3257/The Lending of Hands

The Lending of Hands
Date of Scene:	06 September 2020
Location:	Warehouses - Chinatown
Synopsis:	Bane and Harley have a serendipitous meeting when they both target the Neon Dragon Triad for mutual reasons. Bane makes his intended example. Harley walks away with some cash. At least a few Triads die, but enough survive to tell the tale of why one should never... ever... steal from Bane.
Cast of Characters:	Bane, Harley Quinn

---

Bane has posed:
Bane's recent return to Gotham made a bit of a splash at the Dixon Docks. A variety of local criminal organizations and gangs lost members in a hail of gunfire and explosives. A local chapter of Triads were among the affected. Peddlers in sex-trafficking and the drug trade, the prospect to purchase Venom had been enticing. The risks had proven greater than the rewards, unfortunately.

Back at a warehouse in Chinatown, the Neon Dragon Triad are licking their wounds. Tony Li, a man known for wearing a neon green mask, is currently berating one of his more senior members for daring to arrange the deal behind his back. They sit in a converted room of the warehouse, reasonably posh, behind a long boardroom style table. "What am I supposed to do with you? Not only did you go behind my back... you crossed the madman Bane of all people."

The other man hangs his head in shame, face pressed into his hands. "I thought the Russians would-." He's caught off by Tony. "Silence!"

Meanwhile, on a nearby apartment building rooftop, an intimidating figure of a man has ascended and taken position. His luchador style mask pulled firmly over his scalp is also adorned with a pair of headphones. A small dish is held in a large hand attached to a radar mic. This evening, Bane had decided to make an example of the Neon Dragon Triad personally.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Harley's recent foray into the world of bounty hunting had opened an whole new world for her...

Violence and not being arrested for it? Check.
Being paid?! Check.
But best of all, getting back at a few figures that had wronged her in the past? When she was still working with Mistah J? CHECK.

Maybe some of her new friends, those that have been trying to get her to the light side of the Force, would say that this is just petty vengeance. But in her head it's all about the training, and even if there is no slip on Tony Li it would be good practice..

And in true Harley fashion she doesn't really have a plan of assault, just making her way down the path that leads to that particular warehouse. It's not really hard to miss her, and who she is with that blonde hair with a tip of each color, the ponytails, white t-shirt and shorts. Boots. And that ever-present grin.

A bag is slung over one shoulder, an aluminum baseball bat on the other and she whistling something while she sashays her way towards her destination. Is that ..., the 'Imperial March'?

Bane has posed:
Bane's eyes narrow behind his mask as his mic begins to pick up the whistling of the 'Imperial March?'. His brow furrowing, he turns his head and sees the figure of Harley Quinn approaching the warehouse. He grunts to himself, murmuring 'ay dios mio'. There went any opportunity of a ruthlessly executed plan. Nothing is orderly with Harley on the premises.

He carefully removes his headphones and tucks them into a duffle-bag. He'd return for his gear later. A hand planting on the edge of the building, he leaps over the edge. Catching himself on a few balconies on the way down, he's soon at the ground floor and strolling to intercept Harley. He calls out in his deep voice colored by his Spanish accent and a touch of smoke and gravel. "Señorita Quinn... I have business with the Neon Dragon Triad tonight. Do not interfere."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Ah, there it is. The warehouse! Harley can already feel it, the promise of violence, her grin turning just a bit more manic. Maybe she should had brought Smiley instead of Johny tonight.. She was more in a Smiley mood. With Smiley being her hammer, Johny her bat.

Those thoughts are interrupted when she notes Bane's drop onto the street. A brow goes up, taking in the immense man. "Senor Bane." she recognizes him. "What kinda business we is talkin' about?" she hasn't stopped, continuing on her unstoppable imperious march, ever close to the warehouse. Or at least unstoppable before Bane gets in front of her. "Heah I am with some business with them too."

She brings the bat from resting against her shoulder to pointing it at Bane. "And not the buyin' drugs business, I am outta that life. I am heah ta bash some skulls in."

Bane has posed:
He steps in front of her to end procession and crosses his thick arms over his chest. He listens and is quiet for a moment in contemplation. He takes a deep breath after processing the situation. "My business is similar. These fools attempted to buy Venom yesterday. I have made an example of the dealer and reclaimed my property, but I'm afraid other examples need to be made. So... I believe we have the same objective.  I'm here to aplastar cráneos myself."

