492/The Bane of Bludhaven

The Bane of Bludhaven
Date of Scene:	13 March 2020
Location:	Bludhaven Dockworks
Synopsis:	Bane comes to Bludhaven to deliver a message to Batman. He uses Nightwing as his stationery.
Cast of Characters:	Dick Grayson, Bane

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Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing has a lot on his mind. Genosha had brought up too many memories of Doomsday's rampage. And characteristically, Batman had withdrawn into the 'it's not a Batman issue'. Despite someone visiting him and his promise he'd look into it. The Wingcycle weaves between the docks of Bludhaven, Dick's thoughts on it all a jumbled mess in his mind. His patrol hasn't netted much of anything which has only allowed him to laser-focus on the issues, which has him not paying attention to his surroundings.

And now there was Damian. The son. The blood son. A brat, yes, but he's still Bruce's son. And the misplaced Robin of Carrie. And his unresolved feelings with Barbara.

He shouldn't have patrolled tonight.

But he defied that logic. Bruce would power through all of this, and so would he. "Come on, gimmie at least a mugging." he mutters as he listens to the Bludhaven radio frequencies and police scanner. Perks of the job. The other job.

Bane has posed:
Dick should not have patrolled tonight.

Bane has been watching the former Boy Wonder. Watched him as he emotionally took his bruisings, what he lost during the tragedy of years past. Saw him act illogically. If there was anytime to attack a Bat, Bane knows that its when they are mentally and emotionally wounded.

He's done it once before...and it appears as if he will do it again.

As Dick drives his Wingcycle to and fro...eventually, straight ahead? He'll see him. The man is unmistakable, whether its the mask or the fact that he towers over most people.

Bane.

He keeps his hands on his vest straps, lifting his chin a little bit when Nightwing comes into view. The challenge has been declared.

Dick Grayson has posed:
Nightwing only has seconds to react as the low beams reflect on the hulking form of Bane. The hands grip tighter on the control, eyes widening beneath the domino mask as he pushes the cycle into a controlled slide, leaping from it as it slams into a stack of wooden crates to the side of the alley. Leaping high from it, the acrobatic wonder twists in midair, firing a grapple line to land on the edge of a fire escape and glances down at one of the rogues from his father's gallery.

So much for getting out his shadow tonight.

"Did you check that suit with customs before you came up from Santra Prisca? They're all prickly about foreign travel. what with corona virus and all that!" he calls down at Bane. Stay high. He can't climb well. Keep above, stay out of his range, don't -- whatever you do -- don't let him grab you. Dick's running through the file in his mind. "Wrong side of the bridge, Bane, I can //actually// arrest you on this side!"

Bane has posed:
Bane remains perfectly still, even when Nightwing's cycle moves far past him and slams into a pile of crates. He watches as Nightwing moves up to higher ground....as if he thinks that will keep him safe from Bane.

All bats think alike...though Batman appears to be the grand exception, but he's seen this strategy far too many times, memorized certain moves. Nightwing is in a dangerous position. So instead, Bane tries to bait Nightwing.

"Do you really think you've earned and kept the right to do so....Mr. Grayson?" Bane turns his attention to Nightwing then. "After all your failures, after all your doubt...do you really believe you are worthy to be part of the Family?" Because a fighter that is blinded by rage is weak and easy to conquer.

Yet Dick is not someone who falls easily to this kind of manipulation, despite all the emotional trauma he's been through relatively recently.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Why don't you come up here and tell that to my face!" Dick calls back down to Bane. "And it's Detective, you must have lost the invitation in the mail." It's true, Dick's the talkative one. After years of being the distraction for the Bat, he's got his own bag of tricks to work with. Though Bane is pulling on those strings.

"But what, someone plan a reunion at Arkham? You guys are coming out of the woodwork." And Dick realizes that. Harley, Ivy, Clayface, now Bane. If Dick somehow manages to win, there will be a deeper look into this process.

That's a big If. At the moment, he's in a Bludhaven standoff with Bane, and he has to act. At least Bane hasn't gone to guns yet.

Which in itself is odd. "I take it you're not going to do me a solid and just surrender?"

Even as he says this, his fingers move to his belt, dropping a pair of smoke bombs into it. One of them will have to move eventually.

