16233/Injustice For All: The Heist

Injustice For All: The Heist
Date of Scene:	04 November 2023
Location:	American Museum of Natural History
Synopsis:	The Justice League and their allies are alerted to an attempted robbery at the American Museum of Natural History by the Injustice League. And an old foe just might be the target.
Cast of Characters:	Barry Allen, Monet St. Croix, Diana Prince, Belinda Gutierrez, Phoebe Beacon

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Barry Allen has posed:
It seems that there is almost no end to the activities of the so-called Injustice League as of late, popping up around the globe with their widespread activities. A theft here. An assassination there. They have kept the heroes of the world busy indeed.

But apparently more local interests haven't been completely forgotten either.

It is a small thing, in the grand scheme of things. An alarm going off at the American Museum of Natural History. Just for a few seconds. Even before the authorities have barely taken notice they receive the all clear message from the museum, the proper confirmation signal given. Just an accident, nothing to be concerned about. Everything is fine, they're all fine there. How're you?

But along with that alert went out just a few seconds of innocuous video, the grainy footage easily overlooked. But caught by various systems that so many superheroes are tied into to monitor footage and reports. And while the footage might be grainy, a closer look under enhancement shows what almost definitely appears to be Cheetah and possibly Deathstroke. Just a couple of seconds and now the footage from inside the museum shows nothing wrong at all.

But given the ongoing hunt for Grood and his new alliance of villains, no lead can really be neglected, at least not for long.

It is already late into the evening, though not yet midnight. Still, the American Museum of Natural History has been closed for hours and the darkened exterior certainly doesn't suggest that there is anything wrong within. It is quiet and still, only the occasional passersby wandering in front of the building.

Through the glass lobby it is possible to spot the form of a singular nightwatchmen planted at the reception desk, feet up in front of him, eyes firmly fixed on the monitors that are tucked just out of casual sight, beneath the lip of that desk. It seems likely that at least one of them is not tuned ti an internal monitor but some other distraction.

In short, nothing seems out of place. But then the best crimes are rarely discovered until after the fact.

While New York might be a little ways from Metropolis, it isn't all that far for the Fastest Man Alive and when the Justice League alert goes out, it takes Barry very little time at all to zip into his scarlet and yellow costume, to race up the cost and come to a screeching stop just outside the museum, the after image of him slowly fading away. "Onsite now. Everything looks normal. So far."

Appearances can and usually are deceiving, however.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Why do so many individuals lend things to museums? The security is often poor, and things are constantly taken or damaged when there are robberies. Monet has been left to bleed out here on at least one occasion. So why are these places always given things to put out on display even with the consistently poor track record?

Payouts. For taxes and for insurance. As far as M is concerned, donations exist purely to help perpetrate insurance fraud. She's likely wrong, but there are only so many reasons that anyone gives any museum in Gotham that has a 'cat' or 'Bast' associated with it.

MOnet is flying along towards the museum, even as she goes to pick up from the mind of the Watchman, if anything. However, she -does- move to pay specific attention to their consciuosness if she can. Simply because it's incredibly simple for the watchman to have been mind controlled, replaced by a double.. Or something else.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had been in the process of returning to New York from the Atlantic Starport when the call came across the JLA network about another situation at the museum. It wasn't often these days that Diana found herself alone aboard the 'Invisible Jet', but today just so happened to be one of those rare moments where she was. Thusly, when the Jet reached the city, it lowered down toward a empty street, where it shifted forms from a large transport vehicle down in to a street capable motorcycle...

Mounted on the bike, Diana is leaned forward upon its, the cloud-white bike's engines roaring loudly against the concrete canyon of the city's street, as she takes a hard turn at a intersection up ahead.

Barry's comm update comes over her ear-piece, as Diana pulls up at the museum moments later, the bulky white tires of the Lansinarian motorcycle bouncing up on to a curb as she drives it casually out on to the green grass of the lawn close to the large museum complex.

"Wonder Woman on-site.." She calmly says over the comm-network, sitting back on the bike's surface after killing its engine with a simple voice command.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Hayden Planetarium. As much as Cape Canaveral, or the Space Coast, or Star City in Kazakhstan, this is one of those precious places that draws the Spacey with stars in their eyes-- a Mecca and place of pilgrimage and exploration.

And no small amount of hero worship.

"...he signed it," Belinda Gutierrez murmurs dreamily, gazing down with fond reverence at the book in her hands. Sitting on a stone bench in front of the museum, she flips through the pages adoringly, glancing at pictures, tales, other things. Images from the Hubble, a collection of writing and philosophies and other short works-- "Startalk", as the title states.

Amazing how much time can pass when utterly engrossed in reading!

The blast of zipping halt draws even the most attention-sunk person into realitiy though; Belinda gazes up at the Scarlet Speedster blearily, blinking in shock.

"--ah!" she begins, staring in surprise. "Er. Hola?" And then Diana's appearance. Wonder Woman. WONDER WOMAN. And the Flash! Her reply is appropriate.

A very quiet: "...Eeeeee!"

Phoebe Beacon has posed:

    No no Monet is right at that. The donations affect taxes. You have a friend value a piece of art at $2Million, and then donate the art, and then write off two million on your taxes.

    Phoebe, unfortunately, knows all about that racket. The Fireman's Orphans Funds depended on that kind of fraud to trickle down for their donations to build up the schollarships.