He punches a massive fist into an open palm, then nods to Harley. "It is good you are not in the drug business anymore. I'm instituting a zero-tolerance policy for my would-be competitors." His head tilts to the side, "Are you here killing for pleasure then? Or do you have a specific objective in mind?"

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Cos you ahe an exemplawwy man yohself, 'ight?" And for some reason the situation just seems funny to her, eyes glittering with unadultered amusement. At least in that twisted mind of hers. "But lets heah yoh plan then. Ya got one, I know you do, dontcha?" she stepping forward to touch the tip of her bat on Bane's chest unless he steps back or brushes it away. The audacity though! But if anything she appears to be fearless.

"And I am not heah ta kill, moah ta bash skulls in." Which normally means the same thing in their business but .. "Ol' paybacks and doin' some tryouts foh a business ventah I am gettin in soon. Who knows, maybe I will even find ya when I get inta business!" that seems brighten her considerably. But then she winks.

"Lets heah it, the plan. I go low, ya go high? We do a dynamic duo kinda thing? Whats goin' through that noggah of youse?"

Bane has posed:
"The Triads are not worthy of my plans." He allows the bat to tap his chest and treats the gesture with apathy. "Normally, I would choose this moment to make an example of how I expect to be treated. However, I have read your file." Similar to a certain caped crusader, he has researched the majority of all significant criminals in Gotham for years. "You and I seem to have a similar disdain of fear... Thus, the effort would be fruitless, and I see no point in killing you, assuming you stay out of my way."

He gazes over his shoulder toward the warehouse. "I've been observing them, however. Fourteen men when sub-machine guns and cleavers. Tony Li is in a backroom dressing down one of his inferiors." He turns, shoving the bat away with a hand as he approaches closer to the warehouse, continuing his conversation, his voice lowering. "They rotate a single man to perform a patrol... He will be..."

Growing quieter, a few seconds pass in silence before he extends his hand past the corner of the warehouse. There is the distinct sound of a man choking as Bane pulls a Triad into view. Holding the man a couple of inches off the ground, he resumes the conversation. "... arriving soon."

He slowly begins to crush the man's windpipe. The man flails and kicks his legs in response. "I detected no cameras. The lack of professionalism." SNAP, the man's neck breaks. "Is truly disturbing."

Harley Quinn has posed:
Pushing buttons. That was part of her file too. Those brows remain quirked up while Bane speaks about having read about her. "Ya flattah me." again the glint in her eyes and she laughs out sharply, taking a step aside when her bat is shoved away, back to resting it on her shoulder.

Machines guns and cleavers. That's a tough prospect. But nothing she hasn't handled! She starts digging inside her bag when that patrolman is captured. Once the neck is snapped she comments off-handedly. "Thuhteen now!" cheerfully even. And finally she finds what she was looking for in her bag. A grenade. "Smoke." she explains. Hey, she isn't all about swinging bats and hammers!

Just before she goes off on her merry venture to approach the warehouse she asks. "Ya sure yer heah just ta set an example, oh is it a need foh blood?" her lips twisting up in a smirk. "Oh ya tryin' ta get on the bat's radah? Didn't woik too well foh Mistah J."

Bane has posed:
Bane casually discards the corpse and gazes down toward her smoke grenade. He nods his approval at the tactic. His lips even curl at a smile of amusement, this one might be interesting to watch in action, maybe he disregarded her too soon.

"Example. Killing ratones like this one brings me little joy. I do not need their lives. I need their fear, Doctor Quinzel. They are to be conquered, like their compatriots." A low chuckle rolls in his chest at the mention of Batman. "He knows of me. In time, he will come to fear me like the others."

His eyes narrow, "Your Joker's greatest strength is his greatest weakness. His insanity makes him difficult to predict, yet it makes his victories fleeting. He does not know when to quit and strike the final blow."

