3558/While the Cats are Away: And I'll Take the Low Road

While the Cats are Away: And I'll Take the Low Road
Date of Scene:	25 September 2020
Location:	An abandoned iron mine.
Synopsis:	The Titans capture Gizmo and find plans for another base.
Cast of Characters:	Dick Grayson, Kyle Rayner, Cassie Sandsmark

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Dick Grayson has posed:
Doctor Light had been able to turn over some solid evidence. Clearly he was not fond of being betrayed by those that he considered allies/minions/teammates. The problem, as he noted, was that there are two potential bases that the Fearsome Five could be using.

It had been decided that the plan would be to hit both bases simultaneously. The teams would be in a position to withdraw, if need be, and with the two locations being very close.

This particular strike team has been scent after an iron man not far from the industrial site the other team is hitting, only about ten miles apart. The mine itself is unremarkable, the old gates having since been eaten away with rust and sit open, though the elevator to the mine below is still operational, but otherwise it is dark down there. Fortunately, the tunnel itself is well organized, giving only a straight shot for a while before it hits a t-intersection, but from where the team is situated, they cannot see what is beyond that fork.

Nightwing has gone along with this team, having some experience dealing with subterranean situations. Before he changes the settings on his mask, he asks the others, "You guys want to keep it dark in here or light it up? I can manage in the dark, but we can work with light if we need to. But let's try to keep it subtle as possible."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner has his costume on, and when the subject of light comes up, and Nightwing requests that they keep it as subtle as possible, he just nods his head, and his ring begins to glow with a soft light. Not bright enough that it could be seen around corners, as long as they weren't pressed up against that corner. But bright enough to make sure anyone who didn't grow up with a Bat for a Dad to see the floor that they're traversing.
    For his part, the teenaged superhero is a bit on the nervous side. Raiding bad guys' lairs isn't exactly a routine job for him yet, so he's a bit nervous but pressing forward. "Right behind you, Gandalf," he whispers to Dick while they journey through the Underdark.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"I can work in low light, the Amazons are really fond of dragging you out of bed for late-night moonlit hunts," Cassie remarks, mildly sarcastic as she reflects on what was no doubt a 'fun' moment from her training. "It's one of Diana's domains, after all." Pause. "The Goddess, not Wonder Woman." She goes on, "But total darkness wouldn't be too good."

As usual, for pure work missions, she's in her costume that barely counts as one, simple athletic gear with a bit of 'Wonder' branding. At the talk of the dark, she double checks the lasso on her hip. Theoretically a light source, albeit not a... subtle one, not by far. "Ooh, that's about perfect," she remarks when Kyle solves the issue with his much more customizable option.

She sails along just behind Nightwing, cheating a bit on stealth, until they reach the proverbial (and literal) fork in their path. "We got any kind of intel on the place itself?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
The fork itself has two labels, to the west it says "Pit A," and to the east, "Pit B." The dust has mostly been unsettled, though curiously, no signs of insect life in here, or anything similar like arachnids. No webs, no flies, nothing. A quick glance around each corner shows that it indeed goes into two different tunnels of similar size, though down the west tunnel a small rumble and crash is heard, and a faint whirring of what might be wind is heard coming from the east.

Nightwing stands at the fork and says, "Two solid clues, no dust trails or indication of tracks. You two got a preference which path we go down?"

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner listens for a moment when they come to that fork, and he tilts his head from one side to the other, trying to get an idea of what the two sounds are and which one he favours more, before he points to the tunnel labaled Pit A.
    "Might as well start alphabetical if we don't have any other things to go on. And machinery sounds more promising for finding the Fearsome Five than just some wind noises," he suggests, but there's a lilt in his voice to indicate he doesn't have the strongest preference to which tunnel they take, so it may as well be a group decision.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Works for me," Cassie supplies, faced with Kyle's rather impeccable logic of ordering their search alphabetically. Why not? "Sounds like there's something going on down there, for sure."

As they head down, she glances aside at Nightwing. "If you want to creep around or something, I know that's your thing and maybe you can get a look at the situation, but when it comes to contact, you probably want to put me out front and center." No sign of fear in that offer, more like eager enthusiasm mixed with a touch of practicality. "I can be pretty distracting when I need to, and pretty sure I can take what they dish out. My only worry is that lady me, Hawkeye and Dove ran into. Not sure what her deal was, but I'd love not to be choked with lethal gas and then set on fire again."

The villain was only responsible for HALF of that. Thanks Kate!