    Phoebe was in her Balm armor, the gray, cloakless armor blending in with the buildings around as her blue lenses look over the city. She purses her lips, her head tilting to the side as she regards the building.

    She purses her lips, and tries to reach out into the aether in the energies of New York City to see if there's any odd Magical readings... well.

    ... it IS a museum. There's always something weird going on there at night.

    "Balm, also on site. Good evening, all. I'm trying to pick up any weird magics as we speak."

Barry Allen has posed:
In the end that is perhaps the most telling thing of all.

Even if nothing strange was going on within the museum chances are some exhibit within would radiate at least a little magic. Even something natural, no matter how faint. Likewise the same should be true for Monet and her psychic senses. There should be at least a quartet of night watchmen within keeping tabs on the place.

Instead the place might as read as a void in existence. A figurative black hole that simply swallows up any trace of thought or magic.

That sort of thing just doesn't happen in nature, at least not very often which certainly lends credance to the fact that something is very wrong within.

Certainly wrong enough to merit a little investigation at the very least and as a number of individuals converge on the museum -- or simply find themselves here for other reasons -- Barry nods to each in turn before starting towards that front door. "Well then, I suppose since we made the trek out here we had better see what there is to see. I mean, I can at least pick up a few pizzas to take back to the Hall and snack on so it's not a complete waste of time," the Flash notes, shooting a brief grin Belinda's way.

Lookit, Metropolis is known for many things but pizza is definitely not one of them.

Tapping on the front door, the Scarlet Speedster tosses a little wave towards the security guard who stares at the gathering that has begun to assemble outside the museum. He's slow to move, though when he finally does the heavyset man does hurry over, fumbling with the keys -- dropping them three times! -- before he manages to open the door a crack, sticking his head out. "Uuuh, sorry, the museum's closed. You do know that the alarm earlier was just a false alarm, right?" he offers up with a thick Bronx accent.

All in all, he seems very much like a man who is most interested in just getting them to go away.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would go to hold a hand up and move to speak along the comms after just a moment <<The man's mind is totally blocked.>> She can't tell how exactly - whether it's technological, implanted by a superior telepath, if the man is a construt.. She's not hte most powerful, or most ksilled telepath. But she should be capable of reading someone's normal mind or at least getting surface scans.

She hovers in place now as she passes that along to the rest of them. The fact that the man's mind is blocked means that they're going into a trap.

Again.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's eyes go over to Belinda in the distance when she calls out to her. A hand is raised to wave toward the other whilst Wonder Woman is still seated on the bench of that rather unusual vehicle of hers. She stands up then, and kicks one leg over it to rise up on to the grass upon armored boots. Her eyes dart back over to the museum complex, knowing all too well how intricate and expansive the grounds are, she starts walking to join the others headed toward the door.

When the night watch guard cracks the door open, Diana steps out from around a pathway edge, to join the others. She glances toward Barry, and then toward the guard.

"We have reason to believe something might be unfolding here." Diana says in a smooth tone of her Themysciran accented English. "Might we have your grace to wander around a bit? We should not need too long, and I assure you we will not touch anything we are not supposed to." She adds, inserting a meager amount of humor to help, along with a faint smile touching the corners of her red hued lips.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Belinda gives a quick wave, giggling girlishly as she pushes up from the bench, and practically skipping (skipping!) down the sidewalk, around the corner, a happy schoolgirl oblivious to anything wrong or evil or--

Around corner, sneak into alleyway, alcove. Cheerful expression become suddenly, utterly neutral. Frown. New York-- not as sparkly and shiny as Metropolis, but likewise not exactly stuffed full of places to change surreptitiously. She fumbles in her jacket pocket, fishing for the earbud before she slips it into place.

<< "Silverdane, onsite un momiento," >> she manages, trying her best to imitate the rougher, deeper voice of her larger namesake.

Shuck off jacket, set on ground behind dumpster. And whimper-- sigh, before placing book in folds of jacket, wrapping carefully. Grimace!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "New York Pizza sounds great and I don't think I've been there since I lent Wonder Woman a hand with a curse -- make sure there's a mushroom and pepper with maybe jalapen--" Balm cuts off suddenly.

    "... that's... odd. Really strange. There should be at least some... sort of magical reading. Something *There*... I mean dinosaurs and wonderment and old gems that used to belong to other museums, should leave traces of something." Balm states, and she stands up on the rooftop across the way.

    "There's... nothing."

    She brings her hands together, and with a warm glow a pair of rose-gold colored wings that appear to be fashioned from glass, and she takes off from the rooftop to come down and join the growing group.

    "I'm with M on this one," she states into the comms, "this is very trap-py. Be careful with your approaches." she states, hopping over the alleyway Belinda's in before she soars down to land behind the group at the door.

Barry Allen has posed:
It is a little difficult to tell if the security guard is just playing at being a little dense and untrusting or if that is just his natural state of being.

Either way, the man seems unduly reluctant to let them into the facility, despite the bonifides of having two members of the Justice League present. Instead the beefy man looks them up and down with a suspicious eye as if he expects them to suddenly change, or that he might somehow see through their disguise and recognize the fact that they aren't really famous superheroes but instead crooks just waiting for him to let his guard down for a moment.