He holds a large finger to where his mouth would be behind his mask and holds up an earpiece retrieved from the discarded Triad. The word "Report" is repeated in Cantonese. The voice on the other side begins to sound concerned. Bane then reaches to a lever and opens a side door into the warehouse for Harley. "After you."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Kill too many and theah won't be any ta feah you." Is what Harley says in reply. "But I will give ya a piece o' advice." she lifting a finger up while she speaks, "The bat doesn't feah. Take it as you will." shoulders rise in a shrug in Doctor Quinn 'leaves the building' while it's insane Harley that makes her way inside the warehouse.

They are blitzing the place apparently, and she knows it's only a matter of time until they know something is wrong so no stealthing around. Not that she would do it in the first place. She runs across an empty corridor with a curtain where the Neon Dragons are gathered at..

"Pizza delivah foh a Mistah Tony!" She shouts, doing a throw that would make any NFL quarterback proud, the grenade flying through the air and landing in the middle of the large warehouse floor. But instead of smoke it .., explodes. Two of the Dragons were nearby, making it so they are projected back and knocked out, crashing against a couple of crates..

"Uh, extra crispeh it seems.." Oops. But now she doesn't have cover and there's machine gun fire coming her way. She cartwheels to one side to dodge out of it and dashes behind a metal crate, meanwhile one hand reaching inside her bag, now looking for the RIGHT grenade.

Bane has posed:
"We will see, Doctor. We... will see." Bane responds in contempt for her statement around Batman and his apparent fearlessness. He is obviously not convinced. He stands stoically as she tosses the grenade, unamused by her announcement. He takes a step back as the grenade explodes, growling lowly in irritation. "Tonta!"

Warehouses provide the tactical advantage of height and elevation for those willing to leverage it. So despite his size, Bane effortlessly scales a nearby stack of palettes and containers. Positioning himself, he observes the chaos below inspired by Harley. Head tilting to the side, he waits. He could intervene, but observing how the woman remedies her mistake seems more entertaining.

He sits, legs and heavy boots dangling, an elbow resting on a thigh, his mask-clad chin resting on the back of a closed fist as it props up his head.

The Neon Dragon Triads, meanwhile, rally. They unleash waves of machine-gun fire upon Harley's position, one of them even begins to try and flank around the curtain for a better shot.

Harley Quinn has posed:
The clownette crouches low as gunfire peppers the place she has chosen to perch at. And truth be told she appears fearless right now. It's only machine guns afterall! She has survived worse.. Like five years living with Mistah J. An 'eureka' expression comes to her face when she finally finds what she is looking for, toothy grin up and a malicious glint on her eyes. "Time ta dance, boys..."

Yet it's just in that moment that neon dragon finds his way around the metal crate she is in, gun pointing at her. She immediately tosses the grenade up, pin still on. Was it done due to being surprised? Whatever it was it makes it so the neon dragon hesitates before firing, looking up at the grenade...

She winks and does another cartwheel forward just as the grenade is falling near her, hitting it with a foot and sending with quite a lot more strength than her more slight form would suggest. It hits the man squarely in the face, making him fall back. "Gotcha!"

She runs to catch the grenade, take out the pin and tosses it. And it appears like it's the right one! A curtain of smoke begins to cover the place, or at least her vicinity, making it so the rest of them can't have a clear shot.

"When ya gonna get in heah?" She asks in complaint.

Bane has posed:
Bane does not immediately reply to Harley's request for assistance, instead, he watches the smoke billow and begin to fill the room. He takes note of the position of the triads before the obfuscation begins, using their coughs as secondary information to locate them. He inhales deeply before the smoke reaches his vantage point and then leaps into the cloud.

There is gun-fire and screams. The unpleasant sound of cracking bone and ripping gristle. Someone pleads for mercy in Cantonese before he's abruptly silenced. Two submachine guns unleash from within the smoke and then suddenly all is quiet. One might think Bane underestimate his situation and found an early death. This is until he emerges into view nearby holding two SMGs.

"Siete", he comments in regards to the remaining count. The door to the back swings open, and Bane disappears back into the smoke before, a pair of Triads open up with their SMGs.

Meanwhile, the guard who took the smoke grenade to the face is coming back to his feet, nose bleeding. He growls and draws his cleaver, murderous rage in his eyes for Harley.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Hol' up, ya shoulda told me if we were gonna do a Gimli dash Legolas count of the ones we take down...!" Harls calls out to Bane when he runs off again to continue on his murderous rampage. Well, it's not her doing the killing so all is fine, right? Right?! She lets out a sigh. "Ya know, on hindsight maybe I shouldna had come heah..."

