17483/Sweet Revenge 2: Colonel's Factory

Sweet Revenge 2: Colonel's Factory
Date of Scene:	12 April 2024
Location:	Colonel Gumm's Wonderfully Wubbolicious Candy Factory, Gotham City
Synopsis:	Colonel Gumm is defeated by members of the Bat Family
Cast of Characters:	Frederick Foswell, Stephanie Brown, Damian Wayne, Cassandra Cain

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Frederick Foswell has posed:
It has been over a year since disgraced confectionary genius Waylon Gump, better known as the Saturday Morning kids TV staple known as Colonel Gumm, had released a devastating attack at the NYC Confectioners Convention in NYC. Gumm, who hasn't been heard from since the incident, claimed that the incident was revenge for his "unjust firing" from Battalion Candy, his company and main TV distributor, after the company declared him old and outdated. The deranged TV host didn't take it well, blaming both the company and Parent Groups who had long complained about the violent nature of the cartoons he showed on his show, and decided to show those "fuddy-duddies" what true violence looked like, hence the attack at the convention. Now scuttlebutt amongst the riff-raff of Gotham stated that the good Colonel was at it again, and was at work making a even more potent batch of candy right at the very moment.

The air surrounding the old Battalion Candy Factory smelled of chocolate, caramel, sugar, and oddly enough, of stale gym socks as you approached the factory. The pink walls, images of cartoon characters, and other goofy sights made the place look almost cute. But, the guards patrolling the outside of the factory armed with assault weaponry did not. The men were all clad in what looked like bubblegum pink boilersuits, with the occasional pink baseball cap to break the mold. As they patrolled the factory the smokestacks billowed out smoke. Whoever was working in there was working overtime.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl blew a bubble from her bubble gum, pulling it into her mouth to pop it so as to not make any sound as she surveils the candy factory from a rooftop across the street. She'd been there long enough to get down the routes and timing of the guards.

The Bats keep a pretty good surveillance on criminal elements of Gotham. And news of a few dastardly sorts from the streets hiring onto a new job had led to an investigation. One that thanks to rifling a room or two, and putting some trackers in shoes and belts, had led here.

<< Those smoke stacks will make a nice entrance. Next pass of the guards I'm going to grapple over during the gap on this side. Want to take the guards outside quietly first? Or work our way inside before risking that?" >>

Damian Wayne has posed:
The factory rooftop is where Robin can be found, conducting a little advance reconnaissance ahead of his and Batgirl's eventual infiltration of the structure. The question that is ushered like a soft whisper into his ear earns a glance in the direction of the rooftop where Batgirl currently resides. He speaks and his voice is kept purposefully low, thanks in part to the tech built into his suit amplifying a barely heard breath of air into a full-fledged voice across their shared communications network.

<<"Take the smoke stacks and I'll slip in through one of the rooftop windows. I saw catwalks inside on my first pass up here. Meet on them or split up?">>

Judging by the Robin's lack of answer on the subject of exterior guards and patrols, it seems that he's inclined to bypass them through stealth and infiltration.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The guards continue their patrol. Their path eventually having the two of them pass each other and walking away, leaving a space between and behind them. Far above that gap is where a grapple line shoots across, quietly affixing to the smoke stack.

Batgirl leaps into space. She really does love that part. Swinging forward, she reels the grapple line in to pull her upwards and keep her from swinging too low. She makes it over the roof edge and gently alights, the grapple releasing and quietly retracting into the launcher which goes back on her utility belt.

She murmurs aloud under her breath, "Right then. I really miss the days I could make jokes about him taking the air vents since he won't even have to crawl through them," she says, inner monologue whispered aloud. The blond Batgirl moves forward, finding a window and examining it. An acidic compound frees one side of it, allowing her to slide the glass aside enough to slip inside quietly.

