Owner	Pose
Qira Quest	It isn't unuusal to see a longhaul truck on the Amusement Mile. There's any number of businesses that take in deliveries on this stretch of road... none of them the abandoned amusement park, however. That tends to be reserved for a certain Clown Prince of Crime. Not that he's always there, but it is one of his more favored hideouts and bases of operation. So it's generally not a good thing when there's a report of a 16 wheeler parked in front of the entrance to the old amusement park, and a bunch of men unloading things from it. Kate catches wind of it before the GCPD does, giving her at least a few hours' time before some concerned citizen calls it in. She might just be able to shut down the Clown's newest scheme before it even gets up and running, if she can just get there and stop them from setting up whatever it is he has planned. And who knows, in the stolen goods might be enough threads to tie together to suss out what he's got up his sleeve this time. When she arrives, she'll see at least half a dozen burly men in the usual outfits with the facepaint and red noses and clown masks. They're unloading various stolen goods from around the city. Barrels and boxes of chemicals, chemistry lab equipment, weapons, and of course, toys of various makes. They're being hauled off the truck and carried/wheeled into the park. Never less than two guys stay with the truck and there's always at least two more heading back to the truck for another load. The driver also stays with the truck, in the cab. The two at the back of the truck have crowbars and a shotgun. The pairs moving back and forth between the truck and park have uzi's on straps, with at least one having a knife for cutting open boxes and the other with a crowbar for crates and barrels. Hard to see if the driver has any weaponry, but if he's with the gang, it's a good chance there's another shotgun up front with him.
Kate Kane	Batwoman tended to steer clear of Amusement Mile on her patrols. It wasn't that she much cared about stepping on the toes of the Bat and his Brood - if the mission necessitated it, then she would simply deal with it - but the Joker was one of the few criminal freaks she opted not to tangle with if it could be avoided. As a mission objective, there was just too much variable there. Tonight, however, she can't help it. <<Open up a channel to Vespertilionid One.>> She waits a moment for the communications networks to interface with each other. No answer. Leave a recording. <<Should've figured something was keeping you busy if you're not here. Got a bead on the Joker. Moving in now while I have the element of surprise. Don't pout about it later. Out.>> A smirk crosses ruby red-painted lips as she takes up her position. Her preferred method of operation is to watch, analyze, and formulate a plan of attack. She produces what looks to be a handle from her belt, and quickly begins to assemble it. It's a firearm of sorts, maybe a custom job or at least so heavily modified as to bear no immediate resemblance to anything on the market. She raises it to her face, drawing a bead without aid of scope nor enhanced vision. The shot is suppressed. Not inaudible, but the muzzle flash is concealed enough to keep her immediate position a secret. Not aimed at any of the clown-faced crooks, but rather at the tires of the truck. It's not immediately noticable, until the same weapon sprays several high caliber rounds through the engine block. "What's the matter, boys?" she whispers to herself, already disassembling the weapon and concealing it about her person once more, "Car trouble?"
Qira Quest	Even suppressed, the shots that take out the engine block ping and pong and slam into and through metal, and THAT is loud enough to catch attention, even if the tire being blown could simply be deemed a delayed effect of worn tires. Goons and villains don't tend to be awesome with vehicle maintenance, they can always steal another vehicle after all. But the active shooting not only draws the two from the back, it brings two more running from where they were headed back to get another load, AND the driver dives out the passenger side to post up on the opposite side of the truck, proving that he does indeed have a shotgun. One of the goons stays in the back of the truck with the shotgun, hunkered down behind a few crates. The one with the crowbar is trying to slink around to see if he can place who and where the shots came from. Everyone KNOWS.. the Bat, nor his brood, use guns. One of the Bats' rules. The two coming back from the amusement park are still running up, but they have the uzi's in hand and are yelling out to the others. The ones deeper in the park, that are dropping off... they don't respond. Can't respond. Unconsciousness does that to a person. They may also be bleeding. A bit. Couldn't be helped. But there IS a figure moving around in the darkness out there. THe goons can't see it, but Kate's better vantage point shows a much smaller figure in what looks like some sort of ninja getup that's darting from tree to bush to stand to garbage bin. The fact that the figure can hide behind the garbage can suggests that they're small, short and wiry. That the goons haven't noticed them says they're quiet, training of some sort. The fact that the other two goons haven't come up to join the rest supports that suggestion of training.
Kate Kane	Batwoman has a plan of action here, and it doesn't involve unknown variables out in the dark. She's already picked up on the unanswered radio traffic, and she takes that moment to place two fingers to the earpiece of her cowl and speak with sub-audible tones in a vicious whisper across the Bat-Family comm network. <<Batwoman to unknown combatant. Whichever one of you is out there playing ninja assassin, you need to let me know where you are and what you're doing before I 'accidentally' shoot out your kneecaps. Over.>> When there's no response, she clicks her tongue against her teeth and drops down from her perch into the shadows. Her cape catches the draft around her, slowing her fall before pooling like shadows around her. "Shit," she hisses under her breath, "Fine. It's fine."    he goons moving towards the truck with uzis in hand may hear the sound of metal clattering against the asphalt, and the rough rumble of something rolling across it. If they look down, they'll see a quintet of metallic balls painted a matte black and red. They look just like marbles. That is, until they explode. One, a burst of white light and ear-splitting noise designed to disorient. Another begins to spew a billowing gout of smoke, acrid-smelling and nauseating upon inhalation. It spreads its tendrils quickly over the area as Batwoman places a rebreather in her mouth, moving through the obscuring fog to disable the submachine gun wielding thugs from behind.
