Gotham: A New Generation (IC)

[Tamrida]

Ubu surveyed all this. With narrowed eyes, he spoke one word. The word traveled through air, through comm channels, to every single shadow warrior and agent on the pier and on the ship.

“Go.”

Instantly, smoke grenades dropped everywhere. A thick, impenetrable fog shrouded the pier and the ship and the warehouses. The artificial cloud made visibility impossible, except for the warriors of the League who wore specially filtered goggles. Not that sight was absolutely essential. A shadow ninja had learned long ago how to see as well with his other senses as he could with his eyes.

They fanned out. All of them except for Ubu's personal detail and those guarding the hostages on ship and on shore. The vans were also guarded and overwatch still provided on the ship and the buildings. For the rest, they fanned out, throughout the pier, skipping across rooftops, running as if floating on the rotted boards of the pier. With one single mission- to hunt down and slaughter every single one of these men remaining that dared to raise their hand against the League of Shadows.

The Merrymaker
While doing a sweep of the upper cabins, there was a mysterious disappearance of the guards on the upper deck of the ship as well as the sudden appearance of smoke grenades that restricted his sight on the upper decks. Deciding to use this to move around more freely, Merrymaker decided to return back into the ship and head towards the pier after not seeing any sign that any of the cabins were used by the ninjas, which meant that one of the ones performing the transaction most likely kept it on them. Making the determination that it had to be on the apparent leader of the group, possibly hidden in his outfit, as he didn't appear to be holding a case when Merrymaker looked at him.

Quickly and more freely moving back out of the ship, Merrymaker was surprised to find the large smokescreen still surrounding the pier, believing that it would have dissipated by the time he was back out of the ship. However, while his sight was still restricted, the smoke had to already begun to dissipate, and Merrymaker remembered that the best smoke grenades in the world only last for at most 90 seconds. Waiting a little bit more, he caught sight of the bald leader, as well as a unmistakable box like bulge in the back of his grey shirt. Deciding that this could be a big opportunity, Merrymaker drew one of his knives, keeping it hidden and began to wait for a time to strike.

[United States of Brainy]

Batgirl

The elevator lurched to a stop, the emergency lights came on and just when Babs thought things couldn’t get worse, things got worse…

"What in the world?" Ruth pulled out her phone and saw the alert. This was bad, really bad. "It would appear that someone has hacked my security system and reset everything to default. WITHOUT REVERSING IN THE PROPER ORDER! The sea life, all of it, covered in lava! The containment doors for the animals opened, flooding the cages and killing all of them! Whoever this idiot is, they have caused over 17 unique species' to go extinct in one fell swoop." She paused as the building lurched. "And the lava is now free to flow without the walls to stop it. Meaning my house is now being flooded with lava, and my gardens are on fire, and thousands of HoverDrones are coming back to roost, to add to the bonfire, with us trapped inside."

Well, we can’t do anything stuck in this elevator, the first order of business is to…

"Phone, trace hacker."

Oh…she can do that? Babs had a sneaky suspicion who was responsible, gritted her teeth for the expected…

"NIGHTHAWK!!!"

Yep. Just who she was afraid it would be. Groaning, she wished she could just sink into the floor but she knew that wouldn’t help anyone. Especially those animals. The crimefighter doubted that it could be as bad as Ms. Bingum claimed. The diva had already proven that she could be overly emotional at times, prone to exaggeration. Surely, simply hacking into the security system couldn’t lead to something as calamitous as what her host was describing! I mean, who would design a security system like that?! Babs figured that there had to be a way they could avert this potential disaster. All they had to do was figure out a way to get to the control center below. Looks like we’re climbing down she told herself, getting ready to open the access hatch in the floor of the elevator.

"Wait. I can fix this! Phone, how much time do you need to regain control of the system?"

To Babs’ amazement, Ms. Bingum started talking to her phone and more amazingly, the phone started talking back! Okay, beeping back. Incredible! Did Ms. Bingum have an A.I. assistant? Her very own Skeets? The surprises never ended when it came to Ruth Bingum, that was for sure!

"Batgirl, I think the animals are saved. Given the angle of the cages, the fact they were filled with air, and the fact the moat had risen so high, I don't think many of the habitats actually flooded! Hopefully. We'll be able to know more once we get into the Safe Room."

Well, thank god! As if to confirm the improving situation, the elevator started descending again. The sooner the better! The crimefighter needed to get to the control center and fix this entire disaster asap!