Damian Wayne has posed:
Much like Batgirl after her traversal from rooftop to rooftop, Robin's already moving toward a different bank of rooftop windows. His method of entry is different, but the results are effectively the same. A tool is withdrawn from his utility belt and after a couple seconds of focus, the window is gently lifted from its frame. He takes care in climbing through the open portal, hanging upside down from a rafter. Again a hand dips into his utility belt and withdraws an adhesive agent. A quick application of the paste-like bonding agent permits the window to be seated back into its frame and, once done, Damian slips from the beam which his calves and legs cling to.

He drops without a sound, turning head over heels quite literally as he plummets headfirst toward the rafters. He lands with only the slightest whisper of sound among the hissing, clanking, thumping, and all manner of other noises associated with a factory of any variety. He doesn't dawdle in slipping into the shadows of the catwalks, his voice issuing softly into his comm channel shared with Batgirl, <<"I'll look for Gumm. Can you be relied on to find the latest batch and discard it?">>

Frederick Foswell has posed:
As you both enter the candy factory the smells of something sweet fills the air even harder, almost to a nauseating degree. As you look around the factory you see more of the pink clad henchmen at work all over the manufacturing plant floor. The ones who weren't patrolling the floor were busy pouring in bags of sugar into giant mixing vats, supervising machines as they formed bars of chocolate, supervising the making of gummy candy and other tasks associated with a candy factory. However, the most ominous sight was the men clad in pink hazmat suits at the very end of the assembly line dropping small drops of a mysterious chemical compound into the sweets before sending them off to wrapping, then to shipping. Whatever Gumm was up to, it was big, and it was bad. Nearby there was a door that had a logo over it that read "Admin Offices this way"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Stephanie Brown doublechecks her utility belt for a few antidotes that cover a wide range of exposures. Assured they are indeed in her possession, Batgirl creeps along the rafters, getting a broader view of the activity going on.

Over her subdermal mike, Batgirl sends, << Offices over here. Quite likely where the big bad will be overseeing things from. You want the chemicals or the leader? >>

She watches the patterns of those down below. Definitely not as orderly as the guards outside, but still there are a few routines she can make use of when it comes to taking down anyone out here by stealth. Blind corners. Dark shadows where subdued bodies can be stashed.

Damian Wayne has posed:
For only moment does Robin consider the question as presented by Batgirl. He doesn't look in her direction, but instead keeps his focus on the few patrols walking the factory floor below. He considers the likely noxious fumes billowing from further down the production line and the workers in their protective suits attending to that section of the line. Finally he speaks, his answer low and quiet, <<"You look for Gumm. I'll throw a wrench in the works on the assembly line.">>

He doesn't await for confirmation as he begins to move along the catwalk, keeping to the shadows and gloom where available. Where it's not available, he's quick to move from the catwalk and utilize support beams and rafters to navigate his way through the shadows and back to the catwalk. A hand slips to his utility belt and flicks a thumb, dispensing a few small wafer-sized discs from it. They would freeze things on contact and the wafers themselves would be dissolved with the melting ice. As Robin moves along the catwalk, minding his step and keeping himself as small as possible, he expertly and precisely tosses those small discs toward vital components of the machinery.

Frederick Foswell has posed:
As Damian began dropping the wafers into the machines the effects were instant. One by one the machines made nasty grinding sounds as they suddenly went to a complete stop. The men on the floor began swearing and yelling as production ground to a hault. Meanwhile, the Hazmat Squad stopped delivering the chemicals to the sweets and went over to see what the commotion was. Meanwhile as Batgirl entered the admin hallways candy, and bleach filled the air alongside obnoxious elevator music . The hallways seemed to stretch on forever with many unlabled doors/. Suddenly, footsteps were heard, someone was coming!

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Batgirl hears the person approaching from in front of her. As she's made her way down the candy factory's hallway, her mind has registered locations she could conceal herself if someone came from the front. Or the back. Or a door nearby were to open. Or whether pure combat would be the only option.

In this moment, the door labeled 'Janitorial Supplies' was her best move, and Batgirl's softened soles keep her quick step to it quiet as she slips it open only enough as needed to slip inside.

