2164/The Sweet Smell of Success

The Sweet Smell of Success
Date of Scene:	19 June 2020
Location:	Gotham's wonderful sewer network
Synopsis:	Batgirl and Spoiler apprehend Rat Catcher, then have an unexpected encounter with Harley Quinn
Cast of Characters:	Barbara Gordon, Stephanie Brown, Harley Quinn

---

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl kicks a very large rat away from herself sending it flying through the air with a squeel and the damn thing ends up landing on it's feet "Damn I thought that was just cats!" still moving fast trying to get a clean shot at Rat Catcher.

Seriously what is it with Gotham City. Who goes into the Rat Exterminating Business, has something Happen (tm), and then decide to use their powers to control rats with teir meta ability or whtaever this bullshit is to go into a life of crime.

Not to mention his love of poisons and toxins from his rat exterminating days before he decided to be pied piper in Gotham's sewers. Which is why Babs has a bat-respirator on as she hustles.

"Spoiler hope you are up on your shots!" which is valid, there are small bites and tears all over the softer material of her suit, she is glad she got the younger woman an upgrade. With a flick of her wrist Batgirl hurls a flashbat, letting the flashbang pop right in front of Rat Catcher. "Give it up Otis!"

They will need to figure out later why he kidnapped those two businessmen locked up in a cage near the back of the warehouse.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
THWACK!

Spoiler's foot catches a grubbily dressed goon right in the chops, sending him reeling and bouncing off a sewer wall before he rights himself. "So I am just not quite sure what to do with myself, what kind of career direction I want to pursue," she says despite the mask.

A swarm of rats rush at her and Spoiler sweeps the first few away with a swirl of her metallic bo staff and then plants the tip in the middle of the small horde to flip over them and up to a ledge above like a pole vaulter. "There's so many different careers out there," she says, swinging the bo staff up to clip the human minion in the side of the head and knock him back into the wall a second time.

He cries out in a pain and yells at Spoiler, "Would you at least stop talking long enough to fight!? It's kind of insult-" The bo staff hits a second time, interrupting the complaint.

"So," Spoiler continues as if that hadn't happened. "This makes me consider veterinary medicine." She flips away from the ledge as the rats start trying to scamper up the wall, Spoiler closing in on Rat Catcher as she draws up alongside Barbara. "Otis? Can I call you Otis? What do you think?"

A batarang is drawn from Spoiler's garter. One of the weapons she's just starting to get use of as her training on them continues. She tosses it and it hits the wall by an exit, webs of goop shooting out of it to block that possible exit.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
"You are a funny kid." Babs says to Spoiler, but it is a very fond tone. "I have no idea how fighting a swarm of trained rats from the sewers is making you consider Vetrinary medicine.. I mean unless it is because you already have all your vacines up to date and can save some time." teasing.

Batgirl fishes another toy out of her belt, and then sprays the ground all around them in a sweep circle. Bat-Bear-Mace effectively which means they will need to be careful cleaning their costumes later from the hips down but right now it is pretty good at sending a lot of rats scurrying before one of them gets a really lucky bite in.

Otis is blinking like mad, eyes watering behind his own gas mask. He finally shoulders a paintball gun that he has been using, modified painballls that contain cynaide powder bursts which could be problematic with a lucky shot still despite the masks and opens up on the two heroines. "No you can't call me Otis... we aren't friends... you can call me Rat Catcher."

Babs ducks and leaps to the right ducking and weaving fast. Also moving to close a lot of the remaining distance towards Otis now. "Take out the Gun" she calls to Spoiler. "Also.. Otis... I mean Rat Catcher... I mean yes you were a Rat Catcher but aren't you now more a Rat Trainer... I mean Gotham villains have a lot of stupid names. We could call you Pied Piper?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
"Right, thanks Otis," Spoiler replies as if permission had been granted, voice muffled only slightly by her mask. "Well, I mean, imagine if the rats had been raised with good nutrition and hygiene," she says, motioning towards the rats which are starting to react with revulsion to the chemical barrier put down by Batgirl.

Spoiler sees the gun barrel point her way and goes acrobatic, using the staff to vault herself above the line of the poisonous projectiles. As she's coming down, Spoiler separates the segments of the bo staff and throws one with all of her strength. The staff segment strikes the paintball gun, shattering the ammunition container.

