15899/The Wrath of Gotham

The Wrath of Gotham
Date of Scene:	21 September 2023
Location:	Old Gotham Music Hall, Gotham City
Synopsis:	A new threat reveals itself in Gotham City - Wrath. Hell bent on making police pay for their corruption, he was even prepared to duke it out with the Dark Knight himself. He was less prepared for a Dark Knight Superwoman duo though. Best laid plans and all that. Wrath got away and Alura's attempts at blending in with Humanity have seemingly failed.
Cast of Characters:	Alura In-Ze, Bruce Wayne

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Alura In-Ze has posed:
The architecture of Gotham fascinated Alura and since she was trying out this whole 'secret identity' thing, why not go to a city for sight seeing. The hyperloop took her from Metropolis to Gotham quickly enough. Slow compared to flying. And the gala she saw advertised was perfect for her intentions.

A charity gala for cancer patients run by Gotham PD. The stipend given to her was simply too much money and she needed to find an outlet for it. How the economy works on Earth is still a touch confusing to her mostly because the people running the show seem deluded and greedy.

Then there was the task of putting together a Genuine Earth Outfit(tm). Not the clothes the Amazons gave her. She's wearing a maxi white gown, matching white high heels, and a set of crystal earrings. A little on the nose but she doubts anyone will pay that much attention. After all - she's wearing glasses and since that works so well for her nephew and daughter, why not for her?

The gala is in full swing when she arrives. Balloons, mood lighting, music. People are dancing and others are nibbling on food. Doctors, social workers, police, all rubbing shoulders with Gotham's elite. Since she knew no one here it was almost an anthropological study of social strata in Gotham for Alura.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
True to form, if there was a fund raiser, there was a Wayne there. And this _particular_ fund raiser, orchestrated by the PD, got Bruce Wayne himself. They knew him to be a staunch ally of their efforts, although none knew just _how_ much of an ally he really was.

Making his way along through the party, trading glib comments lacking in much depth, and not displaying the kind of discerning eye that the Batman was known for, he plays himself off as precisely what Alura had seen - deluded, if not greedy. And yet, there is a certain artform to it, because everyone he greets, he greets by name. He knows them, their business, their children. A compliment on the recent accolade by a councilman's daughter, a wishing of good luck on a businessman's son's recent wedding, or praise to a sergeant who broke up a human smuggling ring. The sergeant gives some of the credit to the Dark Knight, and Bruce is quick to point out that a true hero would not hide his face, and makes sure the sergeant accepts the credit.

    So it is perhaps that utter lack of recognition that causes him to give a far longer glance to Alura when he spots her among the crowd. It could easily be interpreted as gawking, and surely none would blame him. But for Bruce, she is a mystery. And in his experience, mysteries are often simply threats yet to be discovered.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
There's a tiny little pizza. Barely hand sized. On a platter held by a man in a nice waiters outfit. A silver platter at that. It's so tiny she just has to try it. "Thank you," she says with a smile to he man. He seems amused by her curiousity over the consumable. She plops it in her mouth and lets the tastes roll around. It ... does not taste like a pizza. It looked the part but doesn't play the part. Not that it's not nice. It's nice.

The string quartet in the corner strikes up a more lively tune for the dancers and Alura watches with interest at the coordinated movement of the guests. Everyone seems to know this dance. A string quartet version of Single Ladies. For Alura she is not steeped enough in Earth culture yet to get the joke.

Alura catches the eye of a man gawking at her. Eyebrow raises ever so slightly above the rim of her glasses as she wonders who the man in the suit is. Then again, that goes for most people here - yet he seems to be the center of a lot of peoples attention.

"I think he's looking at me," says a long leggy blonde model next to Alura.

"Is he a movie star?" Alura can only guess but he has the chiselled jaw of a movie star.

"Hah! No. That's Bruce Wayne. Richest man in Gotham City. You ain't from around here."

Alura shakes her head and looks at the woman who seems very amused at her 'out of state'-ness. "No I'm not. This is only my second time in Gotham." The first was a brief stop off at a cemetery.