The room is dark and she closes the door all but a tiny crack to peek out when whoever passes. Then something hits in her in the head, in the back of the cowl. Thankfully it's just a mop that was leaning against the wall, and it doesn't make much noise. She fumes as she pushes it aside to lean back against the wall.

She bets that never happens to Batman.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
This is taking forever! Forever, I say!

"Time yet?" Cass asks over the comm, waiting outside, not interfering in their work. She's listening, waiting for things to go south, being backup. But nothing's actually happening that SHE can hear. Still, she's fully expecting to get called in.

After all, it's Damian and Steph. They're going to screw up at some point. I love 'em but they have a tendency to draw fire.

And that other guy, but he's new. No idea yet. She stops talking to herself as she chokes out another guard outside the building, almost yawning.

Frederick Foswell has posed:
As the footsteps get closer you see the image of one of the pink boilersuit guards stopping right in front of the door, and pulling out his phone. He dials a number and waits for someone to answer, After a minute, the man says,

"Yeah, Gumm is planning on delivering the candy to every school from here to Atlantic City. Says that that'll show those bums over at the PTC just how violent their "Little Darlings" can really be. I can already picture Miss Simone getting mobbed by a bunch of rabid Kindergardeners, it's hilarious!"

The man then begins to laugh, unaware of the pain he will soon be in. Meanwhile the guards continue to patrol, unaware of Cassandra's presense

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The henchman has long enough to hang up the call, not noticing as the door silently swings open behind him, revealing just the looming darkness within. The moment would be appropriate for a horror movie.

Or, you know. Gotham.

The takedown is swift. And in truth, a bit more vicious than strictly called for. Though the blond with the penchant for justice is probably not the only member of the Bat family who might have employed slightly more force than necessary with the punch to the solar plexus to rob him of his wind to be able to call for help, then choking him out, cuffing and gagging him and leaving him in the closet.

She passes along what she heard to the other two on comms, and then moves on, intent on getting the mastermind of the plot.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Cass is, as usual, not listening exactly. She's got a rare knack for selective listening; if it's not action-oriented, she probably was considering something else at the time. But she'd be proud of Steph for efficiency if nothing else.

Tapping her comm to show that she has verified the message, she lets a guard walk right past her. Without even hiding. He just doesn't turn to look her direction. Who HIRES these losers? She doesn't even choke that guy out, he's clearly part-time.

Still, she does toss a stone across the street, making the guy turn and look. If he's going to do the job, he needs to learn to be more aware. Then she tosses another, a bit further down. Seeing if she can teach the guy to not get his ass killed next time he's against a...thug with a gun?

Amateurs.

Frederick Foswell has posed:
As the guard is beaten up and stuffed in the locker loud military music is heard blaring through a nearby door. The door, labled "Board Room " was the only office that didn't have it's lights off. One quick peek through the window revealed a tall, burly, but slightly fat man wearing a pink military uniform with a prominent bushy brown moustache looking over a military strategy table made out of LEGOs, Colonel Gumm himself!

Meanwhile, as the one guard goes to run after the sounds of throwing stones, a second guard suddenly shows up, and was apparently much more efficient as he suddenly raises up his rifle and aims it at Cass

Stephanie Brown has posed:
As Gumm is studying the table before him, suddenly the lights flicker once, twice, and then go out. The lights along the hallway all wink out one by one as well.

Emergency lights that should come do not, already burned out by a narrow beam EM pulse. The dastardly candy criminal looks about, trying to make out even the room that he's in. The only light is the faint bit that makes it through from the night outside through the tinted window.

Just enough light to see the shape of bat ears rising up, silhouetted by that dimmest of illuminations.

