Red Robin is already inside judging by the coordinates given, and sure enough he's wedged open a side door. He's already hacked the facility's security measures, making this a particularly easy case of B&E for those Outsiders answering the call.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    The moon hangs heavy overhead, pregnant with its faded light as Balm, glad in the dull, gray armor, hood and half-mask of her not-Bat-time armor, blue lenses of her domino mask trying to trace Tim's location. She swings down to the door, drawing her hand up to her ear as she taps for coms.

    "Balm, responding to an Outsiders alert. Who else is nearby?" she asks, turning to look over her shoulder.

Conner Kent has posed:
"We are," greets Conner. He left his leather jacket home because it is almost August, but he also left the red S, so he is just a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Totally not Superboy, because Kryptonians don't operate in Gotham. Everyone knows that.

"Good to see you, Pheebs. It has been a while," he adds. "So, we are investigating a case of three missing people, likely kidnapped by sewer monsters. Because in Gotham we can't have good smelling monsters," he uffs, "remember that stinking dragon. I hope it is not it."

Laura Kinney has posed:
X-23 isn't usually one to avoid doing what's required of her but when the scouting mission led them to a hole in the floor that connects to a sewer? Well she's allowed to be a little happy that she didn't have to scent track the missing people through the sewers.

At least not yet. There's a more than fair chance her nose will have to brave the Gotham sewer system later today.

Still dressed in the charcoal grey street clothes with a hoodie that conceals the silenced handguns she's armed with she slips out of the gloom. Seemingly appearing from thin air. As is tradition for Gotham vigilantes.

"I doubt you could get a dragon into the sewer system," she points out. "There was some kind of scale though. So we can safely assume it's some sort of lizard or reptile."

Emiko Queen has posed:
"I am incoming."

The response is only moments before a soft 'tnk' is heard from overhead, and Emiko comes zipping down the arrowline she grappled to the wall from somewhere on the roofs, landing not far from the doorway everyone else has gathered at. She was clad in her Red Arrow garb of course, the dark red and grey suitable for Gotham's gritty athsetic without going completely black, black and REALLY dark grey.

She rises to her feet and gives a kurt nod to the other Outsiders, even as she unslings and readies her bow. "Give me the quick rep. I got the first call but by the time I was nearby it had moved onto the second."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Red Robin's standing not far inside, leaning against a railing overlooking one of the water processing areas. Thankfully here the smell of sewage isn't particularly sharp, though instead it is replaced by chemical foulness. So maybe there's not all that much to be thankful for.

    "We found a hole leading into the sewers in the basement of the Gotham Herald building," he says, straightening up to address the Outsiders present. "Three people have gone missing in the past week, last known location: the Gotham Herald building."

    He holds up a small evidence bag, clear plastic showing a small reptilian scale held inside. "This, along with claw marks, was found at the site. I'm running a DNA panel back at the Roost now, but it's a high possibility we're dealing with Killer Croc down here." This is said with heavy pause at the end as he looks from Balm to Superboy, then X-23 to Red Arrow, before he continues, "As you know, Killer Croc is one of the most dangerous criminals we have here in Gotham, so extreme caution is advised when encountering him."

    Then he turns, looking down into the depths of the water being churned and processed behind him. "I sent a drone down to follow the sewer, there were definite signs of habitation once we neared the processing plant. I don't think--"

    Somewhere down further in the plant, something explodes. The LED lights overhead go out, and then a red alarm light flickers on.

    "Nevermind. Outsiders, move out!"

    With an economy of movement, Red Robin flips over the railing so that he can land on the floor below, nearer to where the explosion came from, then takes off at a run down a nearby hallway where continuing sounds of destruction lead to. He scrambles to a stop halfway as a creature emerges from a massive hole in the wall, shambling and dragging its clawed hands along the floor, tail swaying about in the air behind it. The important thing: somehow there's something living in the sewers with even bigger claws and teeth than Killer Croc.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'll give you a call next time I come across one of Poison Ivy's creations." Balm replies to Superboy, and she offers a fist-dap to him, then to Laura and Red Arrow. She's trying. "You could absolutely get a dragon down here." she confirms with a small smile, and she turns to look to Red Robin, demeanor turning more serious as she listens to the sitrep. She curls her fingers slightly, the gloves she's wearing giving a little creak with memory as she exhales, and gives a slight nod. Killer Croc was nothing to sneeze at.