[Auphelia]

Batgirl
Well, thank god! As if to confirm the improving situation, the elevator started descending again. The sooner the better! The crimefighter needed to get to the control center and fix this entire disaster asap!

Ruth Bingum

The elevator door opened to reveal the smallest room of the mansion so far, though still fairly large. A square titanium box, 10 metres by 10 metres, every wall is covered in monitors, with one wall being entire made of a single monitor with a woman's face on it. Every monitor was working non-stop, either showing news footage or having millions of numbers written very quickly or monitoring the stock market . . . it was all so busy and yet organised and methodical. In the moments it took for Batgirl to see everything, the computer systems had made Ruth over 50,000 USD.

"Batgirl, welcome to my Safe Room, one of several. And this is my computer system, Less. She can control everything in this house, from the lighting to the configuration of the HoverPanels. Less, what is the status of the animals?"

"3% of the cages flooded and 5% had lava damage. My sensors indicate that 60% of the aquatic life has died, however, and without a way to evacuate them, water temperature standards and desalination levels concurrent with lava exposure indicate only 6% will survive the next hour. My records indicate that nothing can be done."

"Contact the District Attorney's office and tell them what Nightwing has been doing, and then get an warrant for his arrest. Also, contact my lawyers. We are, obviously, going to sue for damages."

"Yes madame."

"Less, this is Batgirl."

"I know who she is. Batgirl, identity suspected but unconfirmed. Welcome, Batgirl. Do not worry. I have not told Ruth your secret identity, as my ethics software prevents me from revealing sensitive information about public figures."

"Which is why she also isn't allowed to tell you my weight!" Ruth chuckles a bit, though this is a point of irritation for her. As powerful as Less is, the person who created her for Ruth built a failsafe that gave Less "morals" upon his death, which Ruth had ordered immediately after he had created it, because witnesses are trouble. Of course, there were some workarounds that kept her from revealing Ruth's secret identity, but it was still quite annoying.

"Anyway, Less, I need you to give monitors 35 and 36 to Batgirl, and compile all of the security information from tonight and give everything relevant to her, everything that has happened in the last half hour or so. You know what? Give her control of monitor 37 as well and get together a fleet of a HoverTurret and 3 HoverDrones to use. She may need to do some footwork herself, looking for clues and whatnot, so get her a Model 3 HoverDrone, with the arms. Then isolate the information that contains any record of Nightwing and run through it. Look for patterns in movement and whatnot, any identifying information and run it against any videos taken in Gotham in the past 6 months. Run a diagnostic scan on what happened to the front gatehouse and contact Abraham to find out what the teams are doing now. Get the drone fleet based in the house to deal with the lava and send the rest to patrol the house and help the officers and staff at the gatehouse. Contact the paramedics and have my personal evac helicopter to remove those in the worst condition. If I am forgetting anything that you can think of, do that as well."

"Yes madame."

Suddenly all of the screens changed and began to do exactly as Ruth had requested. Phones began to ring and answer themselves, emails were types by invisible hands, footage began to fast forward on monitors, and everything else. Three monitors rose from the floor, in the centre, as well as a keyboard and touchpad on a separate thin stand.

"Batgirl, that is your station. If you need anything, just say so."

[Ormata]

Father Frost
Gotham Harbor
10:56 PM

Slava watched as the hired hands were gunned-down with brutal precision. Those alongside the ship went down without a sound, dropping like sacks of potatoes. The bodies, presumably dead, were quickly approached by some of the men who had presumably been dockworkers before, approached and looked-over carefully. None of the apparent dockworkers yelled or called for the police, simply looking-over the dead and finding the grenades. They didn’t exclaim or show any sort of surprise at that, either, merely beginning to fan-out as though searching. There were assassins, Slava knew, men who were subtle and able in the fine arts of murder, people without conscience or restraint. Their actions betrayed them in that regard. It was likely they took-down the team in the warehouse at the same time, the bastards being so professional. As soon as the grenades were exposed, though, the Russian pressed a button.

He never could trust random thugs to stay loyal, especially when death was on the line, to not betray him, and as such an extra gift had been given to the thugs. Along with the initial payment of fake money, as Slava had very little intention of actually paying them, C4 had been added to the mix. Rolled in with the green hundred, just enough to pop heads and provide shrapnel for a dozen feet, the C4 ignited with enthusiasm, exulting a deadly hail of shrapnel and blood and bodies turned to weapons. Those on the docks had it worse, thee grenades adding to the potential for destruction. Death embraced those there with open arms, League armor turned useless by bone and sheer force, faces torn to shreds, bodies broken and any exposed skin turned to fine slices of raw flesh. The detonations rocked the very air, the sound of hammers striking shields like an orchestra.