Dick Grayson has posed:
As the team opts for Pit A, the source of the rumble and crash becomes a little evident. A bit of light becomes visible for only a moment and gradually closes, almost like a garage door. It is about fifty yards out from the turn of the corner, so nothing appears to have spotted the party.

Dick nods to Cassie, "That's the general plan. I have my talents, but you guys got power." He flashes a grin and seemingly disappears into the dark, turning on his nightvision fully and stays gone for a few moments.

When Nightwing returns, he says, "Looks like we got about three turrets, one of which is much larger than the others. There is a door, but I could not investigate, but whatever went in or out did not leave a trail of any sort."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner nods his head when Nightwing comes back and reports on what they're facing up ahead, and his mouth twists to the side while he considers the situation. "Well, the Amazon here is right, she's probably the toughest of us here. So if you can take distract the turrets, Wonder Girl, Nightwing and I can probably take them out in a fairly quick order," he suggests. "It'll just depend if you want to get the big one, or leave that one to me."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Well, doors can break," Cassie notes, matter of factly. "So that's not a big deal."

Turrets, on the other hand...

Wonder Girl seems to give it a moment's thought as Kyle asks how they want to pair to handle them. "Well I think what I said about me going in first still applies. I'm usually OK with projectiles, probably even the big one... probably, but it's hard for me to go on the offensive if I have to block, especially from multiple sources. So I tank, you blast them?" she asks Kyle. "Big one first, obviously. Nightwing if you've got any, I don't know, Bat-style EMP things you could hit one too."

It sounds like a plan! And everyone knows how those go after contact with the enemy. But Cassie doesn't seem worried. She gives them a moment for a "Ready?" and then flies ahead. Expecting the turrets, her arms are already up, bracers gleaming, ready for whatever they're going to throw at her.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing nods and goes back into the darkness. Once Wonder Girl approaches and puts her bracers up, the turrets turn to focus on her as the smaller two lay down automatic fire, while the larger turret takes a few moments to heat up as the core of its "gun" appears to light up and appears to be getting ready to emit a wide red laser that is visibly scarring the ground with each blast.

It is at this moment one of the smaller turrets is quickly dealt with by an explosion after a faint "tink" is heard, the sound of a wingding hitting metal. "Looks like surprise is out the window!" Nightwing says, maneuvering to get an angle on the next turret, "Not sure if I have enough explosives to take out that big one quickly enough, though!"

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner runs around the corner, right behind Wonder Girl as the turrets all focus on the first target that appeared. As the big one begins to charge up and prepare to fire what seem to be lasers at the group, Kyle's ring flares green as a solid mirror appears in front of the laser, blocking the turret from firing and sending the lasers right back into the equipment, resulting in a slightly larger explosion as the bigger turret just blasts itself.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
The immediate spray of automatic fire is expected, and something Cassie is trained to handle, although the two turrets laying down a pretty high volume of fire from different angles does add at least a bit of a challenge factor to it. Her arms become a high speed blur as she positions those shining (and as far as she knows indestructible) bracers to catch and deflect each incoming bullet. It's a lot coming at her, but in the end the turrets are no Deathstroke - the tracking algorithms are far more simplistic compared to an expert human marksman, and after a briefly hectic initial moment, she gets a rhythm to the gunfire, handling it a bit more smoothly.

Doing so does, as she predicted, keep her rather busy, though. And as the big one charges rather than just opening fire immediately, she prepares to go evasive rather than simply try to block it, not trusting just HOW big the blast might get. She hasn't quite mastered Diana's technique for shielding bigger discharges yet...

Fortunately, the team comes through all around her. One of the turrets simply shuts off, letting her focus on the remaining one. Without having to block from two angles, she's able to focus a little more, having the same idea as Kyle and focusing the previously random richocets back toward the turret. "Big one's gonna go any time now-"

But Kyle's on it, and it 'goes off' a bit more spectacularly. "I'm gonna hit the door!" Since they've been spotted, she doesn't wait for instructions to pivot on to the next task, throwing herself at the door in a flying shoulder-charge.

Dick Grayson has posed:
All three turrets are quickly out of commission due to the coordination of the Titans. The noise is definitely loud and a few rocks are knocked loose by the explosion of Kyle redirecting the beam back on its source. But the action is by no means over as Cassie's decision to create an opening proves fruitful as she barrels into the room and sees a short man, no taller than 4'6, riding a small hovering disk as he is busy pulling data off of some computers, clearly concerned, though the little man calls out, "Ah, nuts."

