15670/Bats over the Festival

Bats over the Festival
Date of Scene:	21 August 2023
Location:	Batcave
Synopsis:	The Gotham Summer Fair is in full swing, and the Bats show up to provide overwatch, and security for the safety of the citizens who just want a dang ol' night of fun for once!
Cast of Characters:	Barbara Gordon, Cassandra Cain, Talia al Ghul, Phoebe Beacon, Austin Reese

---

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The days of summer are getting long in the tooth, the heat is getting in to triple digits on the regular. It is that time of year.

In one of the largest parks in Gotham City, a festival has opened its fairway, and is in full swing. Usually, when one thinks of Gotham and ferris wheels they think of the rundown abandoned amusement parks, but here tonight? The ferris wheel is fully operation, and loaded with cheerful riders. The fairway is packed with people coming and going from various booths, games, arts and crafts, and more. Performers on stilts march down the sidewalks, juggling bowling pins, while circus clowns perform on a stage under a half-tent setup in a parking lot.

The atmosphere is lively, but as with Gotham... the fear of crime spilling over in to it is an ever-present threat.

Atop a nearby paid-for parking garage, the top-most level has been bought out for the night, and a small table area has been setup. Batgirl stands near to the three tables, some of which have computers already running surveilence of the festival down below, while Batgirl's drones fly through the darkened city skies above.

Batgirl has sent out a call for members of the team to arrive at the top-most level of the parking garage, where she prepares assignements for everyone to monitor the festival down below, while others may very well be in plain-clothes tonight to peruse the park festivities as a member of the civilian population.

It's hot tonight, 90 degrees, and Batgirl's black and gold cape flows behind her shoulders in a gentle easterly wind, she keys up a holographic display of the city upon one of the tables she has setup, waiting for her team members to arrive tonight.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Some of the team arrive in a group. Can't say which ones, because frankly this is a very independent kind of crowd, but Cassandra is one of them! Not dong anything particularly special, she just uses the door.

Gasp, I know. But yet, there she is, holding it open for others. Like a lady.

You gotta wonder what's up at that point.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia is not one of those that will be monitoring the festival on any official level. SHe might be a tolerated guest in Stately Wayne Manor, but she's not on the team - or likely trusted with anything that's not immediately relevant to her or that she comes to of her own initiative. Here? HEre she's at the festival, enjoying herself. Aware or not of any possible monitoring going around.

She's currently got a large thing of cotton candy in one hand, a large pretzel that's deep fried with Oreos and covered with marshmellows and whipped cream in the other, and is taking bites out of each as she moves along. Going to pass by some of the games of chance and prize winnings, looking amused as she goes to evaluate the nature of them and how each particular one is edged to the house if she can spot them. She makes no attempt to approach them.

Currently wearing a t-shirt with the symbol of the quarterback of the Metropolis Meteors out of a sense of support with the recently injured team captain.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    It's a lively night, and with the plethora of free time Phoebe's got before college starts back up, she's taken to getting in more patrol time, and so she arrives, swinning off a grapple line as she lands near the tables, doing a nimble flip in the air before a three-point landing -- which she NEARLY sticks. Oriole, in her gray-and-orange-piped suit, gives a wry little smile of matte black lips as she stretches her arms overhead to stretch her shoulder as she approaches Batgirl.

    "What's the likelihood that one of those clowns on stage is going to start eating people? I have a betting pool open with Red Robin."

Austin Reese has posed:
Summer in the city is always crazy. That's why there's a whole song about it and everything. Osprey has, for his part, been enjoying actually having time off from classes in order to focus on the more fun stuff, like patrolling. Which is why he's out in full gear, though his hood is down at the moment, since it's so damn hot, "You know normally I'd be down there stuffing my face with funnel cake." He notes, having arrived to the gathering spot a moment or two after Phoebe did, but with a much less fancy entrance.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara stands, fully masked and caped in her armor (how does she stand the heat?), though she does look up from the holographic display of the festival when some of them start to arrive. She visibly smirks at some of the comments. "I won't make you work for long, and you can return here to change in to civilian attire to attend the fun afterward if you like. It is scheduled to go on to 1:00 am, should be plenty of time to have your fun yet tonight."

