16777/When Squirrels and Birds Collide

When Squirrels and Birds Collide
Date of Scene:	04 January 2024
Location:	Warehouses - Chinatown
Synopsis:	Squirrels being used in crime by Rat King?? Squirrel Girl and Rook team up to crack the nut and the case!
Cast of Characters:	Damian Wayne, Doreen Green

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Damian Wayne has posed:
There has been a lack of squirrels in Gotham parks lately. Sure, that's to be expected, as winter is coming in, but there seems to be even a further lack of them. Are they migrated, or has something more nefarious happened to them?

Coincidentally, there's been a rash of robberies in Gotham as of late. Somehow, the criminal has been able to get past laser detection, locked doors and all of the other securities that are supposed to stand up to someone short of Superman bashing in the doors. All the jewelry that has been stolen are small ones. Rings, small gemstones. Nothing large.

During his investigation, Rook had discovered only few clues. A tuft of fur that had been left at one scene. A small grouping of droppings that belonged to a squirrel after being processed through a scanner at another.

With only that information to go off of, Rook had placed a tracker inside a fake ruby. Tonight, that ruby is on the move throughout the city, heading towards the warehouse district. On the rooftops above, Rook follows, his batgrapple firing as he goes from building to building to track the furry thief to its destination.

Doreen Green has posed:
Someone has made the mistake of messing with squirrels. Their second mistake was deciding they'd take some squirrels really good at climbing buildings from New York and think no one would really care. Maybe, about most of the city, they were right. Squirrels were such a common sight, even a bit of a nuisance, it was unlikely most civilians would notice or care, or just assume it's the winter hibernation (not that squirrels sleep the entire winter).

But there was one that immeadiately noticed missing familiar faces. One that could actually get witness accounts from other squirrels, who described smelling a scent similar too but distinct from New York's urbanism and pollution. Which between some logical thinking, and maybe a few leaps in said logic, has lead to the dank dark streets of Gotham.

Or above said streets, as Doreen was making her way from warehouse roof to warehouse roof, parkouring along with the best of them thanks to her own squirrel-like agility. That big bushy tail is for balance as much as it is looking cute! ... But she doesn't really have a specific location, she's just running on the crime fighting logic that crooks like to hang out in abandoned warehouse districts, and is looking for signs of potential squirrel pilferings.

"If you two see or smell anything, let me know," Doreen comments to the two squirrels sitting on her shoulders, one with a pink bow around her neck and the other sporting a pair of squirrel sized goggles on his head, who chitter to her in agreement.

Damian Wayne has posed:
They're on different vectors, Squirrel Girl and Rook. But those vectors seem to have an intersection point. It will be one of Doreen's companions that spies the bandit squirrel first. The black squirrel glances at the other one, a large ruby sticking out of the pouch of his jaw as he hisses and turns to head towards the open window of a warehouse.

Slipping in through the open window, the squirrel heads down and enters into a large open area. There are other squirrels running around, all of them bringing various items. Anything that is shiny that could be taken is here. From gems to broken bottles. Standing in the midsts of the squirrels is a singular humanoid figured. Hunched over, he lacks hair, his face elongated, ears sharp, those teeth flashing fanglike as the black squrrel runs up and deposits the ruby on a pedstal.

A clawed hand closes around the ruby, and the RAT KING chortles softly. "An excellent job, my furrey friend. At least ONE OF YOU is able to do something right!" he proclaims as he adds the ruby to a pile of stolen rings, gems and other valuables.

But back to that previous intersection, there's a hiss of a zip line as someone lands behind Squirrel Girl. There's a flare of yellow in the cape of the figure as the dark uniform of black, grey and red contrasts the yellow. "...who are you, and what's your business here?" Rook demands. And while there is an attempted husk in his voice, he still sounds young.

Doreen Green has posed:
The trio comes to the edge of a roof and Doreen stops in something between a crouch and not quite trying to sit on haunches. It's mostly to keep her strong jumping legs flexed and ready to move again. They all look in three different directions, and Doreen sighs. Tippy-Toes (the one with the bow) squeaks at her. "You're absolutely right, Tippy. It's weird that we haven't seen any local Gotham squirrels. You think they've been absconded with too?"