Poisonous paintballs spread everywhere across the ground and Rat Catcher gives a little screech. "Aiee! Don't step on them!" he says, apparently not trusting to the quality of his own respirator should so many break open at once near him.

"Oh who am I kidding, I'd just want to take the animals home with me," Spoiler says as she jumps up, grabbing hold of a pipe and swinging to gain some momentum.

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl surges in while Otis is distracted with trying to not step on his own poison pills litering the ground now. She trusts her respirator but also is beign careful to not step on the marble sized death ballls. She doesn't talk while she is surging not wanting him to look at her right now.

When she reaches him she snags his arm with the momentum or her dash forward, spins around his back using her momentum and the power of physics to lift him up off his feet and chuck him clear of the suddenly dangerous area of the floor.

Mind you she also is tossing him in a good spot for Spoiler to swing off that pipe and just flatten him with a good finisher.

"I imagine they will all just scurry back into the sewers or dumpsters once Otis is locked up?" she notes helpfully. Because as far as Babs is concerned Stephanie definitely doesn't need thirty rats in her apartment....

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Rat Catcher lets out a shrill cry. "Does she always talk during fight like this!?" he complains, before realizing he's lost track of Batgirl. Until she grabs him and sends him flying.

Spoiler can't swing over the pipe, but she swings forward, back and then uses her legs to speed herself forward, letting go to fly towards the airborne B-rate villain. They meet halfway, Spoiler's boots catching Rat Catcher in the stomach. He crumbles to the ground, completely out of breath, while Spoiler lands at his side. Handcuffs come out of her utility belt and are are slapped on his wrists as she muscles them behind his back.

"I sure hope so. If there's a cheese factory in the area, they are in for trouble," she says, reaching down and knocking gently on Rat Catcher's mask. "Seriously, think about the name. Marketing is everything in this business," she tells him before muscling the man to his feet. She looks to Batgirl. "Another patrol coming back smelling like sewer. I sense a disturbing trend this month. Shall we?"

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl will carefully mince her way out of the poison mindfield of little paintballs and dance around kicking some rats out of her way. SQUEEk.. SSQYEEEK... SQYEEEK.... as she finally gets to the cage with the kidnapped business folk. She crouches and works the locks. "Don't forget the mook... he could wake up Spoiler."

She opens the door to the cage and gestures for the two to join her and thne starts to clear a path back to the way out of her, pausing to shoulder Rat Catcher because she figures Spoiler is getting the mook right now. "Also... this time it has a spicy note to it Spoiler... not just ode de la sewer but spicy bear mace accents... we definitely need to hose off soon." wonderful.

Regardless they make their way out of the dockside warehouse (and conventient sewer lair under it) with two crooks and two nromals and about ten rats still following the subdued Rat Catcher and being annoying about it.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Spoiler gets the henchman, securing his wrists as she had Rat Catcher, and then hefts him over her shoulder. "Oh. God. Oof. Seriously, buddy, they make fat free ranch you know," she says as she hefts his weight and begins carrying him out of the sewer. "Yeah, this is going to be about a 3 hour shower tonight I think," Spoiler agrees.

The pair make their way out, Spoiler turning to watch the little rats following them. "Seriously wonder how you do that," she says with a shake of her head, before turning back forward and following Batgirl out of the building and into the Gotham night. Overhead the sky is cloudy. There's supposed to be rain later, but it's holding off for now. "Figures, the one day I wouldn't mind getting rained on," she says, finally removing the respirator once they are outside.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"I know I said I aint goin' back to Gotham, but I had ta pick up my blanket." Harley says to her phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder. She's super cash walking down the sidewalk, well within view of Spoiler and Batgirl crawling out of the sewers (as you do), arms swinging with her pigtails. "Nah, I aint gonna go back ta bein' a killah oah nothin' like that... Don't ya trust me?"

It's entirely possible the vigilantes will see her before she sees them.

On account of she's not looking for vigilantes.

She's hear for a blanket, see?

Wearing short shorts, tall boots, and a tanktop with her leather jacket with the chains/spikes/big pink smiley face on the back.

NO WEAPONS THOUGH!!!