    And shel eans over the railing, looking at the churning water, and appears to go a little green around the gills -- not from the smell, though.

    And then the burst of light. The explosion and the red alarm lights kick on, and she turns, already in movement, following behind Red Robin.

    She swings herself over the railing and rolls with the landing, and she grimly looks up expecting to see Croc... but no.

    And she raises her hands, throwing up a shield to give some precious few moments for the Outsiders to gather and hatch a plan.

    This has the added benefit of illuminating the space with that golden-pink light from her shield as she gives a muttered askance to Connor: "Well. It's not a dragon, I don't think."

Conner Kent has posed:
Ah, Killer Croc, that was the name of the crocodile guy Conner had in mind. Everything begins making sense until there is an explosion and they are proven wrong. Awkward.

"That is not... right," not Killer Crock and not another dragon-like thing. But it is a large creature with claws and it looks dangerous. So, Conner takes point and lands in front of it. "Alright, and hello to you. Stop where you are or I will punch you. What the hell is going on?"

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen tilts her head a bit at the explaination. "Any idea why it was people from the newspaper being abducted? Connections between those taken?" She might not be the exceptional detective many of the BatFam may be but she knew better to ask the questions to get more details than leave anything to second-guess later.

However the farther querying has to be put on hold as there is an explosion, darkness from lights failing, and then the red shades of the emergency signals kicking on in their place. She grunts and frowns, grabbing the railing with one hand and vaulting over it in Tim's wake. As soon as her feet are on the floor she's back into ready stance, the free hand now shifting to be prepared to grab from her quiver. Her mind considering the options for dealing with extremely large and strong reptillian foes. Which tend to have almost armor-like qualities, if the scale in the evidence bag was anything to go by.

Although they do indeed find a large reptillian stomping about... "I take it that is not Killer Croc," she remarks, noting the slight pause others make.

Past that her tactical analysis is swift, leaving the potential longer term strategy to Drake to come up with. All she needs to consider is the likes of Laura and Conner will likely want to get into close-quarters, arguably better suited for it against this foe.

Which is the primary point she chooses an arrow, nocks it in her bow, and stands ready. "I suggest you listen, because he totally will. And if he doesn't," she bobs her head towards Laura. "She will, and unlike him, she -won't- ask first."

Laura Kinney has posed:
The trip from the Gotham Herald building was plenty of time for X-23 to adjust her load out. Although she's still carrying handguns they're now packing solid core armour penetrating rounds. Ideal for villains in body armour, mutants with enhanced durability, and (she hopes) giant lizard monsters.

Thankfully if the worst comes to the worst she always has her claws.

When things start exploding her training kicks in. X-23 darts away from the group, spreading out so one explosion won't wipe the whole team, and draws the aforementioned handguns. Inhaling deeply she lets her nose get to work. Sorting through the chemical smells to see if she can pick up any military explosives. It's probably just that the big lizard guy/thing smashed something explosive on his way to the surface. But better not assume. For all the know the entire facility could be rigged with bombs!

She doesn't just charge in to attack though. Trying to disappear into the shadows. Move around and come up on the lizard monster from behind. Maybe see if she can pick up on traces of the missing people coming from wherever the monster burst out from.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Nothing I could find," Red Robin says, to Red Arrow. "I think this was a case of wrong place, wrong time." But then yes, no more time for theorizing, they're on the move. By the time they're face-to-face with the creature, Tim has his staff out, held in front of himself defensively.

    With the shield up in front of them, Red Robin is allowed a moment to look at this creature in detail. "That definitely isn't Killer Croc," is what Tim decides on saying in the moment.

    The creature turns, looks at them. Or rather, it looks at Superboy, who is addressing the creature. There is no shine of intelligence in its eyes, no sign of understanding. It sniffs at them, animalistic, and then swipes a clawed hand leisurely at the shield, which holds up against the casual assault.

    Then it turns to look at Red Arrow, sniffs again, and lets out a bestial roar that rings eardrums and nearly vibrates the floor with its intensity.

    Tim quips, "Think that was its answer?"