It is over quickly. The bo staff swings through the darkness, connecting with the confection criminal's temple and felling him. Batgirl walks to stand over him, looking down at with the benefit of night vision optics in the lenses her cowl has in place in front of her eyes. << Gumm apprehended. Let's clean the rest up. >>

Damian Wayne has posed:
The machinery begins to grind to a halt immediately and Damian's expression doesn't shift from its usual serious cast. He watches and measures from above, weighing each of those who begin to converge on the machinery to investigate it. The time is now and after slipping a rebreather onto his face to protect against noxious chemicals, Robin moves into action. He drops from the catwalk like a feather, though without gliding and creating a slower target to spot. He lands and rolls, taking care to cause as little noise as possible. Thankfully what little noise his plummet and landing does create is obscured by the sound of hissing, shouting, and machinery literally grinding to a halt.

He lands on the end of the production line where those wearing the hazmat suits had been and he sets himself quickly to the task of deposit small explosive charges in the shape of birds onto the sides of the massive vats containing the mixture of chocolate and chemicals. They make a soft whirring noise, followed by suctioning as each charge adheres to the tank. He keeps a wary eye on those down the lane of machinery and stations, arguing and demanding answers from one another why the machinery had stopped. He utilizes this unrest among their number to deposit the charges and go about his work, but never truly stops watching his surroundings as he creeps among the shadows and machinery, doing his best to do exactly as he'd been trained. His upbringing saw him wearing the shadows like a cloak and now is no different. Now, though, he isn't carrying a sword and intent upon killing people. That's personal growth!

The last charge into position and Robin slips away from the churning vats, attempting to disappear among the network of industry. He ducks and weaves his way around pipes and other machinery, always attempting to keep himself concealed among industry and shadow. Following the broadcast from Batgirl - Stephanie - Robin begins to make his way back up the line in the direction of those workers still bickering. He does take a moment to answer on the subject of Gumm and cleaning up the rest of the trash, <<"Understood. Good work.">>

In a moment the real fun would begin.

Frederick Foswell has posed:
As the workers continue to argue they seem completely unaware of the danger coming their way, until one guy did. A bigger worker who just came back with a sack of sugar sees Damian and lets out a strangled cry of surprise, which is completely cut off when the charges go off. As the chocolate drains all the workers turn their attention to Damian

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Click.

You only have to hear that one time in order to recognize it. In her upbringing? She's heard the sound of a rifle more than enough to know what to do. Twisting on her right heel, she pivots and removes herself from being an easy target. Then she eases up close to the man, standing beside his rifle, almost faster than would seem possible.

She already knew where the guy was coming from, having not been sloppy enough to walk someplace without casing it first. But rifles are not exactly close-range weapons and with her right there, she forces him to react in an awkward fashion.

She could have just taken him out, but she's teaching. So when the guy tries to track her and then hesitates and then tries to hit her with the weapon, she steps to her right. His left. The weapon passes through where she just was, and she just idly hooks his left foot and lifts.

When he hits the ground, on his back, she takes the rifle. Then unloads it and tosses it in a dumpster. Time elapsed, 3.8 seconds.

Damian Wayne has posed:
Their eyes meet for a moment. The worker's eyes widen with shock and surprise. Robin's stare back with nothing but the wide of his mask concealing them. Which is unsettling in its own right. The shout may be suppressed by the explosions, but that doesn't cause Damian to delay in dealing with the threat. While more eyes begin to turn down the lane of machinery, all that they see is a flash of motion as something launches itself from among the machinery and bodily drives the surprised worker into the opposite side of the lane. Concealed by machinery now, Robin's quick to plant his right elbow into the jaw of the worker to keep him off balance. Then his left fist arcs in, smashing just beneath the man's temple, which sends his eyes crossed and then closed as consciousness eludes him.

Robin's quick to move, springing forward and away. A Birdarang shatters an overhead light. While it doesn't darken the entirety of the factory, it does at least provide far more gloom to maneuver.

A pair of balls are removed from a pouch then as Robin leaps upward, mounting one of the machines. As the nearly dozen workers suddenly turn their eyes his way, the normally serious expression of the young Robin shifts. He smiles. The balls are dropped, shattered, and a cloud of choking pepper gas suddenly fills the area around the group of workers who were only just arguing among themselves.