The man even leans forward a little more, craning his head out and sweeping his gaze about as if there might be more of them just hiding around the corner, waiting to swarm over him as soon as he stands aside. At last however he seems to come to the grudging conclusion that they are who they in fact say they are and that they can likely just push their way in if they so desire. "Well... I guess that's fine," he finally allows, stepping out and holding the door open for the costumed brigade. Though some of that uncertainty comes back when he spots Silverdane. "Just don't touch anything," he says, a distracted sort of note in his voice. "Uh... is your, ummm, pet house trained? The cleaners are gone for the night and I ain't cleanin' up no accidents..."

Again, it is a little difficult to be sure if he is trying to be deliberately insulting or not, or if he just lacks social graces. Both seem equally possible.

The Flash does not miss the reports from M and Balm, that there is something very wrong here and the security guard isn't exactly filling him with confidence either. But it's not like they don't have some pretty potent backup on the scene with them right? That counts for something and as the man in front of them steps aside, Barry enters the museum lobby with a courteous nod, slowly glancing about before surreptitious racing over to check out those monitors at the desk, taking them all in in less then a second before he is back where he started, giving a slight shake of his head to the others.

The guard glances around at them all, that suspicious look sliding back over his features. "No funny business now, you hear?"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet goes to glance over at the man and speaks, "With your sense of humor, we could take you to a vaudeville theatre and you'd be booing on the way out." She resists giving the man a hard shove. He's part of the trap and his presence here is nod oubt designed to bait them after all. She goes to pull away from the others - moving to make sure they're not all in the line of fire.

She uses her slightly enhanced senses tos can out and try to look for anything amiss. Belinda's are far better than her's are, as are Diana's. She's expecting her telepathy to be blocked - Grodd certainly has the capabilities. But if she's good she can figure out if the blocking is technological, magical, or by a more powerful telepath. If she can tell thsoe things from experience it's a small edge to the rest of them to have some sort of idea as to what they're up against.

Remember the days when the biggest worry was Sauron making a gun to turn all the dinosaurs back to life to go on a rampage?

Diana Prince has posed:
The reaction that the team gets from the Night Watch guard has Diana gently tilting her head to the side as she watches him in-return as he looks them over. She glances to the others with her before the guard finaly relents and allows them entry. Diana's hands leave her hips then as she starts to stride forward, passing through the open door. She's been in here many times before, as museums were the bulk of her life before becoming the public figure of Wonder Woman.

A trap? Perhaps, but she wasn't afraid of traps.

As Barry rushes toward the computers, Diana simply begins a leisurely walk around the foyer before moving toward one of the adjoining corridors further in to the depths of the museum's offerings.

She's just casually strolling, much like Officer Al Powell had from the first Die Hard film when he'd been granted foyer access by the suspicious night watchman of the Nakatomi Plaza tower...

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Sir, are you insinuating the sapient wolf person is..." Phoebe turns back to Belinda, lips pursed, and then back to the security guard "... a *pet*?" she asks, and then shakes her head. "Silverdane deserves an apology there." Balm states, and then she gives a visual sweep.

    And she closes her eyes, and draws up her hands, focusing on the weird sense of NOthingness in the museum.
    "Ostende quid sit in tenebris nihilo" she whispers -- show me what exists in these shadows of nothing -- trying to get a bead on just.... why it felt so very, very weird, turning slowly and walking around the main foyer.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane casts a baleful glower at the guard. Crosses arms.

"..am fully housetrained," she rumbles sotto voce, brooding fit to match the Bathound's dark look. Affecting every offended sensibility, she snorts archly, stepping off to one side and moving away. Reaching up to scratch her ear as she walks, she rubs absently, moving opposite Diana's path, closer to Balm. Murmuring quietly to her earpiece for the others as the Batmage works her mysticism.

<< "...museum display bones are not real bones. Plaster replicas. Models, lightweight, made for viewing. Valuable things kept in safe vault, deeper inside. Perhaps underground." >> She casts a glance back at the guard, eyes narrowed in suspicion. << "Would museum nightguard know this?" >>

Barry Allen has posed:
The whole situation certainly feels off, no matter what extra-sensory abilities might have. Or even if one has none at all.

Is it all a trap? It's possible to be sure, and the Injustice League has certainly shown a fondness for invisibility along with surprise appearances and disappearances.

And yet they have certainly gone to a lot of effort to try and avoid the attention of the authorities here tonight. If the idea was to simply lead them into trouble, they do seem to have gone to some effort to avoid a fight.

Even the seemingly incompenent security guard seems more intent on holding them up, an aggrevation rather then a real threat.

Maybe they're not the point at all?

The guard seems a little taken aback at Balm's words, glancing between her and the giant wolf-person nearby as if unsure he's really expected to apologize to that thing.. But it's two against one -- or five against one if you want to get really particular -- and that seems to decide it.

"Hey, I didn't mean any offense. I'm just saying, you know..." the guard mumbles out words that could, possibly, in some way, be construed as an apology. Or at least a general feeling of regret. Maybe.

There is nothing that truly stands out as 'wrong' in the lobby. Except everything. The museum continues to exist as a sort of deadzone, no sense of any magic, any mental activity, nothing at all and the general wrongness of it is impossible to miss.

Except the guard certainly seems to be unaware of it, though as Wonder Woman starts to wander off he suddenly breaks off that uncomfortable survey of Silverdane and Balm, starting after her. "Hey, no splitting up. Lets all stay together, okay?" he says, lumbering after her though having little real chance of catching up.