    It'll take some doing, but X-23's nose will lead her in a roundabout way to the same hallway that Tim, Phoebe, Conner, and Emiko are standing in, just on the opposite side of the creature. She's safe for now, unnoticed, but the smell of some kind of explosive is thicker where she's standing, as she's near the massive hole that provided the creature entry into the building proper. The creature itself is almost too big to turn around, hemmed in by the walls and ceiling.

    Except after a few seconds, another reptilian snout pokes its way out through the hole, and then turns the opposite way, right towards X-23!

    "SB, I got your back," Red Robin says as he comes to stand behind Conner, palming a couple of explosive shuriken. "Balm, Red Arrow, circle around and provide backup to X--."

    A third creature emerges from the hole, its tail smacking into and knocking down some loose drywall as it passes through. The creatures smell foul, like they've been bathing in sewer water for days (likely) so most other scents have been obliterated.

    "Nevermind." It's the second time he's said that so far already. "X-23, get out of there, we need to fall back!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Three creatures.

    Three missing people.

    There's a physical wince as she pulls back, minding the strategic order from Red Robin, and she pauses, her boots skidding on the walkway as she feels her eyes go wide at the third snout's appearance.

    And of course, the second thought of hers is 'RUN AWAY'.

    She throws up her shield again, giving cover to others as she backs away.

    "It is getting really Cretaceous in this plant!" she whispers into the comms, keeping up her light show as she curls up one hand, getting a flashbang from her pack.

    "Monty Python protocol en-freaking gaged!"

Emiko Queen has posed:
One.. Two.. Three... "I think we found victims rather than the culprit" Emiko mutters. That's going to change things. There is likely still going to be fighting, but it is quite possible these people have no control over themselves if they are the kidnappees and forced into this.

The roars are loud, but she has faced down worse. On her own. And right now, she's not on her own. She shifts to the side, calculates something quickly in her head and fires the arrow she had ready after flicking on the timer. The timing device being necessary so it doesn't require an impact trigger head. Which allows the arrow to be rebounded off a wall for a better angle to get towards X-23's position without tipping off the other reptiles.

Until the point at it is zipping in and the timer hits 0, exploding to send some quick setting adhesive spraying past X-23 to snare the reptillians at the hole and give the girl a chance to back off.

Conner Kent has posed:
"There are only three of them," protests Conner when Tim orders them to pull back. When the monster roars at his face, he punches it. Not hard enough to kill a crocodile, but certainly hard enough to knock down, and possibly out, most human beings.

"Wait, you think they are the missing people?" He asks, hearing Phoebe and Emiko's comments. He hovers back a few yards. "We need to capture them and take them to a hospital, or maybe Star Labs."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"It's got friends," Laura subvocals into the comms as the second beast comes out. "Three missing people. Three monsters." She doesn't believe in coincidences any more than the rest of the team. "And I smell explosives. Don't think these things are rigging bombs with those... paws?" There is probably a scientific term for reptilian feet but if there is X-23 doesn't know it. Probably that's something she assumes Tim will take care of. Knowing reptile physiology.

Her hands have already drawn and raised those pistols like they have a mind of their own, calmly aiming despite the size of the monster, she opens fire. The suppressors reducing the noise to loud snapping noises. Each shot placed in non-vital locations. Shoulders, hands, and feet. Places a gunshot won't cause fatal injury. Hopefully those armour piercing rounds will punch through the scaly hides.

And then Tim orders them to withdraw. So Laura begins backing off. Shooting all the way. Like she's having an enjoyable day at the shooting range. "Either we walked into a planned attack just as it was due to happen... Or this is a trap."

Tim Drake has posed:
    "Things are just going to get messy if we stay in this cramped hallway," Red Robin calls out as he falls back towards the water processing area, where they'll at least have more room to move around. Counterpoint is that so will the creatures, who are still barely fitting through the hallway, but the one that surfaced first is also certainly the largest of the three.

    Conner's punch slams it into the wall, but all that does is cause some property damage.

    And piss it off. Actually, maybe it's a little woozy, stumbling as it tries to regain its footing. But still definitely pissed.

    It roars again and throws itself against Phoebe's shield, battering it as it attempts to get to Conner. Its claws slash and its jaw snaps, saliva dripping from its maw. The only thing that can mean is that it's hungry.