Then the other squirrel prods her cheek and points a paw a short ways away, at the black squirrel hissing at them and then scrambling off. "Hey, there's one!" Pause. It's odd for squirrels, even unfamiliar ones, to act like that and run off from her. Then it settles in. ".. Wait, that wasn't a big nut in his mouth! Gregg, can you follow him?!" Gadget Greg stands up and salutes with a forepaw, then jumps down from her shoulder and scampers off to see where the black one with the gem went. Might take a moment to find the actual window, leaving Doreen to her own devices for a moment.

Then SQUIRREL SENSES TINGLING ... actually no, she doesn't have that as a super power. But she does have really good peripheral vision, glimpsing something hitting the rooftop near them. She bolts to her feet and spins around. "Aaah!" The way that tail waves to keep her from toppling over the edge makes it pretty clear it's not just part of the costume. She peers at the fellow that zips in on the line. "Who am I? Who are you?... No wait, you asked first." She achems, then thumps a fist to her chest. "I'm Squirrel Girl! And this is Tippy-Toes." Tippy mimics the same poses. "We're looking for squirrels that went missing!" Glances over her shoulder. "And saw one run off with something it shouldn't have."

Damian Wayne has posed:
As the gravel grinds beneath his feet, Rook rises back out of his combat posture, batarang kept loosely to his side as he narrows his eyes behind his domino mask. He takes in the young woman in the odd getup... no, that tail is moving on her own. Mutanimal? Plain mutant? Not the time to ask at the moment, she's introducing herself.

"Rook." he offers in way of greetings. "There's been a series of thefts in Gotham. Their only link has been that they have involved rodents. Squirrels." That would explain that loose combat posture. "You the one controlling them?" he asks, a low growl as he tries not to reach out for Tippy-Toes. How dare this girl use squirrels for nefarious means!

But his scanner, which was tracking the ruby, is not pinging this location - it's the one that Gregg went into.

Once inside, Gregg will find himself in what appears to be a rats nest. There are other squirrels here. Metropolis reds, Gotham blacks, New York greys. And he will feel a weird mental sway. As if something is trying to take over his brainmeats and put him under his control.

For Rat King has noticed the odd squirrel and is reaching out with his powers to try to take control. "And what are you, my little rodent companion?" he asks. "Where did you come from?" There's a snarl as he looks up towards the skylight.

Doreen Green has posed:
The potential accusation zings right past Doreen for a moment as she locks onto what he said before it. "They're being used for CRIMES?! That's a horrible turn of events!" Then she notices his ready to fight stance and puts up her gloved hands. "Whoa, no no no, I wouldn't do such a thing! I'm not controlling anyone, they're my friends. We're looking for squirrels that went missing from New York." She points in the direction Gregg scurried off. "But we did see one carrying a big gem of some kind go that way. And... Hmmm." Doreen looks in that direction. "Gregg should be reporting back."

But no, Gregg is perched in the window still, staring at the sheer number of critters gathered around the creepy looking man... Who seems to have noticed him. That's pretty good, picking one out of such a big lock. Then again, the goggles stand out. And despite being a very smart squirrel getting mentally poked is hard to resist, even though he's sitting there too misermized to move more than anything else.

"He might be in trouble.. Ooooh maybe I shouldn't of let him run off to look on his own." And like that Squirrel Girl takes off, using an old power line still strung between the buildings much like one of her namesakes would to bolt between them and in Gregg's direction.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"That would have been my tracking device..." Rook starts to say, looking down at the tracker, "Which should be right..." And then Squirrel Girls finishes her exposition and explanation of her powers before she's racing down the line to check on her friend. "Wait we need a..."

Apparently she is not going to let him finish a sentence tonight. But at least with that big bushy tail, she is realtively easy to track. There's no call for her to wait for him, just the firing of the batgrapple as he swings from roof to roof, keeping up with the young woman and her companion.

Meanwhile, at the warehouse, Rat King beckons again. "To me, my furry little friend!" And when Greg is not being quick to respond, he snarls. "Fine!" he grouses. "If you will not listen to me, then... crush him, my furry brethern!"

The other squirrels look up towards Greg.

All of their eyes are like +.+

While Rat King may have absolute control over rats, his control over other rodents and vermin is not so powerful. Doreen can sense so many squirrels! This could be an issue. For someone that doesn't have the ability to fight Rat King's powers. Like the smaller form that lands on the roof and makes his way towards a skylight, ready to drop in once he has a hold of the situation.