Qira Quest	There's no response to the comm call-out. It's almost to be expected, really. Anyone with the Bat would be geared to the Gods, not running around in ninja silks. This is a new player. To be fair, however, they do seem more cautious now, not immediately moving forward to attack but waiting, perhaps having seen some hint of Kate even as she noticed them as well. They peek out from behind the garbage can, only to duck right back behind it in time for the explosions. The light and noise would be enough to daze and disorient the goons, but the smoke leaves them coughing and retching as well, effectively rendering them helpless. Guns glatter to the pavement as the four caught in the smoke cloud work on keeping the contents of their stomach inside, not out. They'll be easy pickings for Kate, with her rebreather, dropping heavily to the ground as she takes them down one by one. Only one remains, the driver. He was outside the cloud of smoke, though not outside the blinding flash or disorienting noise. By the time Kate clears the smoke cloud, however, the driver is down, unconscious and ziptied. The unknown variable is standing over him, examining the shotgun before giving a 'tch' and discarding the shells before tossing the shotgun aside with a small huff. "Worthless. Always worthless." The voice is muffled, but vaguely feminine, and she kicks the driver lightly, muttering, "Get better guns."
Kate Kane	"If they could afford the top shelf," Batwoman calls to the Unknown Variable (good codename, as far as such things go), her voice modulated just slightly and rebroadcast by her mask, "They wouldn't be working for the Joker. His soldiers are either dyed-in-the-wool maniacs or habitual losers who can't find work anywhere else." That said, she turns her eyes towards the truck. She picked up on the guy inside, or signs of him. She holds a gloved finger up to her lips in the universal symbol for 'shhh' before turning, red hair fanning out elegantly in the night air as she does so. She lifts a hand, holding it poised against the side of the truck before she suddenly hammers on it erratically with the side of her fist. There's the muffled sound of a shotgun blast, followed by the metal shutter at the rear of the vehicle blowing outwards. Satisfied, she strides confidently towards the newly-made hole and tosses one of the small spheres through it. A moment, then another blinding flash followed by a cloud of noxious smoke. That done, she approaches the ninja and looks down with a critical eye. "You're not one of his. Or, if you are, you're out playing in the yard without daddy's say-so."
Qira Quest	"I know that... that's why I don't go after his crowd... shit gear, no money... worthless." Letting out a small huff, she gives a nod and waves off Kate to do what she's going to do with the last guy in the back of the truck. Qira skitters around to take what little cash the goons have on them, tucking the bills away into a pocket. Kate rattles on the back of the truck and the goon reacts predictably, blowing a rather large hole through the sliding door at the back. The small sphere tossed through the hole does its job well, and the man inside shrieks and falls to the floor of the truck, coughing and retching and eventually passing out. Qira peers around the corner at Kate, head cocked to one side, coming out from behind it to stare back up at her with those strange eyes. "I'm not one of his. He knows about me but I... work around him. Play by his rules, but he didn't need another one like me. He helped me with something, probably hoping it would get me out of 'his' city. But.. Gotham is home now."
Kate Kane	"Try Penguin's guys," Batwoman answers casually, picking up one of the shotguns from the ground and disassembling it with practiced grace, "He pays to keep himself protected. That, or go to Metropolis. Laser guns and plasma rays as far as the eye can see. All topped off with a condescending 'tut tut' for picking them up." She listens to Qira's story, abridged as it is. It doesn't immediately seem like it, the way she moves about the crime scene securing unconscious or incapacitated thugs while making certain their weapons won't work if someone manages to reach for one while she's otherwise occupied. The 'his city' remark does draw a harsh bark of laughter from the otherwise luxurious-looking redhead. "Hah, yeah. I know how that goes. Try being outside the team and using a gun. Glower central."
Qira Quest	"I usually stick to the mob guys. Well paid, well armed, and they're too dumb to figre out that I'm not one of the Bats. So all my hits just end up getting added to their tally." Qira lifts a small shrug and shakes her head. "Plus, they aren't literally insane supervillains. They're just... men." The mention of Metropolis has her snorting, "Oh yeah, I would fit in SO well in the Shining City ruled by the Big Blue." Sarcasm was easy to pick up, it's everywhere, and it seems to suit her otherwise blase attitude. "Oh.. no, I'm worse than a gun. Much worse. And I'm not one of his precious batlings, so I don't get the 'kid gloves'. But.. he felt sorry for me, so as long as I don't kill and stay out of his way... I don't get bothered." She watches Kate disassemble the shotgun, head canting, then moves to pick up the other, picking it apart as she did, albeit slower and more carefully. Picking up the crowbars and knives, she tosses them into the nearest garbage can, so they can't be reached by the zip-tied thugs. "You're different. Less... uptight. Sorry if I messed up your plan. I saw you on the roof, but I didn't have a way to really... say.. anything. At least, not without giving myself away. And I just don't know you that well."
Kate Kane	"I'm plenty uptight," Batwoman answers, "You didn't hear me cursing when I worked out you were sneaking around out there muddying up the battleplan." Finally done, she places both hands at the small of her back behind her cape and stretches. Bats are human after all, even if some of them would never let it be known. "But you were helping, and you didn't murder anybody. Far as I'm concerned, that puts you a leg-up on most of the other vigilantes in the city who don't get the Bat seal of approval." She looks thoughtful for a moment, reaching into her belt and producing what looks like a small flesh-toned earpiece. She tosses it in Qira's direction, whether or not she catches it is up to her. "That just hooks into my network. Don't go thinking you can call the Batman on it or anything. But next time you're in the area you can give me a head's up." A pause. "If I catch you trying to reverse engineer it or triangulate my signal, I'll tell him you're selling coke to kindergartners and setting nuns on fire." Her ruby red lips curl into a close-lipped smile. "Kidding."