Batgirl looks back down to the display then, the holographic image showcasing a live feed of the festival grounds, the Bat-drones feeding live info directly back in to Batgirl's computer systems, allowing her a real time look at the situation.

"I got eyes scattered around already too, but we need more. Like you said, if somehow some of those clowns start acting in the way we all fear, I'd like to have one of you down there close-by to check in and react within seconds."

Barbara reaches her gloved hand down to indicate a moving figure. "Talia is down there, and she could ues a comm for our secondary open channel. If someone could get it down to her, that'd be appreciated too."

Batgirl looks up to each of them then. "I'd like to have someone near to the Ferris wheel also, just incase anyone tries to mess with it, since it'd be the biggest spectacle hazard."

Down in the festival itself, the throns of pedestrian traffic continues to flow. People milling about, the stilts performer walking past Talia, even laughing in a silly way while his bowling pins get skillfully juggled.

A fire breather raises up his lit fork, shouts a lively line of attention toward the watching crowds, then puffs a breath at the fork, causing a jet of flame to shoot out across an empty stretch of pavement.

The audience begins to offer a round of amused applause.

And that damn heat, boy is it bad tonight.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Watching the games of 'skill' being played by people who know that they're doing so for fun and not expecting any level of success gets a small flicker of a smile from Tala Al Ghul before she departs. The drones likely have identified her and probably tracking her location ata ll times. If they are, she's not bothering to hide herself or try to lose them. There's something less about trust involved here and more about minimizing drama. If she goes to ground at this event then likely she will annoy someone. So it's only fair for her to keep herself out in the open.

She goes to finish off her cotton candy, going to deposit the funnel over in a bin while sweeping about. What else to try.. She sees an advertisement for a 'tunnel of love' down further and her expression darkens for just a moment. It quickly smooths over - if the scanners are paying attention to her face they would pick it up - or if someone like Cassandra is getting an angle on her.

Then Talia goes to work over on her pretzel dipped with grease once more, glancing in the direction not of the rides but of some of the arcades.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass closes the door behind Austin, more than willing to be the gentleman for a change. She nods, mostly to herself, and listens. Seriously, standing there looking patient is pretty much her entire repertoire.

She does lean over, a bit nearer to the monitors, and look at Barbara though. Her eyes flick up, toward the fair, and then back to Barbara herself. Meaningfully, with some purpose behind the look.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "I'll get Talia the communicator." Phoebe offers, taking one up as she draws her hood back up over her hair-wrapped head, and gives a little smile "And I'll take the clowns in case it does spout extra mouths. I'd really rather it not though -- there's a vegan fried food stand that has 'corndogged' portobello strips and I *hunger* for mushrooms, mushrooms." she jokes, offering a fist-dap to Austin and Cass a piece before she goes to hop over the edge of the parking garage to disappear into the melange of grease smoke and city smaug!

Austin Reese has posed:
"Hmmm." I suppose I can head up to the ferris wheel." Osprey says, as he takes a look back at the fair, after Babs gives the various areas she wants folks set up, "Unless you want it, Cass." He says as he looks over towards her after a moment. He also does return the fist-bap to Phoebe before she heads off. Once Cass lets him know one way or the other, he'll head off too.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Babs' green eyes look up to Cass, who earns a smirk from the Batgirl. She shakes her head gently inside of her covering cowl. "I'm probably not going to attend. Too many people for my liking..." Anyone who knows Barbara knows that she gets really uncomfortable having people behind her, and thusly has been avoiding a lot of public situations since she got her ability to walk restored within her. She's been rapidly turning more and more in to the reclusive figure that Bruce once battled with...