Doreen Green has posed:
Once they're getting closer Doreen spots where Gregg is standing stiff in the window. "There he is. Hang on Tippy." Doreen actually jumps down this time, and instead of the roof grabs onto the wall. Which she climbs the rest of the way to the window, yes, much the same way as squirrels can climb buildings as well as trees.

Inside the building Rat King and his swarm would see the gloved hand reaching into the window to scoop Gregg up. Then once he's held up for Tippy-Toes to pull onto her shoulder, Doreen hangs back down for a look herself. "So many squirrels... and other rodents.. and..." Her gaze falls upon Rat King, and it's a rare moment that she actually frowns. "You!" She dramatically points through the window at him in spite of her inverted position. "You're the jerk trying to turn innocent squirrels to a life of crime! And now the one and only SQUIRREL GIRL is here to stop you!"

She lets go of the wall and pulls herself into the window proper. "And for that matter, why are you all listening to him? He doesn't care about you, he just wants to use you to steal stuff and not have to take the blame for it!"

Damian Wayne has posed:
The arrival of Squirrel Girl was a shock to the Rat King. "You're one big squirrel!" he calls out. "I will just control you too!" he demands, trying to exert his control over her - not that is going to work. Or it might. Who knows for sure.

In the meantime, Doreen's attempt to rally the squirrels may not have worked, but there are those that are not moving on the attack, or at least pausing in their motion. The hearts and minds of the squirrels are at stake! Will they rally to their demanding master, the controlling Rat King! Or will they turn to Squirrel Girl's kindness and call to arms! Confusion reigns.

Above, Rook is taking advantage of this exact brand of chaos. Into the midsts of the squirrel rally comes three small balls. They open and out from them, smoke pours out, obscuring the area, and hopefully putting some of the squirrels to sleep.

Rook has no desire to kill innocent squirrels, but he is getting into position to punch the Rat King - if only Doreen can buy him a few more seconds!

Doreen Green has posed:
"You two better lay low. I don't want you to have to fight any friends or family or distant relatives or anything." Not that Doreen wants to hurt any of them either, but her first concern is her furry compatriats. Nevermind Tippy-Toes was doing a little boxer pose a moment ago. But Doreen's concern makes it clear they should take cover, and the pair disappears inside her jacket.

She can in a manner feel Rat King trying to.. do whatever it is at her with his force of will. Though maybe because she's not entirely a squirrel it isn't as effective. "As for you," Doreen grits her teeth, bucked front teeth visible, and starts a dramatic pointing pose, "Your tricks aren't going to work!" But then her bravado flags a little when she notices the various squirrels are mobbed around them. They're not attacking... but they're not resisting either, and honestly that makes it a bit creepy. "Uh... The irony of this situation is not entirely lost on me. Com'n you guys, at least stop staring like that, you're starting to even give me the willies."

Smoke bombs go off in the background, but hopefully Rat King is so focused on her he won't notice. If anything, Squirrel Girl is really hard to not pay attention to.

Damian Wayne has posed:
Rat King snarls up at Doreen. "You have no control in this domain, little girl." he warns. "Those that are rodent, they belong to me. And through them, the world shall be mine!" That causes him to start laughing, manically and openly. Clearly, Squirrel Girl is in trouble.

That is until finally, Squirrel Girl's words of freedom and doing your own thing finally start to get through. There are less of the angry, bared buck teeth at the young woman with the power to befriend squirrels. They slowly start to turn their attention away from the Rat King's control and to that of the bushy-tailed heroine.

"What... what are you doing?!" comes the Rat King's demands, "You are mine to control! DO NOT listen to her! You are my dizidens, you are my.... what???" he asks in confusion as smoke starts to rise up and he swirls away from Squirrel Girl just in time to see a shadow descending upon up.

Rook's boot slams onto Rat King's head, sending him spiralling backwards. He crashes through a pile of the junk the squirrels have collected. "That's for the squirrels!" the young man growls out, clearly, he is on their side.

Rat King rises to his feet. "Ah, one of the Bats. Prepare to be devoured by squirrels!" He commands to the squirrels to attack... and nothing. Clearly, Doreen has won over their hearts and minds and now they are all turning to look at Rat King, with Doreen in full command. Rook remains in his crouch, and a dark grin touches his lips. "Looks like the squirrels have chosen."