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Batgirl gestures for the business people to go wait under the one good street light. "Cops will want your statements and to make sure you get medical attention when they get here. You definitely are going to want rabies shots and probably a proactive antibiotic perscription after your ordeal."

She dumps Otis by a shot out streetlight and attaches him to it for the cops to collect. "At least a shower that long...." she steps away to pull up ORACLE on her wrist unit and then blinks at a proximity alert. "The hell..." she looks down the street. Then to Spoiler. Then down the street. "Harley!?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
The mook is set down on the other side of the light pole from Rat Catcher. Spoiler 'accidentally' bumps his head against the metal pole. "Consider that encouragement to attend community college next time," she tells him.

Spoiler steps away from him, wrinkling her face as the smell, already noticeable with the respirator, is worse without it. She walks over to Batgirl, stretching her arms after carrying the too-large henchmen out. She's in mid-stretch when Batgirl spots the colorfully dressed woman.

Spoiler's hand goes to her belt, grabbing her bo staff which extends open rapidly with a quiet shtick sound. Spoiler looks around, no doubt looking for Joker or some of the minions drawn to the Gotham clown's particular brand of crazy. At least, that's how she'd put it.

Harley Quinn has posed:
That hurts Spoiler.

Harley turns at the expressive sound of her name being called, "Hold on, someone sees through mah disguise... Nah, I'll call ya back." Click, phone in boob-pocket... boobket? "Whose theah? Sounds like a shadow is talkin' neah that big smelly pile of filth..." Wrinkling her nose, each step closer to the pair wafting more of that foul stench coming off the pair they've drug up from the sewers...

"Did someone faht? Gosh.. smells like someone jus' blew ass all ovah tha street.." Pinching her nose, waving the other hand beneath it to ward off the oderus olfactory anomination...

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Barbara notices Spoiler tensing up and gives her a hand sign trying to get her to not look menacing with her staff right now. Odd..

Then Batgirl looks at the approaching Princess of former Crime. Hopefully. "Rat Catcher was up to stupid things again..." she trails off glancing at her wrist. "You know.. I'm not sure you ever ran across him... do villains have bars and hangouts and stuff... anyhow he usually ends up in Blackgate not Arkham because he is foul and smelly and has a small army of rats." case in point she shakes one off her leg and punts it again before it can scramble up for her face. "But .. isn't criminally insane. Severe bad taste and no sense of smell evidently but not.. like .. crazy."

Speaking of.

"So... I thought you weren't coming back to Gotham. Everything doing okay tonight Harley?"

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Spoiler looks out from her mask, surprised when Batgirl gives her the stand down gesture. She does, grounding the bo staff but keeping it extended for the time being. There's a soft groan from the mook, and one of the business persons held hostage formerly gives his head a little rap against the metal pole like Spoiler did. The other motions for him to stop. "Was therapeutic," he counters.

The grin on the blond crimefighter's face is hidden behind her mask, though her attention doesn't much stray from Harley. She stays quiet for the moment, trying to not be so conscious of how she smells, and lets Batgirl to talk to her.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"I /wasn't/ comin' back ta Gotham, cus fuck Gotham, an' (no offense) fuck Gotham's vigilantes an' half assed villains-" Harley says pointing down at Rat Catcher, "Like this turd smellin' losah..." Kneeling down to get a better look at him, "Ya need'a role model, ya know tha?" Yer a terrible excuse foah a crook.. What even do ya steal down theah in tha sewahs?"

Two fingers point right in Catchers face, "An' I sweah, if you say some nonsense like one mans trash is anothah mans treasures.." Glare glare annnnnnd glare.

Standing back up, she looks between Spoiler and Batgirl, "-So yeah, I wasn't gonna, but then someone forced mah hand an' made me come up wit' an impromptu reason ta be heah, an' I chose-..." She fishes a notepad out of her back pocket, flips it open, and takes a look.. "-I gotta up date this thing. I still got rob a bank heah.." Shaking her head, "-But Im heah to get a blanket... Which don't make no sense, but it's all I could think of."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Not the best time to explain to Stephanie yet, she will have to flag the Birds file on Harley for Stephanie to read. She didn't think Harley would actually be back in Gotham after their talk in New York.