In the bustling festival, the park is alive with activity under the night sky. People are laughing, talking, and munching on tasty food from stalls. Kids clutch colorful balloons and play games with big grins. Craft booths show off cool stuff, while a band on a stage gets everyone dancing. Up high, the giant ferris wheel spins and twinkles, making everything feel magical.

In the middle of all this fun, Batgirl's monitoring system picks up a situation that triggers an alert. A moment later and Babs' voice comes over the team comms.

"We have a fight breaking out behind the outhouses north of the Ferris wheel. Looks like a group of teenagers.. They're shouting, pushing, no visible weapons yet."

Indeed it is as she described, with two opposing groups of teenagers, male and female, looking a bit inebriated and ready to throw down...

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass opens her hand as Oriole daps her, catching her fist for an instant. Just that little squeeze, a moment's recognition and respect, and then she's back to glancing about the room, the other woman having already moved on. She shrugs at Osprey's question, then gestures palm-up, indicating that she doesn't mind. He can have it.

She turns to the monitors then, just looking at them. She sighs, then leans over and increases the resolution on one...rude, but it's something she knows how to do. Batman put her on monitor duty for weeks!

She stands there, watching people move for a solid fifteen seconds....honestly it's creepy. Then she says, "One person, enough." Her ability with body language might actually be MORE useful than her fighting skills, on the monitors? Huh.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As she makes her way on in the general direction, Talia is distantly aware of the fight. it's just a couple of drunks going at one another - or something akin to it. Beneath her notice, even as she keeps passive attention on it in case it expands. She's haughty, but not sloppy. Her training that involved a teacher occasionally jabbing a poisoned needle into her if she wasn't paying attention was a good incentive to not be.

As Talia walks on past, she goes to adjust her arc to put more space between her and the teenagers seemingly about to go at one another and to ensure that there's more of the crowd between her and then. Finishing up her pretzel, she goes to adjust her path to once more head towards the arcades, the sounds of the beeping machines filling the air. Machines outdated and from the golden era of the eighties and nineties htat had withstood the test of time and abuse. She's walking slowly in that direction.. Before heading to a nearby vendor to get a deep fried hot dog in a candy crust.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There's a distinct amount of allowance Phoebe gives between herself and the poeple below her, and if there's one thing she's gotten very good at, it's staying out of sight, and as she drops down below a rafter supporting lanterns and fairy lights, she slips between a RAMPAGE machine and a MORTAL KOMBAT machine in order to give just the lightest of pokes to Talia's sleeve. She was pretty sure Talia knew she was there.

Austin Reese has posed:
The leap off the car park is met with the whip of a grapple gun firing off, and Osprey sails upwards and outwards towards the fair proper. He brings himself around and towards the Ferris wheel. Unfortunately he only gets to hang out at the Ferris wheel for a few minutes, having put himself down in the middle section, out of the view of the lights as best he can.

The report of the fight breaking out has him move across the center beam of the wheel, out of sight of the folks that are on the ride proper. The smell of a nearby funnel cake stand hits his nose, and he sighs faintly. Alfred could probably make it but would he? That's the real question.

<"Eyes on the fight. Well it's more of a scuffle right now but they're going to probably throw hands soon. It looks like it's all just kids though.">

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    <<You wanna fight me instead and show 'em how it's done?>> Phoebe's voice can be heard over the coms. She's probably kidding.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
The festival's sparkle continues beside the parking garage that Batgirl's setup is poised upon, but trouble brews near the Ferris wheel. The two bunches of teenagers, looking a bit drunk and fuming, start shouting and shoving. The night's magic feels a bit dimmer as their angry voices rise, and their pushing turns more forceful. It's like a storm cloud in the middle of the fun, as their disagreement gets darker, and the peaceful night takes an unpleasant turn.