Doreen Green has posed:
"The are NOT yours to control! Yours or anyone else!" The Rat King's dominance over the scurry (yes that is the proper turm for a large gathering of squirrels) is wavering. While Doreen goes into a bit of heroic speech of her own "They deserve to live free for themselves! Sure, I have squirrels with me, but that's because they are my friends! They choose to help me, and were worried about the well-being of their own kin! I didn't try to make them do a thing." Then Rook comes in with a flying kick that sends the Rat King sprawling. Doreen thrusts her fists in the air. "BOOT TO THE HEAD! Always a classic!" She looks over the gathering, then whistles for her own pair to come back out. "Okay, we need to sort out who belongs here and who needs to return to other cities. Can you two handle that?" Tippy and Gregg both nod, and climb down her to join the rest of the squirrels.

They've been through a lot already, Doreen isn't going to force them to have to fight. That and the jerk might try to control them again.

Even now he's getting back up. "Damn right they have! And it's like a coin flip..." Doreen leaps towards Rat King, over to twirl around to swing her tail at him! It's got some impact to it, but mayhaps more surprising to him is that it's prehensile and she actually tries to hold him down with it. "Tails, you lose!"

Damian Wayne has posed:
"I SAID SQUIRRELS DESTROY THEM!" Rat King demands again, but then there is /EXPOSITION/ and /HEROIC SPEECHES/ and the poor king of the rodents find it that he no longer has control of the squirrels, as they have all turned upon him and all have the +.+ look at him now, instead of Doreen.

And then the heroine comes in an uses TAIL WHIP and it's highly effective! Slammed back to the ground, he growls out. "Let me go, girl!" comes his snarled worlds as he fights with the woman with the proportion strength of a squirrel.

"I got him." Rook offers. If Doreen moves out of the way, he uses one of his birdarangs to wrap a tight cable around the Rat King and pin him to the ground.

Once Rat King is secured, Rook kneels down. "You all okay?" he asks the squirrels and frowns. "Squirrel Girl's right. You all do need to get back home." His eyes lift up to the young woman. "Can you handle that?" he asks of her. "I can make sure this guys trussed up for the local police and his ill-gotten gains returned."

Doreen Green has posed:
Doreen Green leans in to snap a quick pic with her phone to go in her file of bad guys she's beaten or helped beat. Then the Rat King demands she lets him go. "If you insist!" Squirrel Girl snaps her tail away from him, in a way that jerks his feet off the ground just long enough for Rook to bind him before he can get up and run. "Not a Spidey webbing thwip but that should hold him."

The squirrels are understandably wary, but Rook gets down to their level and speaks nicely to them. Tippy and Gregg look up at them, then to the other squirrels and much chittering amongst them.

Doreen joins them, kneeling down next to Rook. They're all squeaking and chittering but she apparently understands it all. "They say they'll be okay, and thank you." Tippy squeaks at her, and Gregg points at the different groups of squirrels as they're sorting themselves out. "Okay, those are your Gothamite squirrels. Those are from Metropolis. And these," two of them from the third group jump up on her arm as she stands, "are from New York. May be a few scattered others, but yeah, we can figure it out. Boy am I glad we found you guys."

Damian Wayne has posed:
Rook had already checked. He does not have enough crackers in his utility belt to feed them all. And the young Batling is not about to try to play favorites with them all. But he does glance over at Doreen as she is seperating them out with ease and for a moment, he looks rather impressed by the idea.

"You can understand them." Of course she can understand them. That makes sense and tracks and really, he's in Gotham. He should not be surprised by now. "You're welcome." he offers to the squirrels. "You're free now. So you should get back to your homes."

Because outside, there's the wail of sirens as someone has contacted the police, because they always do. "I tend not to stick around for their arrival." he admits to the young woman. "It was... nice... to meet you." he offers to Doreen as he takes out his grapple gun to prepare to depart the area.

Doreen Green has posed:
He's nice to the animals, and that's a big score in Doreen's book. She holds a hand up in a casual salute to Rook. "Glad to help one of Gotham's own heroes." Sounds like the cops are getting close. "Alright everyone that's not from Gotham, follow me! Nuts and Boots Army, roll out!" She'll lead the horde out a convenient alternate entrance as to not in the cops' way. Not hard to do when they can make use of windows and such over doors. It'll take time getting all the squirrels back to the right cities and such, but Squirrel Girl is on the case!