    He has similar suspicions as the others regarding the true identities of these creatures, so he returns his explosive shuriken to his belt. "Let's try to incapacitate them if we can!"

    It looks like Red Arrow is already on it, as one of the creatures is now trapped in sticky adhesive, flailing its limbs ineffectually and clawing at the ground as it tries to wrench itself free, but as of yet the adhesive holds strong. The other creature wasn't caught in as much of the arrow's explosive radius, though, so with a roar of rage that turns halfway into one of pain, it manages to free itself, loosing a fair amount of scales in the process. Then it impacts right into the back of the creature trying to claw through Phoebe's shield, raking its own claws at it as well but mostly catching the largest of the three creatures in the crossfire.

    Tim pulls something else from his belt, but for the moment he just palms them, rather than throwing them as he stares down the hallway, still backing up. "So someone knowingly let them in here, then." The why is what they really need answered, though as X-23's gunfire starts up, he decides to hold off on that line of questioning for now. The bullets pepper the creature in the back row trying to claw its way to the front, and they are sufficient to draw its attention away, a new source of pain to distract. It struggles to turn in the cramped hallway, but its tail catches in some of the remnant adhesive on the wall and now it once again must struggle to free itself, a sitting duck in the meantime.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe braces her boots. She holds up her shields, both hands holding the large circle as the creature attempts to claw its way through it. She wracks her brain a moment, staring down a very large, very hungry lizard as she makes a rather absurdly concerned face as the saliva drips down on her, and then she gets The Worst Possible Idea.

    One lizard is attracted to X23. One is pinned by its tail to the Sticky Stuff.

    And someone's gotta stear them in the right direction.

    Pop the grapple line around the other lizard.

    Wait until it rears back and Phoebe drops her shield, pulled out from CERTAIN DEATH BY LIZARD DROOL.

    She's pulled backwards, and with a shield brought up as a platform she bounces off it like a Sonic the HEdgehog Game.

    And she attempts to get to the back of the lizard, using the grapple line to try and muzzle the creature before riding astride it.

    She was known to take calculated risks...

    "Yah!" she calls out, trying to 'herd' the lizard forward.

    ... but man is she *bad at math*.

Emiko Queen has posed:
While it's not one hundred precent confirmable these are the kidnapped people transformed the chances of that being accurate is too high to be ignorable. That puts the potentially lethal methods off the table. At least one of the them got caught up in the adhesive, giving them time to deal with the other two.

As they backtrack to the larger room Emiko draws back another arrow, takes aim at the one that got knocked around by Conner, and fires. This one proves to be a bit more typical as it's a smoke bomb, which she aimed for the creature's face. Those scaley hides are probably hard to shoot through without piercing arrows, which could be more harmful than they want. But smoke can get in the eyes and nostrils, be a blinding irritant, and give the super-son a bit more room to work with a disoriented foe.

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner first punch did have some effect, but as expected the lizardmen are sturdier than regular humans. He never hits too hard on the first punch, though, unless he is facing someone he knows can take it.

"Balm, jeez..." he comments at her stunt. Still, he grabs the grapple line and gives it a spin or three around lizard #1. "Hope this is sturdy enough." The other two lizards seem to have gotten in 'sticky' situations, so for now he leaves them to the other Outsiders.

Laura Kinney has posed:
With Balm jumping up onto the back of one of the lizards Laura shifts her target, unwilling to put any holes through Balm even if she will probably heal them, instead she switches to trick shots. Shooting strip lights so they shower the lizards with debris and sparks. Using her enhanced senses to pick out pipes she can safely puncture to spray disruptive, but not deadly, liquids.

Sprinklers, fire extinguishers, and pretty much anything at all which will delay & dismay. Sadly she doesn't have a collection of gadgets or trick bullets to deploy! Just different varieties of lethal for different situations.

"Will it speed up your DNA test on the scale if you just compare it against the missing people?" she subvocals. Backing off to remain out of reach of the bucking Balm Bronco experience. "If we know they're not Human we can stop holding back."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The saliva is just regular spit, not acidic, so it may be gross for Phoebe to get it on her, but at least it doesn't try to burn through her suit. Still not enough impetus for the crazy stunt she pulls, but Red Robin only yells out, "Be careful!" rather than actually try to disuade her.