The rest of the room is otherwise has the look of a safehouse, computer bank, couches, a small kitchen, and a hallway to what must be a restroom and private rooms.

But the focus is now on Gizmo, who presses a few buttons on his vehicle that cause telescoping arms reach out like tentacles, but these happen to have sawblades on the end that begin thrashing about to protect him, while beneath the hoverdisk a small laser drops down and begins shooting as Gizmo quickly plugs away on the computer, eventually pulling out the thumbdrive. He is clearly panicked as he figured the turrets would hold longer.

Nightwing had to cover some distance to actually get to the last turret, so the senior Titan will arrive at the door a moment after Cassie busts in the door.

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner is making his one way across the former battlefield and towards the door. Strewn pieces of turret everywhere after the larger explosion of the big one. As a few rocks clatter, Kyle looks a bit embarassed, having forgotten in the excitement that explosions under the earth are probably not the greatest of ideas.
    He'll arrive shortly before Dick to the door, trying to time his entrance to when that annoying little laser isn't firing through the door.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Oh hey again, short-stuff." Gizmo and Cassie are acquainted. Well, maybe only vaguely, she was a bit busy going back and forth with Mammoth the last time around, and indeed, spotting the miniature gadgeteer causes her take a quick side-glance survey of the room, to make sure she's NOT about to be side-swiped by that big oaf again.

No? Cool.

The lasers hit around the hole she's made first, but then one is on target enough that she has to block it. "Rude." She flies toward him, internally wishing she had her sword with her (the Titans frown a little on the more hardcore Amazon stuff!) to do a little tentacle-pruning. Instead, she yanks her lasso loose from its spot on her hip, the rope uncoiling somewhat of its own volition. The robo-arms assault her from multiple directions, and she's not able to handle them as easily as the gunfire with their very unorthodox angles of attacks, grabbing one just below the blade and holding it fast, yet getting sliced across the shoulder by another as she casts the lasso. The throw is a little off, and it's pretty hard to land a clear line through the morass of tentacles. But she kind of doesn't care and just hopes she makes contact anywhere:

Then, obviously, she electrifies it. Maybe that will mess with Gizmo's gizmos, some.

Dick Grayson has posed:
The lasso is quick and is able to actually find purchase on the hoverdisk's arm. The sudden shock itself shorts out the entire disk as it thuds to the ground, the small laser canon being crushed in the process. Gizmo mutters curse words as he rises and shakes his head and begins to run off towards the hallway, though he has not made it yet, still a little disoriented from his fall.

Dick moves to intercept, a thrown wingding knocks the thumbdrive from Gizmo's hand as the villain instead begins bolting for what appears to be a duct not far from the computers, but he still needs to cross the room first.

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner is through the door, and the first thing he notices is Gizmo trying to make an exit, "Oh no you don't," he says, as his ring brightens and a green grate is added to the duct. "It's over, Gizmo. We just want to talk," the Lantern says, and then adds in a softer and faster voice, "andthenputyouinjail."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Haha, nice." Cassie seems to find some humor in the sudden appearance of the bars, and with the floating disk crashed, she's able to rest for a moment, yanking her lasso's length back to her hand where it again coils rather conveniently. Nice obedient rope.

She doesn't look too worried about the little man now that he's cornered by the three of them, so in fact, her attention turns elsewhere. "Do you think this is everything, Nightwing? His friends could be up to something down the other hall." And indeed, this causes her to turn a somewhat menacing look on the short fellow as she flies a little nearer, arms folded over her chest.

"He doesn't have to be conscious to take to jail, right?" she asks Dick, playing bad cop a little. "Got anything to say, short stuff?"

Dick Grayson has posed:
"I would prefer he come quietly," Nightwing notes and drops into a defensive stance with his sticks. "But if he resists, use as little force as possible. He might be our enemy, but we are better than that." He maintains his position.

"Heh," Gizmo snorts and crosses his arms, "So you think you can just trap me here or haul me away and that I'll sing like a little bird like Doctor Light must have?" The short scientists grumbles, "Of course not. I will be leaving here, on my own power, to a destination of my choosing." He then pulls out a small orb and presses a button as it counts down, stopping on nine when he holds down a button, "Knock me out, or hinder me, and this little buddy goes boom when that counter reaches zero. So what will it be, get out of my way or do we get to see what happens at zero?"