"Well. Blankets are better then banks... though you are still in the letter B in the dictionary. Left the stove on. Watering mah plants." she actually does a pretty spot on Harley Quinn there. "Lots of room to improv."

The acknowledgement though that someone forced Harley's hand. Ominious.

"So who could force your hand. I have a pretty good idea how hard this city is on you.. you could have dropped a note in that app my friend gave you if you needed something shipped out or picked up." the first hint for Stephanie of why Babs waved her to stand down. "Oh. This is Spoiler." gesturing to Stephanie. "Harley has been staying up in New York since she got a pardon."

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Spoiler's eyes are steady on Harley, but after the explanation from Batgirl, the bo staff suddenly retracts into something hand-sized that goes into a slot in her utility belt.

"That's quite a pardon," Spoiler says. She's been reading up on criminal files now she's been taken under Batgirl's wing for training. "History was only a little shorter than War and Peace," she says. "I suppose... ah... good for you, if you're here for blankies instead of banks though."

She tries to keep any skepticism out of her voice. Mostly succeeds. Mostly.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley's eyes go from Batgirl to Spoiler and back again, but she never actually turns her head. Just big blue eyes scooooooting this way, then scoooooooting that way, then doing the scooooooting thing over. "Spoiler..." One blue eye squiiiiiints at Stephanie. "Do ya run aroun' ruinin' the endin's to movies?"

After adopting a deep voice, "Vader is Luke's father."

"Is tha' yer basic schtick? Kinna rude, aint it? God.." Shaking her head, super big frown, super big eyes on Babs.

"Huh? Nobody forces me to do nothin', I'm an independent woman an' I don't need no man..." Z-snap. "See that's funny cus I'm fuckin' Powah Girl."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Yeah the details of that 'pardon' will likely be explained later. Oracle is pretty good, as is Batman, at getting to the bottom of those sort of things after all. Right now though, sure it is a Pardon. That and Diana's lasso of truth. Also her hooking up with Power Girl.

Yeah life is really strange when you are in the world of superheros and villains.

"Harls, you just said that someone forced your hand and made you come up with an improm... yah know.. never mind." it is probably Waller. Fucks sake. She drops it for now anyways.

"Well did you get your blanket and everything. Is Power Girl and O'niel all doing well? Bud and Lou?" it actually sounds to Stephanie like Babs actually cares a little bit.

Stephanie Brown has posed:
Spoiler looks back at Harley for a few moments before responding. "Nah, I hate people that ruin movies. I just have a bad habit of leaving the milk out," she explains. Spoiler crosses her arms, then gets distracted by squeaking. The squeaking of a couple of rats coming from the direction of the river over towards Rat Catcher.

She moves over and gives them a firm nudge with her foot. "Really, how do you go from exterminating to this?" she asks the cutrate villain before turning back to the others. Spoiler lets Batgirl do the bulk of the talking.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"I don't remembah sayin' that..." Harley glances down at the sidewalk, mouth quirking to the side thoughtfully, "I may'uh said what I was thinkin' outloud.. Gotham does tha too me, ya know how it is... introspective self monologues in tha rain oah whatevah." Big shrug.

Big grin too! At the mention of April and Karen. "Theah fine... Speakin' of Peej, I should prolly text'er an' let'er know I'm in Gotham so she can needlessly worry Imma team up wit' RatFelcher heah an' staht a crime spree wit lil rodents dressed like circus midgets."

Spoiled milk.

"True, true. I, personally, drink milk until it's a few days aftah tha expiration.. I feel like tha's a guideline bettah'n a rule..."

Barbara Gordon has posed:
Well Babs indicates Rat Catcher "Well you should def let her know so she worries and all that. Also... the rodents would be much more adorable in small outfits." she looks to Otis "Do you hear that Otis.. dress them up in outfits next time. This is grade A material here and you get it today for free." she also taps the ear of her cowl. "Speaking of free... you also get a free trip to Black Gate." she looks up a bit "ORACLE, call an ambulance and also Gotham PD or pickup."

Then she looks to Harley. "You should..." she pauses as the rain breaks. Granting Stephanie's earlier wish for rain. "Fuck." is all Babs says .... then ahrms and adopts more civil tone. "You should probably go get that blanket before the cops come Harley." she looks to Spoiler. "This is somehow your fault."