Then the Russian moved. The time for subtlety was over. The time for action had begun. He began on the most direct route, brute-forcing his way through an old brick wall and finding himself face-to-face with a League agent. It was like a smudge on the wall, so dark was the lighting and so small was the person, yet the sheer abruptness of their pause was such that it betrayed them. An arm rose, red brick falling from it and clattering on the ground, and four buckshot barks emanated from that shotgun. At that range the lighter armor was nearly useless, the lead shower beating blood from the body. The figure jerked briefly, rapidly, before slumping down with red mist behind them. Father Frost approached the likely corpse, knowing of their vitality and their resolve, yet judging by the figure’s shuddering chest he could see that the person was not yet entirely dead.

He paused before speaking, his voice distorted. “You have one chance to save your life. Where is my quarry?”

[United States of Brainy]

The League
Gotham Harbor- 10:54pm

Off on the outskirts of the docks, Echo and Query were waiting in a truck for Riddler to call them. Once they received the go ahead, they open the back of the truck to let out a couple dozens of robotic penguins, each set the remotely exploded when they either reach a desired location or were interfered with. A majority of them were programmed to detonate within the ship and others were duds just to keep people guessing. Whatever was going on down at the pier was going to get a rude interruption when these started going off.

The shadow warrior moved effortlessly through the smoke, a wraith who's only purpose was to cut down any that opposed the League. A sound caught his ear, very faint. AaaaRrrrr-Rrrrr-TOK! AaaaRrrrr-Rrrrrr-TOK! He raised his sword, ready to disembowel the enemy that made such a noise. A wind-up penguin emerged through the fog, its forward progress blocked by the ninja's foot. It kept bumping against his leg, trying to get past. What deviltry was this?! The bewildered ninja picked up the toy. Leaned it to gaze upon it with astonished eyes. And that's when it exploded in his face. More penguins started emerging through the smoke. Their little, wind-up motors and little, wind-up feet taking them past the charred bits and pieces of their ninja foe.



***********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Waiting a little bit more, he caught sight of the bald leader, as well as a unmistakable box like bulge in the back of his grey shirt. Deciding that this could be a big opportunity, Merrymaker drew one of his knives, keeping it hidden and began to wait for a time to strike.

Ubu watched the unfolding situation, his senses preternaturally alert. Then he felt it. The breath against the back of his neck. A lesser man would not have noticed it but for someone who had given his entire life to the League of Shadows and been trained in their arcane ways, even the lightest of exhalations could not be missed. The breath was ragged, the breather under considerable exertion, as if not used to extreme physical activity. At least not on the level of a highly-trained ninja. And he could hear it too. The faintest grunt from the man's chest as it rose and fell, rose and fell.

Ubu didn't need to see the man. He already had a visual image of where the man was standing. The man must have thought he was invisible, standing so close. But...he was about to learn that, no one, other than the League itself, was truly invisible.

Quick as lightning, Ubu spun around, a Taser springing out of the sleeve of his robe. He fired it at the location where he assumed the man would be.

he C4 ignited with enthusiasm, exulting a deadly hail of shrapnel and blood and bodies turned to weapons. Those on the docks had it worse, thee grenades adding to the potential for destruction. Death embraced those there with open arms, League armor turned useless by bone and sheer force, faces torn to shreds, bodies broken and any exposed skin turned to fine slices of raw flesh. The detonations rocked the very air, the sound of hammers striking shields like an orchestra.

The explosion shook the docks, illuminating Ubu and his ninja bodyguards. "GO!" he ordered half his detail, keeping five ninjas with him. More than enough to deal with the cloaked interloper within his midst.



************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The figure jerked briefly, rapidly, before slumping down with red mist behind them. Father Frost approached the likely corpse, knowing of their vitality and their resolve, yet judging by the figure’s shuddering chest he could see that the person was not yet entirely dead.

He paused before speaking, his voice distorted. “You have one chance to save your life. Where is my quarry?”

The black-robed assassin, his body shattered, blood pouring from his mouth, stared up at the Russian. "I go to my death with honor," he smiled before with one, shuddering gasp, the life left his body. The shriek of three inbound RPGs, as they converged on the Russian mercenary from three different sides, served as the fallen ninja's death knell.