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner looks at it with a raised eyebrow, before he notes, dryly "Probably not a good idea to use an explosive device in the mine." He offers a small smile, though he notably hasn't moved from the doorway. "He is asking so nicely. Should we just let him go," he asks the group while he stands there with his arms crossed.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"Honestly I don't see you as the 'die for the cause' type, my dude," Cassie notes, with a certain skepticism and also showing a little less than total quaking fear when he pulls out his little device. "GL, why don't you put him in a bubble and just take him with us?" she then suggests, glancing back at Kyle. "Dunno if it will completely contain the blast, but it should help. Except, you know, not for him."

Of course, even as she says this, still hanging in the air and trying to look tough and intimidating, Wonder Girl is... pondering the alternatives, ready to react if he starts to move. She's not as fast as Supergirl, but she's pretty fast. And worst case scenario may involve taking that bomb somewhere else very quickly.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Gizmo is definitely not happy, especially when everybody calls his bluff. He keeps his hand on the bomb, just in case, but the mention of a bubble, causes him to sigh and drop it after disarming it. The short scientist puts his hands in the air, "You got me." His tone bearing ultimate defeat and frustration.

Nightwing chucks Cassie some cuffs, and puts shackles on Gizmo's ankles after checking for traps. "Yeah, let's get him cuffed and in a bubble before we take him out of here." Nightwing nods to the thumbdrive, "Also better grab that, I'll get the data off the computer."

Kyle Rayner has posed:
     "One bubble coming up," Kyle says, as his ring brightens again and Gizmo is put into a solid bubble of Kyle's willpower. "Guess I'm on prisoner duty while you all search for clues," he says with a chuckle, while making sure the short scientists stays locked down.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Phew.

Cassie certainly IS inwardly relieved when it turns out TO be a bluff. She swoops in right as he lets go of the bomb (just in case, you know), catching the cuffs mid-flight, and puts them on him before Kyle seals him away in the convenient container of light. She double-checks over the bomb, just to make sure nothing is beeping or flashing, before offering it to Nightwing to figure out. Gadgets are still in the Bat-Bird department.

"Nightwing, you want me to fly over and check the other area real quick?" She's really no better with the computers and clue-hunting than Kyle. "The air flow might have meant a landing pad or something. With the turrets and everything going off, they'd have been tipped off by now, but maybe there's something left to look at."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Sounds good, give the place the once over," Nightwing says to Cassie and gives a thumbsup to Kyle, "Good job. Let's keep him locked up in there so if he does have any toys on him, he's only going to give himself trouble." Nightwing confirms the bomb is disarmed and begins permanently disarming it away from the others, which he does quickly enough. Once that is finished, he begins pulling data off the computer.

Gizmo sits in his bubble grumbling to himself.

On Cassie's search, she would find sundry trash and wrappers left behind, though there are some socks that were left behind and one shoe along with a jacket, inside of which is a smart phone. Of potential immediate use a box of cookie sandwiches is available and a twelve-pack of Mt. Dew.

Kyle Rayner has posed:
    Kyle Rayner lets the villian grumble. "That shouldn't be an issue," he replies when Dick reminds him to keep him in the bubble. "Seems we just got him though. Means there's still some more of the Fearsome.. Eight, right," he asks, before he looks towards Gizmo. "Was it eight or seven.. I know it wasn't Five."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Sailing down the other passage and back, Cassie indeed returns with a few items: the jacket slung over her shoulder and the two boxes, stacked on on the other, held under her other arm.

"Looks like it was living quarters on the other side. Definitely occupied, although I'm not sure how recently. Either someone left in a hurry and forgot a shoe or... they were just kinda slobs. Scored some snacks, though." She hefts the pile of food and drink. "Maybe you'd be able to make better sense of it Nightwing? If Gar was here I'd say let him get a sniff of the socks." ... "But either way, pretty sure shortie's all we're getting today."

She pauses, then dangles out the jacket. "Phone in the pocket, not sure it's any use but maybe you can pull something off it. Otherwise, I'd say that we're done here."

Dick Grayson has posed:
Dick pulls off a couple of files onto a spare thumb drive he pulls from his belt. "Well, no information besides plans for a theoretical base, but it means nothing without a location." He turns to Kyle, "Yeah, hard to count them at this point, but at least they are now down two." He snorts.

Cassie's new information gets a nod, "Yeah, we can get those to Gar to see if he can find something out, good idea. Phone might have some data we can pull off of it, too. But yeah, if we've already stripped this place of clues, best we get moving. They don't know we have their buddy, yet."