Commissioner Gordon is slowly making his way through the crowd too. Shaking hands, encouraging people to donate. His direction suggests he's headed toward the main stage and microphone.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
    Bruce Wayne did have that way of looking as if he was taking in the room all at once, so the model could hardly be blamed for thinking that he was looking at her. Like the Mona Lisa, his gaze seems to follow from any perspective.
    Even if Alura does not get distracted, briefly, by the appearance of Commissioner Gordon, the richest man of Gotham vanishes from her sight mere moments after her gaze landed upon him. Or at least, her normal sight. No doubt her enhanced vision could pierce the crowd to find how he used the brief passage of a chatting couple to shift for enough of frame to place more bodies between the two of them. His movements through the crowd are practiced, graceful, and at least for a time, he keeps himself out of Alura's line of sight. Not obviosuly, so, and it would be easy to chalk it up to happenscance. Bruce has been at this a long time, and has been known to get the drop even on her cousin.
    So unless she was truly focused on tracking the man, it might that she does not realize where he has gone until he manifests just slightly behind her and to the right, his gaze upon the stage, although from this vantage point, he could just as easily be studying the stranger in white than observing his friend preparing to begin his speech.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
And just like that - he's gone. The woman next to her looks particularly disappointed by this and she wanders off. Alura is fascinated for a moment but mingling with Earth people isn't exactly her forte. She turns around for another tiny pizza but even the waiter is gone.

The string quartet strikes up a waltz and part of the dance floor clears. The slower more orderly dance isn't for everybody. Alura certainly not as she's never learnt any of Earth's dances yet. Standing there on the floor alone she suddenly realises she's making a social faux pas.

She turns and finds mystery jaw line standing right there. Should she have been paying more attention? no.. no Clark said it was good to let the weirdness of human society wash over you and to be surprise. She is surprised though. "Bruce Wayne?" There's something familiar about him. It's not just the chiselled good looks. The question more a challenge of identity than a mark of someone who has met him before.

The mayor and the commissioner stop near the stage and get in to a heart conversation. Hands clapping shoulders. Buddy buddy. Perhaps they are friends. Alura is doing her best not to eaves drop - the wash of conversation laps over her mind and she has learnt to tune it out. Mostly.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Guilty as charged," replies Bruce, his voice a soft, mellifluous tone, nothing at all like the gruff, gravely voice that he adopts in the cowl. Would it be familiar enough, though, to Alura's hearing? Perhaps it would be, but with even the very cadence and tone altered, Bruce has been a master of disguise long enough that he could even fool Alfred if he wished to. Although a Kryptonian's ears may be more discerning of things he cannot alter.

"If you are finding yourself both surprisingly and disappointing bereft of an opportunity to enjoy the floor, I'd happily offer to remedy that, Ms...?" His voice upticks slightly, the way that in which he turns the absent information into a query. A hand is extended, politely of course. There may be time to squeeze in one dance, if the Commissioner's slow progress is any indication.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
It's crass for the media to be in a gala like this just to snap pictures of billionaire playboys and who they dance with. That's why they remove the flash and camera noises from their phones so they can get away with it. Alura is perplexed. She's good with faces usually - even human faces - but there's something about this man she can't quite put her finger on.

She takes his hand and professes, "I don't know this dance." Oh crap. A name? A fakename? quick think of a fake name! secret identities are usually better thought out than this. "Alice..." and a last name. Humans do that. "..Sol... aris." Named it.

A few awkward steps in to the waltz and she starts to figure it out. Keep equidistant from partner and follow his lead. This is a very counter intuitive thing for her to do. Dancing on Krypton was far more mathematical than this. There is something about her body when she miss-moves that becomes ever so firm, unyielding, powerful, just from that simple hand hold that Bruce has.

Finally it dawns on her. That steady heart beat. She's heard it before - she's seen it before on the walls of her space ship. Her eyes widen just a moment in confused recognition as she looks at his face in that way of 'what does it look like wearing a cowl'. She glances away, perhaps coyly, but really so as not to give away that she knows who is really is. After all, he shouldn't know who she really is either - glasses = perfect disguise!

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce Wayne had long since given up on the concept of privacy, and simply expects that his every move is documented for all to say. To a certain extent, now, he counts on it. Who could think that a man dancing with a bombshell such as Alura would waste time and risk bodily harm to race through the rooftops of Gotham for any reason?