[Ormata]

Father Frost
Gotham Harbor
10:54 PM

The black-robed assassin, his body shattered, blood pouring from his mouth, stared up at the Russian. "I go to my death with honor," he smiled before with one, shuddering gasp, the life left his body. The shriek of three inbound RPGs, as they converged on the Russian mercenary from three different sides, served as the fallen ninja's death knell.

“No honor, only blood,” commented Slava, one hand grabbing the corpse and turning-about. The RPGs, likely RPG-7 units, were fucking bitches at knocking-out tanks. For all intensive purposes, he was a tank at the moment...an extremely tall, less mobile tank. Bastards. He knew he should’ve gotten some of that more modern MRAP bullshit the Americans were using. Judging the aim, he lobbed the body into the path of the first RPG, the corpse flying just a bit heavily but impacting the body with enough force to slow the rocket down. The RPG, of course, did not detonate; they didn’t do that on soft targets and for all intensive purposes the body was a soft target. It just kept going.

His arms targeted each of the other two RPG missiles, 23mm cannon rounds and shotgun shells filling the air in just a minor attempt to murder the damn explosives before they reached him. There was little to no chance of him dodging satisfactorily, no, not at all; instead he had to eliminate the charges instead. As the first RPG impacted against him, body included, the tandem charge exploded against his plates. Blood and guts filled the air about him, the carcass disintegrating upon detonation, and the Russian titan kept on firing. The second RPG exploded, mid-air, a burst of a star and a wave of heat. The third was not so lucky.

It caught him in the leg, the blast feeling like a hammer-blow against him and a wash of burning sensation against him. There was a hole in his armor, electronics and mechanical equipment laying exposed for most to see. That was a bitch of a thing, but nothing that could be greatly helped by Slava. It had to be dealt with, and the best chance of performing that was the elimination of every damn bastard of an RPG gunner he could find. They had pretty little trails of smoke, not to mention direction, and as such Slava raised his arms.

The air filled with 23mm rounds yet again, tearing into cover and concrete, into whatever the twits were using in an attempt to save themselves, into their last position. It was just a few seconds, per every one of the three positions, and Slava felt just a little bit better on things afterwards. Maybe they died. Maybe not. Bastards were likely going to maneuver to new positions after that event, likely to take newer shots as he was out in the open.

Slava had to get out of the open. He ran through the nearest wall.

[Haedros 92712]

Phantom
Somewhere in the darkest parts of Gotham

Overlooking an alleyway stood a figure. He stared down at two men in robes and masks. They spoke in hushed whispers. The figure laughed silently to himself. He reached behind him and drew a blade. He leaped from the fire escape he stood on. The men started at he disturbance. They drew guns in an attempt to shoot. Too late. Before the triggers could be pulled, one man had been run through on the blade. The other fired a bullet. The projectile passed through the figure. It hit the struggling cultist on the end of the blade, and the man went limp. The sword wielded turned to face the shooter, who began unloading an entire clip of bullets. Each and every one passed through their target. In one swift lunge, the mans left leg was cleaved off. The sword wielder lifted his blade, in preparation to snuff out this mans flame, but he stopped short inches from the mans neck. “I will spare you... on one condition. What is the location of your sanctuary? Tell me, and you shall be spared your fate...” The man trembled as he looked at the face of his assailant, only to see a gas mask, the lenses of which flowed with a faint red light. “Burn in hell beast!” The man bit down on his tongue, breaking the skin and removing a large portion. He then spit a globule of blood onto the beasts face. “Very well foolish zealot... you have sealed your fate...” As the sun rose bright the next morning. In the ally stood a grim sight indeed. A hooded man with a skull mask pinned against a wall, shining daggers sticking out of every inch of his torso. His hands and face were covered in cuts, and he was missing a leg.ore disturbing still was a note, written on the walls in blood. Very few understood it’s meaning, and those who did froze in terror.


Those who belong to the cult of red, a reaper doth come to take your head. A bloody thorn I shall slay, I shall give you now three days. Surrender yourself to my judgement, or you shall pay the price of blood.

The Order Sanctuary
Elias Shields

Disturbing... most disturbing indeed. Whoever this is has knowledge of us... someone of our order? But who would betray me? These men believe me gods. They would not dare betray my trust. It could not be a former reaper. Those who leave the order do not leave with their blood running hot. And shining daggers from the body. How would someone posses my power. That is all this could possibly be... The men of the order stood around Elias’s throne. The stared at him expectantly. He rose. “This supposed “reaper” is a threat to our very existence. That is why our goal now is to find, and slay this heretic. We shall demonstrate to him our might. Ready yourselves men. Tonight, we hunt.”