With that distraction, the Flash is off again, disappearing in a streak of red and yellow to quickly survey the museum in mere seconds.

While he is gone Balm mutters those words and at first nothing at all seems to happen. Then the lights seem to flicker, just for a moment and a shadow that should not be there is suddenly outlined on the ceiling above them, a vague manshape.

A trick of the light? Perhaps. But there is another one too. In the dark glass looking out from the lobby there is a reflection there. A woman, in midnight robes of blue, her features concealled away behind a mask of gold.

Then the Flash staggers back into the lobby, clutching at his side, costume torn in a tree of places, blood leaking from between his fingers. "Look out..." he says, an instant before a laser blast rips through the lobby towards them all, the agile, spooted form of Cheetah hurling out of that same side corridor an instant later, snarl on her features.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's the previous encounters with Cheetah that have taught Monet of the telltale signs of her coming. So as soon as they're there she's going to charge in at cheetah at high speed. Compared to Flash, she's but a snail. Compared to Cheetah, she's like a Turtle. She might as well be frozen in air, in time as she goes to try and brutally brawl her way through the melee to catch the woman that she's been bled by so many times.

But here Monet tries another thing as the two would brawl. From what she's been able to tell from her limited research in the Embassy's library, Cheetah is the avatar of a god. One of blood and fury. Monet goes to try and blast Cheetah with something beyond a simple attack. That will be useless if Cheetah is shielded.

But, Monet goes to tyr and blast out at Cheetah with something alien, something that to the woman possibly in perpetual bloodlust is something unexpected, unkonwn.

The void. Monet spent years of ehr life locked away in an empty shell, sensory deprivation and eternity her only companions. She goes to try and blanket Cheetah's consciousness with this for but a micro-second.

Diana Prince has posed:
It isn't even the guard that manages to stop Diana's progress further in to the museum proper. No, it's a row of shelves with packages for sale marked as 'Astronaut Ice Cream' that stops her. A series of packaging marked with all manner of flavors. She's seen this stuff before, but never tried it. Oh well!

The Guard is there then, at her side, garnering her attention which makes her frown ever-so-slightly toward him. "Sir." She says softly. "We are here to help you, if there should be a danger lurking... What is your---" Diana trails off then as she averts her eyes upward toward that shadow that falls across the lobby.

With a fraction of a second to spare, Diana pushes the guard out of the way of the laser blast, just after Barry had returned, seemingly badly injured!

Diana's fists ball-up, with the arrival of that damnable Cheetah woman. They had run in with each other off and on for the past few years now, with Cheetah leaving a wake of misery everywhere she went.

"Whatever this is, it ends now." Diana speaks as she stares at the Cheetah, with Monet rushing to hopefully subdue the cat-woman. "Flash! If you are injured, try to get outside and put out a call for additional support!" Diana calls out to her JL team member.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane notes the items, the shelves that give the Princess pause. She covers her muzzle over a grin. Guilty delight-- Astronaut Ice Cream. Noted for futu--! And then scent. Heat. Blood.

Blood-- the coppery hot scent is like a panic button to attuned senses, setting Silverdane quivering with a shudder. /Flash's/ blood. But that scent is strangely muffled, dampened, dulled-- as though whatever tried to cover the rest of the villains behind their Shell of Unnoticing worked overtime to try and drive away that vibrant red crimson as well.

Silverdane snarls, fangs bared as she casts a glance towards the growing tussel between Monet and Wonder Woman versus the Cheetah.

"Balm," she rumbles in warning, stepping to guard the spellweaver's back with a growl.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Phoebe looks up and sees the dark shape against the ceiling -- that's strange enough -- but the figur ein the mirror with the robes and the golden mask catches her to the point where she briefly id distracted.

    "Not a bad begin--" she states, and then there's a soft sound of surprise when Cheetah launches her attack.

    Phoebe reaches up and brings a sheild into being, the brilliance of it sglow highlighting a lock of curling pink hair in the middle of her forehead quite dramatically as her eyes narrow behind those blue lenses.

    "Flash?!" she asks, turning around and seeing the scarlet speedster injured.

    "I've got him. Cover me." Balm states to Silverdane, and she claps her hands again as her wings make a second appearance for the night, and she sails towards the injured speedster!

    "HEy, they don't call me Balm for nothing -- need a hand?" she offers out!

Barry Allen has posed:
While the Flash might heal remarkably quickly, it is no instantaneous and clearly the Cheetah managed to strike at him with the element of surprise, raking those claws down his side leaving him cut and bleeding noticably. It would seem that Monet is not the only one to have been bled but the dangerous woman any longer.

While Barry might want to protest and while the red of his suit might help hide the extent of his injuries, the grimace on his face, the way he clutches at his side tells another story and that one quite clearly says that he is not doing so well. Straightening, he only barely avoids another of those laser blasts that comes tearing out from that dark corridor nearby and he starts staggering towards the door. "On it," he agrees with a grimace, already muttering into the comm, confirming to anyone listening that the Injustice League is indeed on site at the museum as suspected. He only pauses when Balm starts towards him. "I wouldn't say no," Barry admits, the pain in his voice obvious.

Overlooked for the moment, the dark glass that encases the lobby continues to reflect that masked woman in her robes, that expression unreadable behind its golden veil. But those muffling, dampening waves continue to resonate from her as she looks on. Implacably.