That's right when the guy on the floor gets up, all murderous and shit. She quirks a brow. "Lets woik on yoh rage, shall we?" she nimbly steps back from a swipe of the man's cleaver, a foot finding the metal crate behind her and she propels herself forward, the bat swinging and hitting the man on the head... It sends him flying over to a corner, probably needing an hospital visit for that concussion. "Youse healed! Doctah Quinn still got it." she smiles with supreme satisfaction.

She is quick to follow after Bane, running to that back room. "Hey Tony! YOU IN?" she shouts but then dashes to a side, growing quiet. She may be a little lunatic, but she is not dumb. No need to make herself a target for more bullets.

Bane has posed:
Harley might be surprised that Bane has not outright murdered every Triad he has faced. Oh certainly, a few are riddled with bullets from their own SMGs, but a few have been left behind maimed and unconscious, a few witnesses to tell the tale of a dark mask emerging from the smoke with angry red eyes.

Harley gets the kind of response she expected. Bullets riddle her previous position, a man with a faint Cantonese accent calls out from within the room, "Who the FUCK are you? And why are you in my warehouse?" He has a few other choice words for her that soon follow.

There is a grunt and shifting in the smokescreen from where Bane disappeared briefly. A large square silhouette looms overhead and seconds later, a metal crate similar to the one she'd hidden behind previously flies through the air. It impacts the open door with the shrieking of metal and the crumbling of drywall. One man who took a brunt of the impact lies broken on the ground.

Bane chuckles lowly from within the smokescreen, regarding Harley's comment about the countdown. "Seis." He's counting down, it's not exactly Lord of the Rings, and its a good sign that he seems amused versus annoyed with Harley's antics at the moment.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Youse don't remembah me? I am hurt." Harley says in dismay. If there's anything she doesn't like is being forgotten OR not being the center of attention. "Mistah J took it on me when ya fucked him ovah on a deal some yeahs ago." and of course that she comes to find revenge on this guy instead of the Joker. But she is not in that stage of the relationship with the Joker just yet. At least she has left him already! Good first step.

But this is also a plan, she taking pauses when she talks, making sure to move about the warehouse in a non-linear manner, leaving them guessing where she is. And the shots do tell her where the enemies are.

She finds a couple of them who decided to stick close together, she dashing out of the smoke with a, "Boo!" her bat hits one on the knee, making him stagger, the other being hit on a shoulder. They both shoot without real aim.. she twirling out of the way and her leg extending out in a swift kick, knocking one of the men out.. The other gets another strike on the belly before she hits him on the back, send him to the ground unconscious.

"Fouh!" she announces. Race is on!

Bane has posed:
"Harley Quinn!? Fuck. Look, you are making your point. What the hell do you want? Drugs? Money? I'll pay you to go away. Just stop making my shitshow of a week worse, okay?!" Tony has lost as his usual cool composure, not acting one bit like one might expect from the head of a Triad gang.

With the metal crate wedged in the doorframe, Tony and his direct report are effectively trapped. Bane stalks too quietly for a man his size. Two triads who think they might be getting the jump on Harley, after she rather brutally disables their comrades, are abruptly seized by their collars from behind.

A quick headbutt renders one unconscious. A knee to the stomach followed by an elbow drop to the spine topples the other. He murmurs almost sensually, "Dos."

Walking to the wall between their unexpected partners and their quarry, Bane cups a hand to the wall and listens. Tony from inside the room yells, "Meng... Deal with Harley. If you are successful, I'll forgive you for the docks."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"I left the business, Tony!" Harls says in a cheerful tone. "So ya cant bribe me.." but ok, money is damn enticing for her considering her difficulty in getting some good jobs in. "But ya got biggah problems. Shouldn't had messed with that venom shit." she tsks..

Harley swings her bat with one hand, skilfully so while she approaches the place where the two remaining ones are. Meng and Tony. "But yell ya what. Come out, you and yoh bff and show repentance. Maybe ya won't get whacked?" Well, it's a fair offer actually!

She rests one hand on her hip while she waits, the other holding the bat up on her shoulder, she slowly shifting her weight from leg to leg while waiting as if restless. Not the type to be still for too long!