"Miss Solaris," he repeats after her paused effort to produce a name. Confirmation comes to his mind at once that whoever this is is more than she appears. Is she friend? Foe? Something in between? He leads her initially at the waltz, seemingly not bothered by her apparent lack of familiarity. Although that is another clue which percolates in the mind of the World's Greatest Detective. Her grip is another. She is not from around here. But from where? Unclear.

Something about those glasses works so effectively. Despite not being fooled as to her being a mere normal human, Bruce has yet to discern any true familiarity. At least not yet. But he knows an act when he sees one. His fingers slip around against her back, not _too_ familiar for propriety, but perhaps bordering on that line. Curious as to what reaction that might evoke.

"What brings you out in support of the police, if I might be so bold as to ask?"

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura is rather surprised by the hand on her back. She holds herself like she's the rock and he's a piece of fabric tied to her for just a moment, then relaxes and keeps up the dance. After all, this is Batman. Ally of her nephew. The man she patched up after he fell from the sky.

"Oh. Not the police. Cancer. I'm here in support of cancer." She stumbles over her words and quickly recovers, "CURING, cancer. Curing cancer that is." Kryptonian is a much better language for avoiding those kinds of mistakes.

Her ears pick up something a little strange. All night there's been a steady amount of people talking, traffic, cars, etc. But the streets outside now sound far quieter. The Commish walks up on stage and taps on the mic. The quartet finishes up their piece. Alura looks to the man named Jim.

"Thank you everybody for coming. Tonight is a very important night. Our annual drive to fund cancer treatment and a search for a cure is a calendar date in the year everyone knows and we're looking to beat last years donations. It's shindigs like this that put Gotham's name on the national map as the caring people we are."

The doors burst open and a cadre of men wearing black armor and black masks enter the old music hall. They spread out as if well trained - machine guns pointed at people. Security is quickly secured with strikes from the butt off the rifle to their chests, hands then tied up.

Murmurs and cries as people huddle together. Some men spreading their arms protectively despite simply offering themselves up as potential bullet sponges. The doors are quickly covered and strangely one of the mooks strides in behind the fake crusader carrying broadcast equipment. Striding in behind the attacking force is - the dark knight? a man in black armour with a long flowing black cape. There's no Bat symbol on him though. Instead there are a few exposed conduits with energy flowing through them. In a gruff voice the not-batman says, "I'm so glad you could all make it too. As witness to the justice that will be done here today."

Alura tenses, becoming unmovable as she shifts the last step of their dance around to put Bruce behind her. She lowers the glasses down her nose as she looks over the assailants. Some sort of advanced carbon fibre armor and mask for each of them. Heavily armed with extra rounds and also grenades, flash bangs, etc. Then she notices outside - more of them, hastily assembling devices along the street. She turns around glancing at the ceiling, then the floor, noting even more of them assembling devices above and below the hall.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
There is a soft chuckle from Bruce Wayne as Alura stumbles over her words. That, at least, is nothing new to him. Even if he tries to puzzle out precisely who she is, who she might be, he struggles to determine if she is a threat. She may simply be a guest, as she claims, and having surprised her with the invitation to dance, not hard to imagine that is simply all it is.

Until he eels her body tense with the arrival of the would be justice-bringers. His fingers played against her back, two things are clear from her reaction - one, she is almost immediately prepared to act, and two, she is as surprised as he is. Whoever she is, his gut tells him she is on his side.

He can also tell from her movement, placing herself between the assailants and his own form, that she is well more than she appears. Amazonian? Certainly possible. Bruce Wayne may be a gentleman, but he is also practical. If she felt confident enough to interpose herself, he is not about to undo that in some senseless display of chivalry.

Regardless of who she is, this situation is trouble, and not the sort that Bruce Wayne can sort out.

She will feel him push off, of a sudden, before wheeling to dash towards an exit, to all outward appearances the billionaire thrusting her closer to harm's way to cover his own escape.