Near to Talia, and Phoebe, a woman shouts out. "Hey! Get back here!" as a pair of kids in their early teens can be seen beating feet, rushing through the crowd past where those wonderful arcade machines are. "They took my purse!" The woman further shouts.

Up on the garage, Babs can hear the shouting, and exhales softly. She glances to Cass. "Keep the cameras focused on those kids, so we know where they're going."

The two kids are rushing through the crowds, and darting behind the 'Tunnel of Love' attraction ride.

On the Ferris wheel, a little girl is waving at Osprey... uh oh, he's been seen! By a 5 year old.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
As Phoebe goes to approach her hidden between the machines, Talia goes to lightly catchher finger pre-poke and speaks quietly in Egyptian. The more modern form of the language given ehr last conversation with Phoebe in it had been the ancient version. "What is it?" She would inquire upon Phoebe's approach while letting her hand slide away, quietly evaluating the presence of the others in the arcade. None of the machines seemed like they would sprout legs and arms and try to go on a killing spree, or sucking any of the players into the void. Though someone wearing a football jacket with a 'Keene' on the back of it was staring over at a Punch Out machine like it was an ancient nemesis before backing away several steps.

The fact that Phoebe had been the one sent to her likely meant that no one was particularly frustrated with her, so there was that.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
The snort from Cass is almost amused. She upnods Barbara, then takes control of a couple of the monitors. She seems to be capable, a drone keeping eyes on 'the kids', then she gets this smirk on her face. She leans down, then leans up and pings a place on the map. A location in the Tunnel Of Love, a very specific one. The only place the kids could hide.

Then she leans back and puts her hands behind her head, looking cocky. Dem kids are already caught and don't even know it yet. She glances at Barbara and the handling of the snatcher, then looks at the screens again.

Alright, alright. I'll work. She gets back to scanning for upcoming problems.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "We're keeping in touch, if you want." Phoebe's response comes simply, her hand coming out and holding a small ear Bat-com.

    "Just in case. There's also a fight brewing. And off I go." Phoebe gives a bright smile, leaving Talia with a com if she so wishes, and doesn't get to fight Austin for giggles.

    No, instead there's the whisper of a cape (because Tim argued she should try it), and Oriole swings into action, up and over the arcade, a swing over a street light, quick ride up one half of The Zipper (a horrifying ride at roadside carnivals), and then over to the Tunnel of Love.

    Where Phoebe gives a :| expression.

Austin Reese has posed:
Glancing at the girl waving, Osprey actually gives her a small wave back, and then puts one gloved finger over his mouth to give her the 'shhh' motion. Turning his attention back to the brewing fight, he considers a way to break it up without revealing himself or causing an incident. Or beating up a bunch of teenagers.

He hops off the wheel, landing on the roof of one of the concession stands not far from the fight, and quickly moves across to get as close as he can. He quickly looks around, trying to check for any civilians in range. Hopefully most folks cleared out when the two groups started to get louder and louder.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
With Cass and Babs as the Eyes in the Sky, Babs' voice speaks up to Phoebe. "I'm going to send a drone in to that tunnel. I don't want you going in there and getting ambushed, or them sneaking out behind you. I'll flush them out, be ready to confront them for the purse."

About a whole 15 seconds later, and one of the Bat-drones comes humming down out of the sky. It pauses outside the top of the Tunnel of Love entrance before it shifts its form. Its wings pop out a little further, its running lights begin to rapidly flash like a strobe, and it zips in to the darkness of the tunnel.

Once inside, the tunnel begins to emit the sounds of screaching Bat-cries, loud and repetitive! The strobe lights flashes wildly, and within mere moments the two boys come running back out of the tunnel, leaping over the little watery pathway, one of them carrying the purse!

Osprey gets a giggle from the little girl, who naturally is already trying to rat him out to her parents that were necking in the Ferris wheel pod, but by the time they look, the young vigilante is no where to be seen. 'Crazy kids.'