"So what dya say? I will give ya three seconds." a pause for dramatic purposes.

"OOoooneeee."
"Twooooo..."

Bane has posed:
"Why the hell do you care about Venom, Harley? You looking for some kind of fix?" Tony yells out from the other room. Meng meanwhile yells at his boss, "I'm not going out there! She's already dealt with everybody else!"

Bane meanwhile listens as the conversation transpires. His eyes narrow, he reaches behind his neck and twists a dial. A higher dosage of Venom injects into his brain. His muscles ripple abruptly, veins bulging out underneath his skin. He seems to gain some mass then growls menacingly, "Tres."

His hands explode through the wall and grab the two unsuspecting men by the back of their jackets. He janks them through the wall and deposits them in a daze on the ground. He kneels and leans over Meng's shoulder. "She means... I'm your bigger problem, cabrón. You touched what is not yours... And there must be consequences."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Shit. It's as if I am talkin' to a wall heah!" Harley says in complaint when Tony asks if she is looking for some kind of fix. "I told ya I left the business! And I ain't no junkie.." a glance of her bright blue gaze given to Bane. "Hey, no offense." in truth, it's not as if she is even sure whether Bane is an addict to the thing or not but....! Drugs will be drugs!

With the men now being pulled out through the wall her grin widens. "Welcome to the pahty!" she exclaims to the duo as they get tossed to the ground. "And yep, what he said." she points at Bane with her bat. "I ain't even close to yoh biggest problem."

"And so, do you guys wanna invoke pahley, beg oh ottahwise got an offah so as ta not get beat up?" she approaches slowly, hips swaying from side to side.

Bane has posed:
"Oh god, Harley! You are working with Bane?!" Tony is dazed and in shock. Whatever weapon he might have had, he didn't manage to hold onto it when being ripped through the wall. His green mask dangles off-kilter from his face. "I'll parley. Whatever you want, just don't let Bane at me."

A low growl rolls through Bane's broad chest. He snatches Tony by the back of the scalp. "She does not control me, Tony Li, and you are fortunate... I am not here for you. I have been listening. I have been watching. You... demonstrate enough respect. Do not make the mistake of convincing me otherwise."

"Nooo..." His head slowly turns toward Meng, Tony's associate. "I am here for him." He grabs Meng by an ankle and draws him toward one of the nearby crates. Along the way, he snatches a cleaver out of the hand of an unconscious Triad. "Do you know what the old punishment for thievery is, eh Tonto?"

Tony seems momentarily relieved that he's not the target of Bane's aggression. Though, he does have a psychotic clownette to deal with, or at least one with a long history of brutality of her own. "So... what exactly do you want, Harley?" He makes an attempt to adjust his tie and regain some composure, he even tries to stand.

Harley Quinn has posed:
Hard roll of her eyes. Harley lets out a sigh. "Consider it a happy coincidence that we ahe heah togetha!" she shaking her head, pigtails bobbing about. "Because we ain't woikin' together, exceptin' in some weihd vigilante manneh.."

When Bane starts dragging Meng away she winces. "Woah, no moah clapping foh you." ah well. She shrugs, not her problem really.

Her attention is on Tony instead, she studying him. "What I want.. Woahld peace and luv foh everyone.." oh if only she was a Ms. Gotham contestant.. So convincing! (Maybe not).. Yet she even helps the man up to his feet with one hand, letting him adjust his tie at ease.

"But, ya know, I am a gal of simple needs and simple objectives." She says. "I was just heah ta give ya a beatin' foh what happened those years ago. But you also got money, so I think I will be relievin' ya of some o' it. So you think betta on what you been up to and rethink yoh life. Think of it as me reformin' you." and without waiting for an answer she hits him with the bat. It's again not a killing blow. Once the man keels over she is out and moving towards that office..

On hindsight, maybe she should had asked where the money was first. Well, fuck.

Meng's eyes open wide. "No no no, look I will do anything. I can work for you even. Lets not go and cutting limbs or whatever you got in store!" The man is close to panic.

Bane has posed:
Bane is a difficult man to negotiate with. He side glances toward a bottle of Baijiu as he drags Meng to his feet, only to kick him behind the knee into a kneel. He drags the man's arm across the crate with a quick tug. "You are fortunate I do not just rip your limb from your body, foolish... foolish man."