The shadowy figure on the ceiling likewise does not linger, scampering away wild-like until it is once more swallowed up those dark corners that the light below does not completely touch. And just like that it is gone.

There in the center of the room, Cheetah snarls and directs a cruel smile towards Diana, hands flexing, showing those blood-tipped nails. Before she can hurl any insults towards the Amazon Princess though she staggers back under Monet's psychic assault before she shakes her head. "Is that the best you have child," she snarls, leaping towards the floating woman with those deadly claws slashing at her.

Out of the corridor the figure responsible for the laser blasts suddenly appears. Not Deathstroke the Terminator, as perhaps might have been expected. Instead this man has long white hair and a pale complexion. A harness is straped across his otherwise bare chest and various armored pads otherwise mark shoulders, knees and elbows. Wrist and calf wraps of what appear to be tattered strips of cloth are wrapped around legs and forearms respectively and dozens of key-shaped objects dangle from him, clinking to announce his presence. A key-shaped blaster rests in one hand, peppering the room with the occasional blast and he tugs one of those key ornamanets free, hurling it towards Silverdane. When it lands it rapidly begins to expand into a cage that attempts to surround the wolf woman.

The beefy security guard is knocked aside at the last second by Diana with a grunt, falling to the floor and out of the path of one of those blasts. "You saved me! Thanks!" he says, finally showing a little gratitude. A little trust.

But as soon as Wonder Woman's back is turned the man's mouth opens in a smile, sickly yellow teeth showing there. That mouth rapidly begins to grow, a ripple running through his entire body before the guard starts to melt.

Into clay.

A wave of mud suddenly rears up and engulfs the Amazon Princess entirely, the bulging form of Clayface standing in her place as he lets out a loud, tasteless belch.

Diana Prince has posed:
A number of threats were suddenly developing around them, and Diana was initially responding to the man with the laser weapon, as it seemed to pose the biggest threat. With Monet dealing with Cheetah, Diana starts to move toward the far side of the room to engage with the Key Master man and his laser throwing weapon, her right hand snapping down behind her back to draw a gleaming dagger from the back of her leather harness. But then the lights went out around her. Something had grabbed her, entirely-so in fact... It might even see like the Clay-one had a rather unimpressive victory over the Amazon too, with a number of moments passing by post-consuming her like that...

But then, he'd likely feel something within, and a second affter that the pointed tip of that gleaming blade would puncture through his gullet from the inside out! Diana forces the Amazonium metal through the monster, with her hand exiting through the hole next, before she begins to pry the hole open, ripping the Clay-monster wider apart to try and force herself free of his nasty inerds!

What she'd give for that Freeze-rifle they impounded many weeks back! But alas, it was on a shelf in the basement of the Hall of Justice!

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The fighting between the Amazon and the Demigoddess is personal in a way that even Monet knows to not get in the way of. She's shifting to fly up and out of the way to give Diana a free angle of attack right as both the man of mud goes to try and envelop the Amazon and the Dime Store Megatron goes to start snapping out all his blasters!

Monet isn't in an immediate position to try and back them up as Cheetah goes to fly at her! Monet's slashed by Cheetah hard! First strike going over her face, Monet shifting her head just enough to avoid having her jaw swiped off! Next slash going over her belly with a strike that could have cut her in half and severed her spinal column if it had hit cleanly. Third strike followup of a footclaw in what would have been a disemboweling strike if it hit barely avoids slashing through her lower intestine.

Any strikes that Monet -is- landing here are ineffective agaisnt the far, far stronger and far more feral woman!

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    "Just be aware I only carry like three granola bars in my backpack." Balm warns good naturedly, "I usually have to send Impulse for food." Balm states, and she grasps Flash's hand, and puts her other hand on his shoulder.

    Usually her healing is described as 'Tingly' as the nerves all shut down to stop the jangling while the rapid healing takes place. And ordinarily with Phoebe's focus, it'd be quick -- but it's slower than usual. Her eyes narrow behind her domino's lenses, and she murmurs a soft word or two, her fingertips emitting more light as she tries to focus more of those healing energies into The Flash, at least to heal the underlying tissue from the gashes and lacerations before Balm tanks a laser blast to her back shoulder from Sora-on-a-Real-Bad-Day.

    She lurches forward in surprise, her breath catching in her throat as she lifts her hands off Barry's arm and shoulder, and she skids on the floor a bit!

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane will consider how humiliating that is later. Much later. Perhaps over astronaut ice cream.

Key. Thing. Bomb! (?)

Reaction before thought: the wolf woman dives down, snatching the device from the floor. Even as it begins to unfurl, a storm of dozens and tangles and lines that swirl up, reach around-- trying to form a cage around the swift-lunging wolf creature. The cage is too fast; it will complete in heartbeats, seconds. No time to escape.

More than enough time to enter the fray, if even briefly.

No sound, no howl to announce her leap-- as Diana is momentarily distracted by Clayface, Silverdane takes her own turn, using the seconds before the Keycage seals firmly.

Cage and wolf. Nearly a half-ton of weight, propelled through the air, Silverdane and her entrapment slam into Cheetah's back with a snarling, slavering, meaty (and metallic) thud.

"....HI," the grinning muzzle of the wolfwoman says cheerfully through too-bright teeth. "Mind if I drop in?"