"Talia. This is Batgirl." Barbara speaks to the woman, should she put the comm on. "I wanted to recruit you for the night, if you were up for it. Just let me know if you see anything nefarious happening on your stroll. YOu're free to toss the comm in to the trash too, if you'd prefer."

As for the fight? Most of the teens have broken up and are wandering off, but a couple of them remain. They've waited for one of the larger kids to enter the nearest outhouse, and now they're moving on either sides of it.

It's rapidly becoming clear what their game is too, as they start to push on either side of it, trying to rock it all while the person inside starts shouting, the door jammed shut with a hammer from the outside...

Talia al Ghul has posed:
The look from Talia given over to Phoebe is a 'so' if one had to translate the rather neutral vibe of it. "Thank you." She woulda ccept the communicator and slide it over behind her ear. "We should play, sometime." She would make a gesture over at the Rampage cabinet. "I think you'd have fun with it." Even as Phoebe goes to full on :| and leaves Talia on her own in the arcade. She would glance over at the Street Fighter II cabinet that had Thunder Thighs doing her signature 'I won' dance and glare.

"You shut up."

As Batgirlg oes to chime in, Talia goes to speak quietly, "Of course. I'll be available. Thank you for including me. I'll do what I can to render assistance." She's actually charmed by this. She's never been offered such a thing before. So it means a lot - even if no one is around to see her expression soften, and it's not there in her voice unless one is very good at reading it.

Austin Reese has posed:
<"Okay this is getting out of hand, somebody could get hurt now."> Osprey says over comms. He knows he can scare the kids off easily enough. The distance is short enough that he can pull off the jump, but he knows his landing needs to be perfect so he doesn't just plunge through the roof of the porta-john.

He lands feet first, pushing the whole portable toilet all the way back to the ground with a thump, having to adjust his balance as it settles, as he glares down at the kids that were rocking the proverbial casbah.

"Beat it."

He jerks his thumb towards the exit of the fair, and then jumps down off of the roof to land in front of it. That should make them get out of there, he thinks. He hopes.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    And Oriole as after the purse snatchers. She comes up and over the exit they bolt out of, she leaps, she draws her extending staff, and attempts to catch the handles of the purse in her staff as she nimbly flips over the boys to rescue the purse and its contents.

    "Hey! Hate to play fashion police, but I don't think this bag matches anything you're wearing!"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"It's a busy night," Babs continues to speak to Talia. "So any help you can offer, is appreciated. But seriously, you can trash the comm when you're done and ready to go home. It has a self destruct on its circuits for later tonight anyway. But if you ever want to help out more, well, let us know."

All of this is said as the duel focus on the situations down at the festival grounds continues to unfold. Cass is masterfully zooming, scanning, and searching the situations with her experienced skills behind the cameras.

Austin is somewhat correcdt in his assumptions. The two boys pushing on the porta-potty do back off, but they are so shocked by Osprey just landing there like that, that they shout such shocks up at him. One of them dropping a F-bomb to go with it. Both of them back up in their fancy sneakers toward the road behind where the Out-houses are setup, and after finally assessing they don't want to mess with someone who just dropped out of the sky, the two teens turn to run down the street toward their ambling friends.

Osprey will then hear a "Hello?" muffled and confused. "Can someone let me out of this?" The kid locked in the toilet, jiggling the door handle that is still locked by the limbs of a hammer.

Phoebe is swiftly able to intercept the boys with the fancy Prada bag. They are even more shocked than the teens that Osprey just confronted, but instead of considering actions against the vigilante, these two boys just turn tail and run as fast as they can toward the clound performers at the big stage!

"Good job, team." Batgirl says over the shared comms. "The owner of the purse is at the ticket counter on the other side of the park. They have a GCPD station there, I'm sure she's having words with the officer inside it. Take the purse there, when you can."

"Looks like we have a drunk peeing on one of the beer vendor stalls. Might need someone to respond to that next."

And thus is another night in Gotham City, a relatively happy one though, right? God, that heat though...