But if she is still tuned into that cadence of his heart beat, she will find that it has barely elevated above where it was at the dance. There is no panic in that man, and every movement has been calculated.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
The broadcast equipment is set up as Wrath jumps up on to the stage. Off duty police go for their side arms but the machine guns pointed at them encourage a quick surrender instead. Wrath strides up to the Commish and sucker punches him in the gut. Alura winces.

Grabbing Jim by the scruff of his neck he drags him down and in front of the broadcast equipment. "I'm so glad I have your attention," gravels the man in dark armor. "My name is Wrath and that is what I bring to this city. It is time for the corruption of Gotham's Police to become retribution."

"Good people in this city are beaten down, extorted, and gunned down by the police and no one lifts a finger to stop them. That ends today. I am the line that they will no longer cross."

"We're live," says the Wrath's lacky. Wrath points a gun to Jim's head and he addresses the camera, "People of Gotham." The pistol hammer is cocked. Alura lowers her glasses and with a short burst of her heat vision cuts in to the camera.

"Cut!," calls out the lacky, "We've lost our live feed." The Wrath is stunned for a moment, not sure what to do. The hammer is uncocked. What use is killing the Commissioner if no one outside the hall sees it. "Fix it!," he commands gruffly.

One of the mooks points his gun at Alura and nudges it toward the wall, "Back up blondie." Alura realises everyone else is up against the walls at this point so that their attackers can manage the population. She slowly backs up to the wall as she considers her next move. And... where'd Bruce go? She can hear his heart - over that way.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The piercing cry of the fire alarm joins the rest of the hubbub and water cascades down from a sprinkler system suddenly erupting into action. There is a split second of confusion among the entire crowd, and that is all the Dark Knight needs to slip out the kitchen door, where certainly no one was trying to escape to. Why trap yourself further from real exists? The kitchen staff, of course, have already done their best to flee, living the kitchen fortuitously. both absent of people and bereft of cameras. No one wants to watch the food being prepped.

As Alura begins to wonder where Bruce has gone to, if she has fine enough control of her super hearing to find that one heartbeat among so many, she would know he is in the other room. And near his heartbeat is the sound of clothing rapidly being shed.

It is not hard, knowing what she knows, to realize that the Batman will be upon the scene within moments.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Alura listens carefully. Wrath has his own comms system internal to his suit. 'Charges in place' is the wording that comes through. Now she knows - outside, underneath, above - they are surrounded by bombs. No one was going to get out of this place alive except Wrath and his crew.

She frowns deeply. She knows she's fast but not fast enough to evacuate everybody away from the blast. She's not fast enough to disarm them all either. If she knew how they were to be triggered then may be - presumably some gadget Wrath has on his person. Perhaps any of his men could activate the explosives.

"It's kaput boss," says the tech lacky. Wrath scowls. "Fine. Plan B." He has a plan B and his men already know what it is. The planning by this guy is quite alarming. Plan B makes Alura and the rest of the hostages, drenched by the fire system, jump.

One of Wrath's men shoots a security guard in the leg, helps him up limping and bleeding and shoves him out the door. "Call the cops. Tell the media." He tosses a cell phone out with the guy. "Better be quick before you bleed out."

"And shut off the fire system," Wrath says. One of his men moves off toward the kitchen area. Wrath spreads his arms, "Ladies and Gentlemen. Before anyone here thinks they're a hero I will tell you how this is going to play out."

He motions up to the skies where the fire fighting rain is falling from. "Tonight I make an example out of the Commissioner, broadcast to the world. Then you all get to go home. If any of you try to get in my way - I will blow up this building and everyone in it. Got it? Good."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Hopefully, the fire alarms rattle Wrath and his men at least a little bit, to throw them off their routine. The Batman has seen criminals mastermind these sorts of scenes before, meticulous and well planned, and knows that forcing them to improvise is the best defense.

The man swishes through the door to the kitchen, and a moment later the door swishes back the other way as his body flies through the air, landing with a thump as it skims across the floor.
    "I offer a better example for you," comes that well known voice as the Dark Knight emerges from the kitchen.

It is a risky gamble, of course, but if Wrath is true to his word, Bruce knows that taking out Batman would be far more impressive to his agenda than Gordon. And that may buy enough time for someone to take out the bombs.