Bane has posed:
"Because you are a coward, boy." Bane retorts easily enough, though unlike Dick, he doesn't speak with emotion in mind or trying to psych someone else out with being talkative and distracting. Bane is going for damage and damage alone. After all, there is much more to a fight then punching the other guy in the face. "After all, you perch on top of your high places, instead of facing me like a man, as a real warrior would."

But then the smokebombs drop, with Bane humming a moment. "...theatricality and deception. Same bird, same tricks. Perhaps this is why the Bat lost his faith in you." As the smoke seems to mostly cover Bane's form, he moves over to Dick's Wingcycle...and proceeds to chuck it at the Nightwing of Bludhaven!

Well...thats one way to start a fight. Even without Venom...Bane was ridiculously strong for a human.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Sure, try to talk me into... crap." Dick leaps from rooftop as wingcycle flies through the air and slams into the fire escape he was just on, rending metal and shattering brick. Not to mention what it does to the bike. As he takes to the air, both of the pellets fly to land on the ground, expelling gas that immediately billows into smoke as it touches the atmosphere, obscuring the area.

And Bane may be expecting Dick to come in from above. Instead, that's the feint, as Nightwing and his escrima stick comes in low, a slide across Bane's lower half, going for a hard strike on the knees as he moves to bounce back quickly to his feet and keep his distance.

Bane has posed:
Bane does not stand on ceremony.

As soon as he sees Dick leap off of his perch and land on the ground, the smoke obscures his vision. "Interesting." Bane walks through the smoke, attempting to find Nightwing as the elder bird looms in the shadows. The thing is, the smoke pellets are - potent -, severely blocking Bane's ability to see and thus he must rely on other senses.

...such as when he hears Nightwing slide across the ground, his head turning that way. He manages to move his left leg out of the way, but his right leg suffers for it, making him drop to a knee....but without sacrifice, there can be no victory.

Bane attempts to grab Nightwing by his ankle before he get get away completely...if but so he could try and slam him into the ground. Of course, Nightwing was quick, as was his specialty. He could just get away with Bane grabbing nothing but air.

Dick Grayson has posed:
The noise of gravel and conrete being kicked up is a dead-giveaway, and while Nightwing feels the satisfacting crunch of ferro-fiber bar against leg, he knows he has to be quick... just not quick enough. The ankle is grabbed. But instead of trying to yank away, Dick shoves himself foward. He knows he's going to get slammed into the ground, and the acrobat in him is prepared to take the fall.

It's the other leg that comes into play, twisting the former Boy Wonder around as he aims a sharp kick at Bane's shoulder or face. But hit the ground he does, a hard whuuf of air as he does so. He controlled as much of the hit as he could, rolling and twisting to get his ankle away and get back to his feet as a pair of wingdings are flung towards Bane's shoulders to try to stun him by hitting pressure points. It's a low... very low chance, but at least they'll buy Nightwing a chance to swing back to his feet.

Bane has posed:
Bane does indeed actually lift Dick over his head and smack him hard int othe ground, but alas, he gets kicked in the shoulder...but that does next to nothing to the big guy, but the Wing Ding? Those have much more effect. It doesn't hit his pressure points, but they do sting enough that Nightwing can slip out.

"Finally...creativity. I had thought such was beyond you, child. But tell me...how was your trip to Genosha?" Another jab sent the former Boy Wonder's way to see if he can make sure Nightwing makes a mistake. But the Nightwing has some mental fortitude, thanks to Batman's training...and will be hard to break.

Dick Grayson has posed:
"I knew I should have kept off Instagram." Nightwing grits his teeth. His ribs are aching already, and he has no contingency plans. He's done this song and dance before. And each time, he's been on the wrong end of the stick. "Keeping tabs on me, Bane? You're not my type." he responds as pushes back to his feet. Rushing in at Bane, he attempts to leap and kick at him.

The formulations of an idea are there. But he's going to have to sacrifice himself each time he gets in close to strike - to weaken... and search for an opening. The wingdings were a start. Another kick, just to coax Bane. He's going to have to take the hit. No choice in the matter.

And depending on how Bane choses to handle it after he makes the hard kick will be made after he ... figures out his next move.

Bane has posed:
Bane doesn't use instagram. "Know your enemy." He replies like he thought about his answer before he spoke it. Nevertheless, Bane watches as Nightwing plays into his game, the way the ninja-like fighter leaps throug hthe air, his feet deadly weapons when used against a proper opponent.

Bane is not a 'proper' opponent.