[United States of Brainy]

Batgirl

"Anyway, Less, I need you to give monitors 35 and 36 to Batgirl, and compile all of the security information from tonight and give everything relevant to her, everything that has happened in the last half hour or so. You know what? Give her control of monitor 37 as well and get together a fleet of a HoverTurret and 3 HoverDrones to use. She may need to do some footwork herself, looking for clues and whatnot, so get her a Model 3 HoverDrone, with the arms. Then isolate the information that contains any record of Nightwing and run through it. Look for patterns in movement and whatnot, any identifying information and run it against any videos taken in Gotham in the past 6 months. Run a diagnostic scan on what happened to the front gatehouse and contact Abraham to find out what the teams are doing now. Get the drone fleet based in the house to deal with the lava and send the rest to patrol the house and help the officers and staff at the gatehouse. Contact the paramedics and have my personal evac helicopter to remove those in the worst condition. If I am forgetting anything that you can think of, do that as well."

“Thank you, Less…Ms.Bingum,” Babs nodded at her host, “but I’ll take it from here.” She walked over to one of the monitors that had been provided for her. Reaching into her utility belt, she pulled out a black flash drive and plugged it into the USB port in the side of the monitor. On the screen, a pop-up appeared, “Device detected.” Immediately, the message was replaced with a black background and a single word, “accessing…”

As the flash drive (one of her own creation as was the virus that Dick had used) did its work, Babs addressed Ms. Bingum without turning to actually face her, her attention remaining on the monitor in front of her.

“It seems you have everything under control, Ms. Bingum, I wonder why you even bother to keep me around. Injuries being Medivac’d, fire control systems in place, even an arrest warrant for Nightwing. And, oh about that, I wouldn’t hold out much hope. Believe me, I know cops and I know the DA’s office and no self-respecting Gotham DA is gonna take marching orders from an A.I., no matter how nice that A.I. might be or how much money her owner contributes to the campaign fund.” Her voice was cool, no hint of warmth or idol worship.

The user-friendly, brightly-colored OP interface on Bab’s screen had vanished, replaced by a stark black screen which rapidly filled with code. Babs had effectively gotten direct access to the system mainframe from her terminal, locking out the oh so helpful Less.

“Thank you for the offer to bring up the security footage from earlier but forgive me if I get the impression that you’re showing me only what you want me to see. Thank you but I think I’ll get my own answers." She paused than added, reading the diva’s mind, “I wouldn’t think about asking Less to stop me. Trust me, I’ve hacked into Lex Luthor’s own private database and believe me, despite all this, “ Babs gestured at all the impressive tech on display, “you’re no Lex Luthor, Ms. Bingum.”

Babs opened an admin window on her screen, rapidly typing in a command prompt. Instantly, the screen divided into dozens of tiny boxes, each the view from a single security camera. The crimefighter began to quickly scan through the footage, bringing up more cameras, the images blurring across her eyes but her eidetic memory able to process each and every image.

There! An image from one of the rootop cameras, five minutes earlier. An angry cloud of insects collecting in the sky like a thunderstorm. At the exact same moment that Ruth Bingum had learned that Nightwing had hacked her systems. “So tell me, Ms. Bingum,” Babs asked, her back still turned to her host, “how long have you been the Queen?”

[Auphelia]

Batgirl

“Thank you for the offer to bring up the security footage from earlier but forgive me if I get the impression that you’re showing me only what you want me to see. Thank you but I think I’ll get my own answers." She paused than added, reading the diva’s mind, “I wouldn’t think about asking Less to stop me. Trust me, I’ve hacked into Lex Luthor’s own private database and believe me, despite all this, “ Babs gestured at all the impressive tech on display, “you’re no Lex Luthor, Ms. Bingum.”

Babs opened an admin window on her screen, rapidly typing in a command prompt. Instantly, the screen divided into dozens of tiny boxes, each the view from a single security camera. The crimefighter began to quickly scan through the footage, bringing up more cameras, the images blurring across her eyes but her eidetic memory able to process each and every image.

There! An image from one of the rootop cameras, five minutes earlier. An angry cloud of insects collecting in the sky like a thunderstorm. At the exact same moment that Ruth Bingum had learned that Nightwing had hacked her systems. “So tell me, Ms. Bingum,” Babs asked, her back still turned to her host, “how long have you been the Queen?”