He had affixed his rebreather but a few moments ago and now sought to lean into that advantage. He leaps into the fray. While many of the workers double over, coughing and retching, and others screaming as the pepper and gas burns at their eyes.

Having dispatched Gumm, the reappearance of Batgirl entering the fray leans the odds far more heavily in Damian's favor. Together they move throughout the cloud of gas and stinging pepper extract, both wearing their rebreathers to prevent succumbing to the effects themselves. Together they whirl among their opponents, delivering strikes and trips to both subdue and confound opponents. At one point one of the workers even strikes a coworker in his confusion and blind fury.

It's the hazmat suits that present the problem. Though not much. After a few bashes and smashes, the seals on their suits are broken and they too are soon a coughing mess.

It's out of the factory that some run, rushing in the direction that Orphan lurks. Coughing and sputtering they soon burst from within the factory and onto the loading dock some feet away from Cassandra. Merciful, sweet, fresh air!

Fresh air with a side of fist!

Cassandra Cain has posed:
They emerge, and they're free! One comes out and ...it's so odd. He walks right into a wall, having not meant to be doing so, but he just whacks his head really hard, and then falls over, coughing up dirt from the street.

The next two rush out, and one of them trips. They're so clumsy! His head smacks into the head of the guy beside him, quite a bit harder than it really should have, and both of them fall on either side of the guy who's just managed to land on the ground. This is all happening kind of at-once, in a rush.

Two more come out, one after the other, and the door sticks making one smash his shoulder on it. Ouch! The first one does a backflip, just randomly, not really sure why, but he doesn't exactly stick the landing and as his friend comes out he is kind of in the way of seeing what's going on.

That's when a hand grips the remaining gentleman's shoulder and just guides him down. He falls asleep, as the others kind of groan after all their untimely mishaps. This place has the worst safety rating, honestly. It should get shut down by somebody.

Frederick Foswell has posed:
The Workers begin coughing and sputtering, and even crying out in agony as the pepper gas does it's work. The results, a total bat beat down for anyone foolish enough to not try and flee.

Meanwhile, the guard with Cassie fall hard on his back and lets out a pained grunt as he falls. This grunt is quickly replaced with a snarl of anger as he gets up and starts throwing his fists at Cass, only to be KOed At the same time the survivors of the Bat Beatdown come out, only to be dispatched alongside the foolish guard .

Damian Wayne has posed:
The last of the workers is fallen and Robin spares a brief glance toward Batgirl. He doesn't offer a barb, nor quip. Not here. Instead he simply gets to work. Securing the workers with bindings around wrists and ankles, hampering their ability to escape until the GCPD is able to show up when they can get around to it. When they're finished having their falafel or taking bribes.

The vats continue to pump their poisonous chocolate out, coating the floor in the quickly congealing gunk. There's only a final task to be seen. That which has already been produced. Robin keeps an eye on the prisoners; albeit out of sight and from above. While Batgirl sets herself to the task of locating the completed chocolate waiting to be shipped. Only after she's eliminated the threat of it and rendezvoused with Robin anew, does Robin finally speak, "You took forever. I bet you left him alive, too," he says with a cluck of his tongue. He probably wasn't being serious about murdering Gumm.

Only when they've reconnected on the catwalks do they make their escape together, ensuring that neither is left behind. <<"We're clear,">> Damian transmits after they've reached the factory rooftop once again. In the surrounding area the sound of grappling hooks firing can be heard and soon the Knights are scattering, disappearing into the darkness of night in different directions.

Cassandra Cain has posed:
Batgirl is, of course, devastating when she's confronted. Stephanie has been doing some of her best work in recent months, and the way she moves tonight is no exception. Still, the way she takes care of them is, maybe, a little more hitty than necessary. Gee I wonder why?

Orphan? She's not even responding. But honestly, who expects her to half the time? She's probably having shwarma down the street or something. There was a nice shwarma stand down there, and ...well, it sounds good.