    Because the Bats are insane. They have to be to do their jobs.

    Well, with Conner's help she's got the creature tied down pretty tight and it starts to thrash even harder than when it was trying to get through the shield, but with the impact of the smoke bomb in its face, it roars and swats at the air in front of it as if trying to clear it.

    Then it begins to move. Slow, stumbling steps, but within a few seconds it has cleared the hallway and entered the processing plant, where there is actual room to maneuver around it. The creature is still blinded, less from the smoke still lingering around its head as it is the stinging in its eyes from the initial irritation, so it swings its limbs around it randomly, claws gleaming in the red lights.

    Admittedly it is now more difficult to approach from the front, but thanks to teamwork it has emerged from the hallway and is now completely unprotected from every other angle. Laura's clever aim has it disoriented further, stumbling heavily now as it is impacted by pressurized gas from nearby pipes or compressed fire suppressing foam from the extinguishers. It's on its last legs.

    It's also now possible to get past the creature into the hallway, which is precisely what Red Robin does. "I only have DNA for one of the missing persons," he reports as he tosses the smoke bomb directly at the lumbering creature trying to unstick its tail, yelling a quick "Clear!" to make sure no one approaches it. The reason: the smoke that erupts from the miniature spherical canister is tinged green, and after several seconds the creature takes a step forward, tail freed, but immediately collapses down on the ground. Anesthetised gas.

    The other creature has laid down amongst the adhesive, apparently having given up the fight, though it still occasionally lets out a struggling twitch. Its eyes peer around, flicking from movement to movement, but otherwise it is still.

Emiko Queen has posed:
Emiko Queen backpedals to keep her distance from the last lizardfolk thrashing about as Balm tries to bust him like a bronco. "Of course you would be the one trying to horse around," she quips, it's the closest she can come up to the bareback riding situation. The good quips were still more her brother's department.

More smoke or gas bombs are out of the question with this one due to an ally being on his back. After a moment Emiko considers, draws an arrow from her quiver, and aims lower. Reptiles are typically less durable on their undersides, so she fires the blunt arrow at the creature's midsection. It doesn't -need- to penetrate if the impact is enough to knock the wind out of the target. Make it easier to exhaust and subdue.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Well-Adjusted people make terrible Bats.

    "Thanks Super--" Balm begins, and then she gives a cry out, feeling the lizard decide that it does NOT want a Balm on its back and thrashes about. She holds onto the grapple line, make-shift reigns as it were, and she gives a surprised cry as the lizard runs forward, grasping against the lizard with her thighs and bringing her head down into a bugboy crouch as she gives a whoop.

    "Move it move it move it--" she hushedly replies to the movements of the lizard, her eyes spared from the smoke and flashes as she gives a soft 'aaaaaaaaaaa' of 'this was possibly a bad idea' -- but she's lead the lizard out and out of the way.

    "Red Arrow that's the second worst joke I've herd. What would behoof you to -- ah! -- make such a joke?!"

Conner Kent has posed:
"It wasn't your best idea," mentions Conner, who nevertheless is ready to catch Phoebe. Or punch another lizardman if it looks they can escape. "Still, it looks they aren't that tough. Say, there was a guy in New York that turned into a lizard-ish monster, we should check the bat-computer about it later."

There is probably more than one, since in New York there are probably turtle-people living in the sewers. "Do you have more grapple line like that one?" He asks.

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Yeah but if one is a missing person I think we can assume the others are too," Laura points out, trying to circle around to get a look into the hole in the floor. "We should probably assume there are more of these things. There could be other kidnappings we're not aware of. Someone has clearly been planning whatever this is for a while.."

She frowns. "This contact of yours can be trusted?" It wouldn't be the first time a source was threatened or blackmailed to lead someone into a trap.

They probably don't have all that much time to discuss plans though. What with the giant lizards still rampaging. Also the way things are going between Red Arrow and Balm? Any answers will probably come in pun form anyway.

She keeps shooting until she's out of rounds or things to blast. Focusing on the wounds she's already caused to check for signs they're sealing up. Always check for healing factors before counting someone out the fight!