Given his resources at the moment, that is the best he can do.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
'Call the cops. Tell the media' -- a circus will be outside this building within minutes. It's Gotham, both police and media are always ready to hop to it. Which means they'll be in line to capture the carnage when Wrath sets off the bombs outside.

Alura glances to the doors. Side doors which lead down in to the basement. She has to start somewhere. And Batman is sure making a scene already. It's the perfect distraction for her to disappear with a small gust of wind through the door and downstairs.

"Hey! Who are you!" One of the goons raises his weapon to Alura. "Get back upstairs with the rest of the hostages."

Alura in the blink of an eye is in front of him, gun barrel in her hand - she bends it 90 degrees, then shoves the man firmly in to the wall. He coughs as the air escapes his lungs and slumps down trying to catch his breath.

She eyes one of the devices and kneels down before it to analyse it. "Simple design. Destructive. Remote trigger." The guy isn't done yet - he draws a side arm and shoots it at Alura. A burnt hole appears on her back and the bullet bounces off her and on to the floor.

She turns around and is back before him. "Take the hint." Another forceful shove but this time he slumps. She picks up the gun and crushes it in her hand. Then she hears two more calling out, "HEY! HOLD IT!" And raising their weapons. With a small huff, she rushes in to the two of them too. This time she won't be quite so gentle. Unconscious is the flavour of the night.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Wrath grips his hand in to a fist as he turns toward the sound of Batman's voice. "Well if it isn't Lines Don't Exist himself. Ladies and Gentlemen the prime example of Gotham's corruption. The police even cheer for him now. The D.A. won't lift a finger against him. Batman."

"Do you know the difference between the villains and the cops you stop Batman? The cops don't even go to jail. They walk away with a slap on the wrist and a bite in to their pay. But behind closed doors they're all slapping each other on the back. Atta boy. Ya shot the bad guy. He was stealing a DVD player but ya got him good. No more theft from the repressed population of the city who can barely make ends meet."

"I look forward to showing the world whose hiding behind that mask. I got a good feeling I know who you are.. Detective Writeword." He lifts up the pistol and his thumb ejects the cartridge. His other hand lifts up another, presumably armor piercing bullets, and slots in to place. "Wrath will find you wanting /Batman/"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The single biggest mistake any villain can make when facing the World's Greatest Detective is monologue. It's been said that with enough preparation, Batman can take out just about any foe. Put him in a situation and give him two minutes to observe the stance of the men, their positioning through out the room, the desperation or patience in the voice of the leader, or even those other tiny little pieces of evidence like the squawk of walkie talkies that they use - you are just asking for defeat.

Batman does little to counter Wrath's arguments, simply advancing slowly from the kitchen. Acutely aware that the other armed men are not nearly foolish enough to start to close rank behind him as he does so. Which is a good sign. Wrath's crusade is his, and not these men. It is easier to dissuade mercenaries than zealots.

"Nobody's perfect," he says, a hand whipping out to send a batarang flying at an electronic device on Wrath's hip. It might be the detonator, it might be something else. But one thing Batman knows is that Wrath isn't trusting anyone else with that, so if he can keep him on his toes...

The Caped Crusader chases the batarang as it flies at Wrath. This needs to be quick.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Wrath's head rocks from side to side as Batman makes his move. He lets the batterang hit the gadget. Was it a fake? This man seems ready as he begins to move like an expert martial artist in his own right. A dash to the right, hands up. He throws a fake punch and lets out a gruff laugh.

"Oh we're just getting started Batman. I kinda hoped you'd turn up tonight but I'm a patient man," he chats as he seems to be keeping his distance. His men are watching with interest - but one by one they are attaching something to the muzzle of their weapons. It looks like a flash light but without a bulb.

"I was willing to put in the work this city needs done to get your attention. But here you are." He certainly likes to chat. The quiet voice in his ear comes from one of his lieutenants: 'Ready'. "Eh. Looks like it's time to end this Batman."

The goons all point their weapons at Batman and activate the strange attachment. A cacophony of sonic waves hit him and Wrath starts to take advantage of the discombobulation it should cause.

Down in the basement, Alura drops three more of Wrath's men. "How many of you are there?" She just wants to study the device. A wireless signal. Everything she needs to put it out of action is upstairs. She moves back to the door and pries it open and spies the broadcast equipment she damaged.