Barry Allen has posed:
For the most part sudden and rapid healing is not something that the Flash has to worry about very often. For one thing it is pretty hard to catch up to him. That definitely helps. For another his own supercharged metabolism does a pretty good job of healing those minor injuries quick enough he barely notices them.

Unfortunately having a cat woman try to rip out his innards with her bear hands goes a little beyond minor cuts and bruises. And while Balm's healing might be slowed from what she's used to and expects, Barry has no such expectations. If it takes moments longer then it should, he has no idea, only drawing in a sharp breath when the pain abruptly fades away. "That's much better, thanks," he offers up with a tight grin. "Now lets see if we can't help even the odds..." he proposes, zooming his way back into the fight in a sudden streak of red and yellow.

That's the problem with people today. Always in a hurry.

While Cheetah might be deadly, she is at least a slave to gravity -- however reluctantly. Unlike Monet. So while her clawed swipes might be viscious, they are at least brought to an end by her inevitable fall back to earth. Already primed to leap back up to try and finish what she started and finally teach the telepathic mutant a rather final lesson, she is denied when Silverdane and the cage that wraps around her comes crashing down on her back.

Knocked prone, Cheetah lashes out visciously, turning both those claws and that strength against the cage atop her, inadvertantly doing a good job of tearing it to shreds -- and setting Silverdane free in the process -- as she regains her footing, snarling at M and the wolf woman alike.

The Key meanwhile turns that blaster towards Balm, firing off several shots her way. At least until that red streak suddenly passes in front of him. The shots stop as the Flash stands fifteen feet away, turning over the key-shaped blaster in his hand. "Seems kinda unnecessary to have a weapon shaped like this," he says offering up his critique.

For a moment Clayface looks extremely proud of himself, that too-wide grin showing off those grotesque yellow approximations of teeth. He steps forward, moving to enter the fray before abruptly pausing, that smile dying on his muddy expression. His malleable body bulges oddly once, then again, before a scream is finally ripped from him as Wonder Woman literally cuts herself free and Clayface seems to fall away into a puddle of brown goop that creeps out in an expanding puddle on the floor.

The image of that robed woman in the dark glass pulses once more, the image solidifying for a moment. "Distract them for a moment longer," comes a wispy voice, half-heard at best through the violent confrontation filling the lobby. "Our shadowy friend has nearly found our prize..."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
And now Monet is charging in over at Cheetah once more! She geos to barrel in full force, this time attempting to rather than hit Cheetah in front to smash her through the air! Going to try and bludgeon her over to be flung towards the large plaster-cased dinosaur skeleton to try and keep her down at least for a few seconds! Then she goes to see Clayface going to fume over into a puddle. Time to finish it off just a bit.

She goes tos mash her hand down over to a fire alarm, after going to send to Silverdane telepathically <<There will be noise and light and water>> And then her hand goes to hit it hard. Presuming that there is in fact a working fire suppressions ystem, the area would be hosed down with fire retardant foam, coating it over in water as sirens would go off and flare up!

Time to see how well Cheetah handles it on the side. Hopefully the sudden backlash will do at least a little good.

Diana Prince has posed:
With a hole cut large enough for her to slip back out, Diana lunges herself free of the Clay mosnter's inner embrace. She falls across the floor in a dashing somersault that ends with her back upon her armored boots! She looks back over her shoulder to see Clayface recoiling in a pool of himself, which gives her a moment to breathe as she takes in the situation within the besiged lobby. She sees the Flash back in action, nabbing that blaster weapon, and out of the corner of her eyes she sees the mysterious woman in that gold mask, or a projection of her.

"Balm." Diana speaks out. "Can you pinpoint where that magician's power is coming from?' Diana asks, her dagger still gripped in her right half-gloved hand, while her left reaches for her lasso to pull it from her leather harness, the many coiled loops beginning to glow with a golden hue within her grasp.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane snarls with a grin, taking momentary amusement as Cheetah's too-swift strikes turn metallic bars into confetti. She steps back, lifting the ruin of the cage away, letting it fall to the floor.

Whimpering internally. Senses. Grimacing, bracing--

Ears slant back as the sirens ignite and scream; she winces as the sound erupts, eyes narrowed as the pulsing strobes erupt, horns wailing without and within the building. Braced for the onslaught, she tosses aside the last of the caging ruin, stretching her head to either side with a creak.

"Care to pick on your own size?" she rumbles, eyes gleaming brightly.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Balm curls herse,f drawing up her shield again with its lazily spinning eight-pout star. She winces as her own body recovers, the burns and concussive damage healing up as she rolls to her back, and then flips herself up.

    She hears Diana's words, and she looks to Barry's back as he covers for her.

    And Phoebe brings her hands together again, and she concentrates hard, drowning out the fight around her with the sound of roaring, her own blood rushing past her ears as she breathes out in a breath.

    Quaere praesentia... afferte ad me nomina eorum qui peccaverunt ... revela mihi --" she whispers, her voice sounding hoarse and echoing, and behind those lenses, her eyes open wide.

    "--she's not here! It's being sent through her reflection --" she turns, trying to hold her senses in check as she points to the mirror. "in case of emergency -- BREAK GLASS!" she calls out, the exposed skin on her lower face beginning to show trails of glowing, geometric lines on her face.

Barry Allen has posed:
If the lobby of the museum couldn't be considered draped in chaos before, it certainly can be now.