He is like a brick wall. The kick causing Nightwing to almost stop in momentum as Bane barely moves from the blow. The second kick, however? He moves slightly to the side, attempting to grab Nightwing for the purpose of trying to slam him into the nearby wall.

"Trials have made you weak."

Dick Grayson has posed:
"Whoof!" Dick slams into the wall. He can feel his ribs crack beneath the armor. That hurt. Pain races through his body. Stay down it tells him. Stay down and let Bane walk away.

Bane won't walk away. He knows that.

But there's one by-product that Nightwing gets as a bouns. Slammed into the wall that his wingcycle was slammed into, he rolls over towards it. The frame's bent, there's no way it will run properly.

He doesn't need it to run. Spitting out a glob of blood onto the rubble, he's reaching into his belt. "Always told trials make you stronger, Bane. Isn't that what you said?" he manages as he turns towards Bane, backing up slowly, the domino mask torn to expose his eye.

"You know what made you weak....?" he asks, as he throws a wingding at Bane at close range, hoping that Bane just tanks it like he did the last. Or catches it. And when he does, Nightwing reaches behind him and hits the ignition on the wingcycle, sending a surge of electricity along the grapple line he attached to the wingding to try to electrocute Bane.

"...your assumption I'd be predictible."

Bane has posed:
Bane watches Nightwing as he tries so hard to move, tries to roll over towards it. Bane however, seems to look up at the sky for a brief moment. His attention then falls on Nightwing, just in time for the Wing Ding to fly at him. He catches the projectile in his hand, looking it over for a brief moment. As Nightwing hits that surge of electricity, Bane realizes his error.

Only it was too late.

The electricity surges through Bane's body, bringing him immense pain that brings him to his knees. His teeth grit together, and through sheer force of will, Bane seems to be standing up again as he fights through the pain. Bane does not fall so easily.

Until he drops the Wing Ding.

"Perhaps you don't understand..." The electricity ends, despite the surge of energy still going through his body, making it very difficult to move until it passes. "I am not a joke. I am not a riddle. I am not a bird or a cat or a penguin. I'm not a scarecrow or a plant or a puppet! I am not a boy playing dress-up." He slowly approaches Dick then.

"I am Bane. And you will send a message to the Dark Knight: The score will be settled." He apparently seems content to leave Dick battered instead of killing him or leaving him unconscious since he turns on his heel. Though if Dick wants to try and tag him one last time or a similar strategy...that choice is up to him.

Dick Grayson has posed:
It had been a good plan. And normally, under another circumstance? It may have worked. Except electrocuting Bane is a bit like trying to fry an elephant.

Ask Tesla how that went.

"Why don't you just wear a giant B on your chest then? Just in case... we didn't know." His breath is hard. Shallow. Labored. He's a lot more hurt than he's letting on.

But after Bane makes his pronouncement, Dick rises to his feet. "...not... done... yet..."

And he stumbles, weakened, battered, a punch-drunk fighter climbing back into the ring into one more round -- even if it is only for one punch as he tries to slam his shoulder into Bane's back -- a lot like trying to tackle a brick wall.

And it leaves him completely open.

Bane has posed:
Bane pauses in his step only when he feels Dick's shoulder ram into his back. Turning his head ever so slightly to Dick as he doesn't even budge. He reaches behind him and grabs Dick by the hair, turning his attention to him. "I was wondering what would break first....your spirit-" He proceeds to try and punch Dick twice in the face and once in the already-injured ribs. Then? He he puts both hands on Dick's back...he's not thinking?

No...that would put the Batman on a lower level, or at least it would in Bane's mind. "Or your body."

Bane proceeds to try and throw Dick straight through the wall he slammed him into the last time. Needless to say, the ribs are probably going to be the last thing on Nightwing's mind.

For Bane is in Bludhaven. "You fought well, Chico. But you are no Batman." Bane leaves Nightwing where he lies, not willing apparently - yet - to make the final blow. After all, Nightwing is a messenger in Bane's plan. It does no good to kill the messenger before the message is even sent.

Dick Grayson has posed:
The punches slam into the young man's face. He'll definetly have to call into work sick the next couple of days. He's unconscious -- perhaps Bane's grace to him before he slams into the wall, and he slumps down next to the bike. He's out of the fight completely.

But the message was given. Now will Dick deliver it?

That depends, really. For now, he's going to just be taking a little break.