20172/Pop goes the Lighthouse...

Pop goes the Lighthouse...
Date of Scene:	02 March 2025
Location:	Cape Carmine Lighthouse
Synopsis:	Joker and his Goons are thwarted in blowing up the Cape Carmine Lighthouse!
Cast of Characters:	The Joker, April O'Neil, Caleb Dykstra, Bart Allen

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The Joker has posed:
It's a Sunday, and the weather is starting to get warm. Not warm enough to really get people out on the beach or anything, but warm enough to commit some sort of crime. Joker has been feeling the itch lately, and well...it's not like the Cape Carmine Lighthouse is going to blow itself up, now is it?

The plain white van full of men in full Joker gear -- mask, purple and green outfits, guns -- comes screeching to a halt right in front of the door to the Lighthouse, and out pile the clowncar's worth of men inside. What their actual purpose is, is unclear, until they rush up to the front of the lighthouse, and start working on planting some sort of breeching charge on the front door. The Lighthouse is probably currently unoccupied, so it seems they think it's an easy target. That discounts the surveillance cameras in the area though, all of which have picked up the suspicious activity, and are alerting the various law enforcement -- and super hero -- groups of what is going on.

April O'Neil has posed:
If there's one rule to life that April O'Neil adheres to, it is that when you have a food craving, no half-measure is allowable. It must be fully and completely indulged. And when you have a craving for Saltwater taffy and bagels? (Not at the same time, two different cravings, she has not been fully corrupted by her bestie/roomie/galpal yet) Well, of course you set course for the taffy first, because it lasts longer than bagels.

And so while April's enjoying the beachside atmosphere and tugging her hat down a little tighter (Warm end of winter weather is still end of winter!!) and considering what variety of flavors to pick up....

DRAMATIC ACTION ENSUES!!

Or at least dramatic action for most cities in the USA. It's not a giant robot, mutant alligator, or costumed mad scientist, so her own New York vibe is thoroughly interrupted, but there's definitely a passing longshoreman who peers towards the lighthouse, grumbles something wordless, and gets on with his day. Of course he's not an intrepid reporter beholden to the shining cause of journalism! Which is definitely why April's immediate reaction is to check the hours of the taffy shop, and do some quick mental math... sure, there's no way this will take long enough the shop'll close! And no one reports on dangerous crime with a backpack filled with candy! She assures herself of all of this as she begins to lope towards the action.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Even though Caleb is not much in the loop when it comes to Gotham activities since he left the city, he does have an old materials cache stashed around the area for when he needs a few things. Just a short trip in and out...

And shit! The Joker's men - if not the Clown Prince of Crime himself - arrive.

Caleb looks up, and yes, he flips at the sky. "You had to, didn't you? You just... Found it funny somehow, right?"

Now he feels morally obligated into stopping these guys.

Looking from a hiding spot, he examines what they're doing...

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen is out for a walk along the boardwalk on his day off. He likes to try the different food, and actually lives and works in Gotham. So as he sees the commotion, he moves to zoom up on a rooftop, and look at what's going on. He makes sure to stay out of sight, knowing how Batman feels about powers in Gotham. So once he sees what's going on he will frown, sending a quick text to Red Robin, and will watch for a moment, to see the best way to handle this.

The Joker has posed:
It's only a few seconds, and then there's a muffled *BOOM* from the front door of the Lighthouse. The men rush inside, heading up the stairs to the control room. Perhaps they want to shut off the light? Reprogram the GPS system? Make the Lighthouse intercom play 'It's Raining Men'? Who knows!

In the hustle and bustle around the van and charging into the Lighthouse, there is one goon who stays behind, and once everyone is inside, he slams the door shut behind them, and then runs back to the van, disappearing inside for a few moments, before returning with about five or six satchels thrown over his shoulder. He starts to run around the base of the Lighthouse, dropping them. He's dropped two, and when he sees a couple of people staring at the commotion, he draws out a pistol and fires a couple of shots in their direction. Not trying to hit them, just scare them off.

April O'Neil has posed:
By the time there's a muffled *BOOM* from a demolition charge (You don't live with Harley Quinn or cover costumed crime news without earning a distinctive ear for explosives) April's sprinting rather than loping, and her phone's out, camera already on, framing her face just so, her voice surprisingly steady for the pace she's putting on. "Breaking news! One of the Gotham area's many clown-like groups of criminals are staging a.. brazen? Is it a brazen robbery if it's of something that no one would ever reasonably think of robbing? Anyway, the Cape Carmine Lighthouse is under attack!"

The camera's view swivels as April switches to the other camera on her phone, catching that henchman opening fire, and somehow managing to keep him in focus despite her immediate and instinctive dodge into, if not cover, at least concealment. Who's going to notice that canary yellow jacket behind a mailbox after all?

"Well, whatever they're stealing it's... there's a lot of it! But seriously, what are they stealing? It's a light house! Snowglobes? Tourism pamphlets? Antique boxes of hardtack from the 19th century? We'll keep you posted!"

We? What we? She doesn't even have a camera crew anymore.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Okay, that settles it.

Caleb pulls a collapsible mask from his coat pocket, and places it over his face, covering his features by mirroring the surroundings. Then, he pulls a hood over is heand, and when he presses a button, a surge of electrical current runs over his clothes, realigning the paint of the fibers into a featureless, pitch black.

Next, he readies from his coat two modules, which he combines into a sort of croddbow-like weapon, loads a cartridge, and fires a projectile...