It would seem that the sheer volumn of the fire alarm, the fire suppressing foam that rains down, all of it tests the containment of the golden-masked magess that works her magics from afar. There is likely no keeping this alert from the authority's attention, not this time. But then by the sound of it, their objective has nearly been achieved.

Of course it might be a little more difficult as Balm reaches out with those magical senses and makes the connection. The command for the windows to break adds to the chaos and confusion as the windows lining the lobby all seem to shatter at once, glass shards cascading down across the floor. For a moment the image of the golden masked, blue robed sorceress seems to reflect in every single one. Then she vanishes.

While the noise and confusion of the fire alarm might serve it's purpose in distraction, there is a cost. Namely that foam that starts to drape everywhere. Especially the floor, adding a new slippery obstacle for those that can't fly.

Like the Flash. As the Key hurls one of those cages at him, the speedster starts to move... and very nearly wipes out. Skidding as the ground suddenly has a whole lot less friction, he only narrowly avoids the cage, firing a few shots back with his purloined blaster and sending the albino man diving aside. "Woah!"

Struggling to reconstitute himself, that clay puddle begins to coalesce once more, gathering together in a mound, but not yet able to take a humanoid form yet. Diana, at least, seems to have done a number on the clay creature.

Cheetah is facing increasingly daunting odds, with both M and Silverdane right up on her, and the Amazon Princess freed from distraction as well. Snarling she feints a dart towards the wolfwoman before hurling herself at the hated telepath once more, ruthlessly slashing with those claws, only the increasingly slick ground underfoot offering Monet any respite from those deadly claws.

Then the shadowy figure is back, stretched out across the rooftop and while it appears to be little more then a shadow of a man, it nonetheless grips a solitary black diamond in it's hand.

"Excellent," comes that same wispy, distant voice. And the truth becomes clear. Glass might have shattered under Balm's magic, but there are so many reflective surfaces out there. And many of them are not so easily broken. "The Spirit of Vengeance will make a potent ally. You've done well Shadow Thief."

Then, as if plucked away by magic, the shadow disappears.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet is going to brace herself, even as she's going to charge over towards Cheetah, fist going to outstretch even as Cheetah's being hit by Silverdane from the side, blinded and deafened for just a few moments. Monet hasn't had the hcance tos witch from the ground to the air - so she's still at a slip and slide state. Even with her boots and the fact this change takes but a few millionths of a second.

Monet has gone from 'ignored' to 'hated' in the nebula that is the mongrel of loathing in the mind of the herald of the berserker goddess. That's a level of endearment that means quite a bit less when it ends with Cheetah going to even more ferally try to slaughter her.

Cheetah's claws can hurt bury. They can slash Diana. They could perhaps even hurt a Kryptonian. The sudden charge by Cheetah at her is once again met with Monet being too slow. She goes to let out a cry of agony as the claw would slash it's way through her body, from thigh to torso and cleave up like one was trying to cut a hunk of meat over with the smash of a knife! She doesn't even have the time to howl over before she collapses to the ground adding a brutal, brutal red mess over to the ground along with the sloshing of the foam.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    There is a long pause, the rush of the foam around her, the slick and now extremely dangerous floor, and she takes a deep breath, feeling the magic ebb out.

    And she takes stock. Thousands of shards of glass. The foam and water and thank goodness this wasn't a data center, because they'd all be dead.

    " -- did..." she starts, and she looks to The Flash, and to Wonder Woman -- "Did she say 'Spirit of Vengeance'?" she asks quietly, and then she realizes that there's a brutal red mess where M was standing.

    And now without the magic inhibiters, it's less 'hole in existence', and likely going back to normal.

    "M!"she calls out, and with a flap of her rosy glass wings, the gray-armored mageling skids through the foam.

    She reaches down to grab at M's shoulder and start the process of setting her right again.

Diana Prince has posed:
The response that Phoebe gives with regard to the masked woman's presence is not one that is terribly surprising. These kinds of magicians often hide far away, and send others to do the dirty work for them. Case in point, after the glass shatters, the foam is falling freely, Diana looks up through it all to stare at the shadowy figure clutching that strange crystal.

She whirls her lasso up in the air, preparing to fling it outward to attempt to ensnare the shadow's crystal, but they are gone in the blink of a literal eyelid... Thusly, Diana's armored boots adjust her stance as she swings her lasso around herself, creating a swirling of golden light around her body before she dances in a circle, and lashes the lasso out toward the distractedly busied Cheetah!

Wonder Woman's lasso sweeps through the chaotic lobby of this wing of the museum, its glowing divine twine circling outward toward the apex predator, and growing thorn in Wonder Woman's side (no offense, Barry!)

With a sweep of her arms, Diana tries to get that lasso wrapped about the feline foe, to pull her to the ground, and prepare to 'hog-tie' her should she be able to get her while suitably off-guard!

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane is fast. But not *that* fast. Not Cheetah-fast. Nowhere near that fast. The feint sees her bracing for a strike that never comes; instead, the catwoman arcs around with devilish grace, like a Hell-spawned dancer with buzzsaws for arms.

Blood. Fresh blood, hot blood, and the screaming howl of the sirens are matched by the fury of the werewolf's own raging voice.