As Batman engages Wrath in hand to hand combat she dashes across the floor and hip checks the tech lackey out of the way. "Wha! what .. are you?!"

Alura doesn't answer him as she begins to rewire his machine. But then the audio assault hits. She drops to a knee and clenches her ears. Her eyelashes flutter at the intense pain its causing her sensitive super hearing.

The lackey rises up, draws out his pistol, and shoots Alura point blank. It does nothing but ricochette and she is far too disoriented by the audio assault to even notice.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Batman has been in this business a long time, and he knows when he is being setup. It might have been more effective if only the men behind him were attaching the device. But then, Batman is moving around to gain perspective even as he fights, so perhaps that would not have done much either.

He waits until the last moment to fire the grappling hook up at the ceiling and launch himself out of, so he thinks, the range of the attack. But while he is out of the line of fire, it does not fully stop the sonic assault, and he can feel the pain begin to overtake him. He reaches to his utility belt and withdraws a band that can snap form fitting around his ears. He has fought enough sonic based villains to have a counter-measure. But before he can slide it into place, he sees Alura. And the hole in the back of her dress.

Needing no more confirmation than that, Batman goes with his gut and flings the band at the woman in white. Something tells him she could use the sonic dampeners far more than he could.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Wrath looks up as Batman rises up up and away from his trap. His mouth smirks and he turns around as he hears the sirens approaching outside. He whispers in to his comms, 'Get ready, the fireworks are about to start'. Wrath is not the run of the mill villain it seems. Prepared, able to adapt, preparing traps, ulterior motives, and a focused mind on his goals.

Alura catches the hearing device and puts it over her ears. It's .. something. Inverse sound waves - the processor mostly keeping up with the sonic attacks adapting frequencies. She can still hear it through Batman's device, but this gives her the window to finish the blocker.

A few more wires and taps on the controls she activates the broadcast device. There's a loud speaker from outside, "This is the police. Release the hostages and surrender yourselves immediately."

Wrath presses a button in his glove to activate the C4 but... no big kaboom. For the first time since he arrived he has a slightly surprised look on his face. He looks dead straight at Alura as she glares back at him. His eyes refocus on the broadcast equipment in realisation. "We're done here."

Alura dashes forward and grabs the man by the front of his armor. Electricity lances across his armor and over Alura but it doesn't phase her. The whole of his crew deploy their flashbangs.

The old music hall erupts in dazzling light and sound. Even Alura stumbles from this and lets him go. She hopes Batman held on up there. The hostages, some of them now puking, are also wildly disoriented by the dazzling visual assault.

As Alura rights herself she realises Wrath is no longer there. Nor are his men. Her x-ray is still very blurry. She grimaces and looks up in to the rafters to check on her ally. She feels a hand in hers and her head snaps back to see the man responsible - Jim Gordon.

"It's okay miss. You're safe now. GCPD have got this," he says to her in mostly muted but reassuring and confident tones. The man who almost died tonight is offering her comfort? She closes her other hand over the top of his. She can feel his hand shaking. It seems her rock steadiness is providing him with the calm he needs as he realises who he's looking at. In the commotion she lost the glasses after all.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
While strictly speaking the presence of sonic attacks does not imply that visual attacks are coming too, Batman takes no chances. As much as he is suffering from the disorientation of the sonic devices while clinging to the ceiling, he takes precautions, the lenses of his cowl adjusting such that he is spared the impact of the flash bangs.

Still reeling from the sonic discharge, his feet are wobbly as he drops to the ground to give chase as Wrath mounts his escape.

He manages to make it far enough away that no one at the party sees the Dark Knight double over and retch from the intestinal distortion of those sound waves, but not far enough to keep tabs on the villain's flight.

But enough of the crowd has thinned out that he knows Bruce Wayne's absence will just be chalked up to another panicked fat cat, and so he slips out a window, leaving the Gotham PD to sort the rest of this out.

He did not get a clear look at the woman in white after she lost her glasses, but most of the pieces fall into place as he collapses against a chimney on the rooftop, gathering himself so he can make good on his own escape.

He will have some pointed questions for Superwoman the next time he encounters her.