...A bola, in fact, meant to wrap around the guy.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hmmmms and will look about the place a bit more, and after waiting a moment, hours it may seem for Impulse. He heads around the back of the lighthouse to run at speed, and phase into the lighthouse, keeping at speeds so no one sees him just yet.

The Joker has posed:
The Joker isn't standing still, so it's a bit of a difficult shot with a Bola at range. And firing off the bola from a gun makes Joker duck down. "Oh...they're shooting back now..." he grumbles to himself, and drops another satchel as he ducks around a corner of the building, to do a bit more work out of sight of most everyone watching him.

Inside the Lighthouse the goons are busy. They have charged up the stairs, and have broken down the door to the control room. Inside, one of them is yelling, "Come on! Get that uploaded!" As another works at a computer, where he has plugged a USB stick inside. "We aint got all day. Boss said two minutes up and down!" "I'm goin as quick as I can!" the hacker calls back. They seem completely unaware of the speeding person coming to stop their work.

April O'Neil has posed:
April /gasps/, almost audibly, maybe even fully audibly! Her eyes widen as she realizes these are no generic Gotham clown-themed goons! That's The Joker!! ...And while the rational, journalistic part of her mind reminds her that is Bad News and she should probably sneak away and not get involved...

The other part of her mind has already made her fingers fly, snapping a photo of Joker as he's running around the building. Not for journalistic purposes, but mostly to text Harley with 'LOL! HE'S ROBBING A LIGHTHOUSE! LMAO!!' and an entire string of emojis that surely mean something.

But Joker's doing something out of sight? Now that's a scoop! And so, breaking from her mailbox cover, April sprints towards the gap between the criminal car and the light house, hopefully to get an angle on Joker and whatever he's doing while his goons are probably... doing something he planned as a distraction. Of course! Because why else would he be robbing a lighthouse but some sort of SCHEME?!

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
And now, instead of having civilians running away, like they should be, there are those who're trying to get closer!

(But Caleb, aren't you a civ...?)

(Shut it!!)

He moves towards April, attempting to sneak from behind. And from his mask, adistorted voice comes out, <<Miss, you really, really shouldn't be here right now.>>

The Joker has posed:
The Joker is out of sight for a minute, and then returns. Sans satchels. He rushes towards the van, giggling like a schoolgirl. Someone might try and search the satchels to make sure they aren't like a bomb, meant to collapse the lighthouse or something. The men in the Lighthouse continue to work. Probably oblivious to the goings on outside.

Sirens can be heard in the distance, as the police and EMS are rushing to the scene. It seems Joker isn't about to stick around for long, but instead is trying to start the van. It's not really going along with 'starting' so..he's cursing in the front seat.

April O'Neil has posed:
April feels her skeleton nearly leap out of her skin! And while she's coiling, balling a fist and beginning to spin, clearly about to deliver the most focused and trained punch she can to the strange, distorted voice...!

Except that Joker's running back and she hisses out, "Hey! I'm COVERING A STORY HERE!!"

And then that momentum building for a punch is refocused to propel her into a sprint towards that van... is she going to stoaway in the crime van?

You better believe it!!

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Something in that van seems important for The Joker to go back in and out, Caleb reasons. Could it be that there are controls there...?

He looks at the satchels, looks back at the van...

And a switch is flickered - no, not the lighthouse's, a switch in Caleb's brain.

<<Then, I hope you have your camera off, Miss. My apologies for what's about to happen...>>

He trows three magnetic discs, whitch latch on magnetically to the side of the van with a lout *THUNK!*. They beep... Beep... Beep...

And the effects of a localized EMP should be felt withing the second.

<<This should rain on his parade...>>

The Joker has posed:
The van WAS close to turning over, but now...nothing. No sound comes from it. Joker slams his fist on the steering wheel and shouts, "Damnit! Shouldn't have gone with the economy version..." and then, he's out of the van, and making a run for it. As he goes, he pulls out a small clicker device. Perhaps he doesn't realize what has happened yet, but when he pushes the button on the clicker, nothing happens. He pushes it again, and then a third time. "The...what..." he grumbles. Well...the EMP seems to have done its job.

The men inside the building are now also at a loss as all the computer equipment they had been working on goes dark. As do the lights. "Ah, hell, let's get out of here!" the leader yells, and the group start to descend, heading for the exit.

April O'Neil has posed:
April's already moving and only barely catches that warning about her phone when those EMP devices go off and her screen reduces to a pinpoint of light and then blank, black inertness with a soft 'bweeeooop'. Awwww dang. Of course, this just leaves April with her eyes to catalogue the contents of the van briefly, filing it away in case any other clues come to mind... because the Joker's running away!

And she's following. Because she's going to get that scoop! Or at least tell Harley where he's hiding nowadays in case she wants to go give him a butt kicking.

She's sure this'll all work out! Except the phone thing. That's not working out. They're never going to believe she dropped it in the pool again. Sigh. Good thing she didn't buy that taffy.

The money's going into April's New Phone Fundraiser. Thank god she stores all her data on the cloud.

Caleb Dykstra has posed:
Underneath his mask, Caleb sighs of relief.

Looking at the reporter for her scoop, he points at the satchels, <<The Joker has a penchant for causing havoc in his wake, Miss.>> He makes a pause. <<He wanted to blow up the lighthouse.>> He adds, <<I have no idea why. If there was a purpose at all.>>

The Joker has posed:
The Goons bust out the door, and take off running as well. It would seem that with their leader gone, they're not quite sure WHERE they should head, so they scatter, each running off for somewhere else. Joker also makes a clean escape, because, what's Gotham without Joker running around causing havoc where and however he can?