"No!" the wolfwoman snarls, twisting to lunge anew at Cheetah's back. One might expect claws, bite, slash; Silverdane snarls as she gripos, arms circling around, to *seize*--

--and learns exactly what 'super' means in 'superstrength'. The mark of second to realize how this comparison will end.

Golden warmth. Shimmering fire. Brightness, dancing and vibrant and regal. The Golden Lasso-- the circling arc descends like a crescendo from the heavens; Silverdane gasps in surprise, a shiver running through her as she quivers in step, eyes widening with that wondrous gleam. Caught utterly offguard as it loops about the women, wolf and feline!

Barry Allen has posed:
With the Shadow Thief gone with the prize that they evidently came to collect, the numbers are tilting even more towards the heroes.

Not that Cheetah isn't doing her best to even the odds of course, seemingly intent on eviscerating Monet, or at the very least leaving her bleeding on the floor before having to turn her attention towards Silverdane and Wonder Woman.

That at least leaves an opening for Balm to step in and save the downed mutant telepathy. And judging by those wounds she could use the help.

Of course Cheetah is not entirely alone. Clayface clearly is still not much use as he tries to reconstitute himself, only slowly starting to resemble his normal, vaguely humanoid shaped self.

But the Key is there, and he hurls another of those barriers, this time the cage not mentioned to imprison any one. No, he seeks to simply cordone off the battlefield for precious seconds longer, the barrier cutting off Wonder Woman from them before that lasso can find purchase and make it a simple matter to deal with the feral cat woman once and for all. "We don't have time for this," the man rasps, shooting a glare towards all the assembled heroes around them. "Our objective is met."

The Key is correct," comes that whispy voice once more. "And I have been parted from my sweet boy for far too long. Enough of this," it adds before those low, indistinct words grow more so, the distant chanting almost unintelligible.

But the effects are plain as the trio of villains seem to do hazy and indistinct, even as Cheetah strives against Silverdane, simply fading away with one last snarl.

And they are left in what remains of the lobby of the museum, surrounded by a sea of shattered glass, foam, and the lifting of that oppressive sense of nothingness that has been hovering over them since arriving on the scene.

But that black diamond. It is ominous. And unseen since the League tangled with Felix Faust. The corrupting housing for the fallen Spirit of Vengeance. For the power of Eclipso.

Phoebe Beacon has posed:
    Balm pulls back her hood, showing her braided, pink hair and she looks to Diana and Barry as she holds onto M with one arm, wobbling slightly.

    "I'm... I'm sorry. I could have -- I should have brightened the area. Stopped the reflection. Overloaded the area with magic. I could have stopped him. I should have --" she whispers, clearly angry with herself, but that doesn't help the current problem as she tries to set Monet on her feet.

    "You'll probably tingle for about thirty minutes while the healing magic finishes up. Luckily FLash already has accelerated healing. But you should definitely double your proteins for the next couple of days as your body rebuilds." Phoebe states, giving a wince herself as she wipes at her cheek.

    She sets her mouth in a thin line, and then she takes a deep breath.

    "I'm going to check my library... there's... there's got to be something that might help."

Diana Prince has posed:
When the villainous begin to make their exits, Diana pulls her lasso back unto herself. It twirls around her left bracer, while clutched in her right hand, her dagger tucked in to the sheath again upon her leather harness. She glares.

Was this a victory? Or did they just intervene and cause a massive disaster within the museum's lobby? Diana squeezes the lasso in frustration for a moment before she begins to pull it from her own wrist, raveling it back up in to a series of coiled loops.

"Is everyone okay?" She asks, stepping through the foam, her armored boots cutting through it with little trouble, while crunching on the broken glass beneath it.

"Medical and Emergency services are on the way. I better check the rest of the museum. It's possible they injured actual guards... or are not yet gone at all.." She notes, before she turns to stride toward the corridor entrance that the man with the laser weapon had emerged from.

Belinda Gutierrez has posed:
Silverdane rumbles softly, giving Balm a concerned glance before she nods. "Shall watch here," she offers, a long look carrying up to the rafter and ceiling above, a long, low sigh exhaled as she breathes. "...Should greet them when they come," she adds, chuffing wryly. "Maybe find broom, clean up glass." She moves her leg gingerly, stepping back. A thousand sparkling shards!

"...watch step," she adds, warning in caution. Grrph!

Barry Allen has posed:
"I'll join you in just a few Diana," the Flash chimes in. It's the least he can do, and if nothing else he can certainly shorten the task.

He can also probably clean up the lobby a little before the emergency personel arrive on site as well. Dealing with slick conditions and broken glass isn't that much a threat in the grand scheme of things, but why leave it to them. As Silverdane echoes his thoughts the Scarlet Speedster smiles briefly towards her, dipping his head. "I'll bring back a couple and help," he promises.

Then his expression grows grave and he steps over towards Balm. "You have nothing to apologize for. Sometimes even knowing it's a trap doesn't mean that the bad guys still won't get the drop on you. I'm not sure that either M or myself would be standing right now if it weren't for you," Barry points out quietly. "They do love their sudden magical exits," he adds drily. "But sooner or later we're going to get a bead on them. We're going to bring the fight to them and stop them conclusively, not just limit the damage they can do," he adds quietly, confidently. "And you'll be a big reason why. All of us," he adds.

Then he smiles once more, flicks a salute their way and zooms off deeper into the museum, joining in the search for anyone who might be held, or anything else that might have gone missing.

And a mop, bucket and some brooms.