In a very efficient gesture, Bane raises the cleaver and neatly parts the man's hand from his arm at the wrist. Meng screams in pain, blood erupting from his newly acquired stump. Bane rips off the man's tie and wraps it around his forearm as a tourniquet, cinching it tightly to cut off blood circulation.

Meng soon loses consciousness from shock. Bane rises and retrieves the bottle of Chinese alcohol, douses the bloody stump, and draws a lighter from his pocket. With a whoosh of flame, the wound is cauterized. Meng will survive to tell the story of how he lost his hand.

Dusting off his hands and coming down off his Venom rush, Bane's muscles retreat to their usual but still terrifying impressive size. He joins Harley in the office. "There should be a safe doctor. I heard them speak of it on my laser microphone. You were useful, I will make sure you have your payday."

He begins assisting in the search.

Harley Quinn has posed:
"You don't fool around, uh?" Harley is quite aware of what transpired out there. The cut and then saving the man's life with the tourniquet. "And heah I was thinkin' you weah just gonna finish 'im. Guess you got some honah." the mention of a safe makes her start tossing stuff around the place. Smaller crates, drugs clattering on the floor with she ignores but .., eventually a crate she was lifting to toss is heavier than the rest. "Ah ah!"

She opens it instead, revealing the safe within and then she looks at the lock with a bit of a frown, brushing her chin with a hand. "Mmm, older model. I did some o' these back in the day."

She kneels down in front of it and brings out a stethoscope, setting it on her ears and then on the safe..

"Now be realllly quiet.." she begins to roll the safe gears around, slowly, finding those locks one by one..

Bane has posed:
"I do not fool around, but no, I am not a mindless savage... And why yes, I take my honor very seriously. These men... They transgressed against me. They had to be taught a lesson. A lesson others will hopefully need not repeat." He grows quiet as she begins working on the safe. He instead steps around Tony Li's desk and begins exploring his laptop.

He hums and explores the desk for a pad of paper. Finding one and a pen, he begins scribbling down a few addresses. He steps out of the office to allow Harley to continue as he fishes a cellphone out of his pocket. He holds a conversation, not entirely out of earshot. "Bird, I need an anonymous tip to the police for the following addresses. They contain captives from the Neon Dragon Triads. Please ensure the women find themselves in the hands of the authorities."

Harley Quinn has posed:
"Mmm, music ta my eahs.." That said when the last click is heard and the safe opens. Harley takes out some of the money, stuffing it into her bag. A gun that she tosses behind her to the floor and a few papers that she just ignores. She doesn't need more complication right now!

She hops back up to her feet, casting a look at Bane once she hears him give those orders for a tip to the police. A snort and her blue eyes glint.

What would they say if they knew it was you behind that, mmm?" She turns, arms wrapping about her. "Seems there's moah ta youse than meets the eye. Well, besides the muscles and all that.."

Harley steps out of the office, pointing with a thumb behind her. "Still some money left theah. And now I am gonna get outta heah. Maybe next time you can tell me what the Bats did to ya for all the anger you got foh him." because something is just tickling her psychology senses.

Almost as good as Spider senses!

Bane has posed:
Bane assesses Harley quietly for a moment and shakes his head, "You can take all of it. I have what I came for."

An eyebrow raises behind his mask, the gesture only faintly noticeable by the contortion of the black leather. "I'm sure they would see one criminal reducing the cashflow of his competition. Though likely would not understand that I do not condone slavery. Or maybe they would, for there have been... many examples."

He begins leaving the warehouse. "It is a war between Kings, doctor. I would not expect you to understand." He pauses and hums deeply, "If.. this is the kind of work you are interested in, Harley Quinn. I may have more for you. In the end, I will rule over all the cartels. Under my rule, there will be no selling to children. Drugs will not be used to enslave women. No... they will be sold responsibly, and any who violate my law...."

He gestures toward the strewn bodies of their mutual enemies, some unconscious, some dead. "... will suffer the consequences. If you can live with this, then I may have work for you." He pauses.

"If you cannot live with it. Then do not interfere. Consider this, your one warning." He resumes walking.