Rather than reloading if there's any fight left in the lizard folk she leads it on a merry chase around the building. Looking for a narrow gap between machinery she can duck down, snikt some support beams, then when the critter follows it'll get stuck as the machines collapse onto it. Not a trick she'd try on normal enemy but one that's injured, distracted, and really pissed off? It's less risky than shooting or snikting it!

Tim Drake has posed:
    "You're one to talk, Balm. You should really get off your high horse about it!"

    Suffice it to say, the non-punners are outnumbered by the punners on this mission. Red Robin just can't help but join in.

    Another arrow from Emiko hits the last remaining upright creature and it definitely feels the impact, briefly falling down onto all four limbs before it pushes itself back up. It's definitely winded now, though, and its thrashing attempts to rid itself of its rider are feebler, no more than loose flailing.

    With the rest of the Outsiders working to subdue the lizard person, Red Robin takes a moment to type into his gauntlet. "No match on the DNA," he reports, "But it's definitely human... or was one, at some point. I'll run it through the Bat computer tonight to see if it matches anything we have on record."

    Tim makes a face but assures Laura that his contact is "Trustworthy enough," before he hears the call for more grapple line from Conner, and fires off a line across the way, a perfect tripping hazard for a big lizard. It stumbles over it, falling once again onto all fours with enough force that Phoebe will have to hold on tight, though she might not want to as Laura snikts a few structural components and a big piece of the above walkway starts to come tumbling down, right towards the creature's back where Phoebe is riding!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe is holding on, and reaches into her pack to toss an extra grapple line to Conner. Be Prepared: The Bat Motto

    so what's a motto with this situation?

    Phoebe is holding onto the lizard as its struggles begin to ebb, listening over the comms.

    "So this was a human at one point?" she asks, concern growing in her voice as she slids back a little, loosing her grip on the lizard before --

    Laura snikts the structural pieces, and the walkway comes down.

    Balm has a few heartbeats to react, and that was enough for her to be thrown off, heading off the walkways and platforms and towards the churning wastewater below.

    And both her grapples are currently in use.

    She was not prepared.

Emiko Queen has posed:
"So there is a fourth, or another in charge of that, capable of transforming people into such creatures," Emiko replies to Red Robin.

Then things get a bit more hairy. She had gotten a grapple arrow ready at the call for it, but the need for such changes when the trap works, but Balm gets thrown off her impromptu ride towards the water machinery. As much on reflex as realizing an ally was in danger she shifts her intention and fires. Fortunately she used one with the claws that can grab things without stabbing them to snare the other gal.

Now it might look like this wouldn't work with how Small Asian Woman Emiko is, but the lifelong training as an assassin has made her exceptionally strong for her petite build. Still she braces a foot against some pipework for extra leverage as she hauls hard on the line to pull Balm away from the potential drop into another more hazardous situation.

Conner Kent has posed:
It seems Conner is not punner enough for this team. He was thinking about a good one when the walkways break. But Phoebe is saved before he moves! Instead he has to save the lizardman from being clobbered by falling machinery.

"Overkill, X," he mentions to Laura, grabbing the walkway before it hits the head of the lizard. Then again, overkill is Laura's second name. "Hmm, but since I have this chunk of metal, I'll put to good use." Wrapping it around the still squirming lizardman. That should help Phoebe with the riding. Or something.

Tim Drake has posed:
    Red Robin reaches for another grapple line, but it looks like Emiko has things covered, so aside for approaching to see if she and-or Phoebe needs help hauling her up onto the floor, he stays out of the way. "Yeah. Could be another victim that we don't know about, potentially," he says as things come to a standstill. "I'm going to put in a call to Star Labs."

    And he goes to do just that, stepping to the side as he taps the side of his domino mask.

    One knocked unconscious, one stuck under fallen debris, one just plain stuck. All three creatures have been subdued to some degree, and soon enough a team of operatives and medical technicians from Star Labs are on-scene to put the creatures into protective custody.

    Their worst suspicions do come back true, unfortunately: DNA tests confirm that Donna Contreras, Lewis Hawkins, and Bobby Park are indeed the three lizard people now safely housed in a sub-basement of Star Labs, where scientists will work to try and reverse their unfortunate condition. But the mystery of how they became that way, and who pulled them into the sewers in the first place, remains.