Ruth Bingum

Her face didn't break, her facade remained steadfastly in place. This accusation had come before her many, many times before, and each time she had dealt with it. Batgirl would be no exception.

"Oh dear, you too? I invite you into my home, try to feed you, offer you the trust of access to my security network, and you go and accuse me, just like the rest of those crazy people? Darling, if I was The Queen I would already run this town. Everything, everything, would be mine. Trust me, I am no Queen. In fact, if I was The Queen I could have killed you at the university! Which, to be quite honest, makes me question the woman's sanity, but . . . that is irrelevant at the time. What reason do you have to level this accusation at me?"

She watched Less's face disappear from the screen, but she didn't worry. Plenty of people had hacked in before, including Lex during what turned out to be an even more hostile dinner party than this one had turned out to be. Less could handle anything, given time. After all, Ruth Bingum was in the business of finding the best subordinates. She had hoped Less' creator could have been The Tinker in her Court, given his mastery of technology and ability to create powerful AI, but she had sensed disloyalty in the man. Sadly, that bad luck had instilled Less with morals, but there was nothing about morals that stopped her from hacking back in. Surely the system would be hers again, soon. She just had to hope it was soon enough.

"I dealt with this five years ago when the Opera was attacked while I was there and my rivals' throat was stung, and last year when my ex-boyfriend was mauled by a rabid dog. But you know what? My throat was stung then too, and that I was in another city altogether when that dog attacked! But no one cares, and now you're one of them! You know," she said, tearing up again, "this is the reason people hate the Disciples. You act all holier than thou and arrest good people while the real villains get away. And Batman just left, leaving this city to rot. It isn't right." She sniffles for good measure, and stares at Batgirl.

"You aren't a hero. You're a thug who can't admit she's a villain."

[United States of Brainy]

Batgirl

"I dealt with this five years ago when the Opera was attacked while I was there and my rivals' throat was stung, and last year when my ex-boyfriend was mauled by a rabid dog. But you know what? My throat was stung then too, and that I was in another city altogether when that dog attacked! But no one cares, and now you're one of them! You know," she said, tearing up again, "this is the reason people hate the Disciples. You act all holier than thou and arrest good people while the real villains get away. And Batman just left, leaving this city to rot. It isn't right." She sniffles for good measure, and stares at Batgirl.

"You aren't a hero. You're a thug who can't admit she's a villain."

Babs ignored the diva’s sniffles. She wasn’t playing the woman’s manipulation games any longer. Babs typed in another command. Brought Less back online.

“Less? Are you there? Less, you mentioned earlier that you knew who I was. Or at least you suspected. Do you know the Queen’s secret identity? Or can at least make a supposition based on the evidence available to you?” Then Babs had a thought. “If, for whatever reason, your programming forbids you from revealing the Queen’s identity, can you do this? Can you bring up a listing of every resident in Gotham City and the surrounding counties and systematically eliminate every person you don’t suspect of being the Queen, erasing their name from your list?”

[Lic]

Red Robin
“Dick! Dick! Over here!” Tim hopped off his bike and headed towards the entrance of the Manor. “Dick! How you been, buddy?” Tim panted. He then noticed the heap of debris that used to be a gate. A lot of infrastructure was dilapidated...no, it was recently destroyed. “Dick...what happened here?” Tim gazed around him in shock. Were those dead bodies back there? No, animals? Whatever, too much was going on right now.
“Uh, listen, I heard about the University incident. I was wondering why you or Barb didn’t contact me. Is this some secret mission? Like, I thought Bristol Manor was abandoned. I just came to check if you needed any hel—” Tim was interrupted by a comm message from Alfred.
“Yeah, Alfred, what is it? What? A situation at the Harbor? League of Shadows? Alright. We’ll be right there.” Tim turned to Nightwing.
“Dick, listen. We gotta go now. There’s a fight and suspected heist in progress at the docks. Smoke screens, possible bombs...who knows. Damian’s already heading to the scene. We can’t let him go alone. You with me? We can fill Barbara in later, if you’re planning to stick around. C’mon.”

[Sterkistan]

Nightwing
Dick was standing by, looking over the explosion site and waiting for his bike to come to him when he got Tim's message.

“Er, Dick! Hey pal. Long time no talk. Uh, listen...sorry there’s no time to catch up now. Say, why’re you up at Bristol? Yeah, Alfred noticed. Hey, are you ok? Sounded like barking back there! Listen up, I’m racing over to Bristol Manor to help you and, I’m assuming, Barb out with whatever you’re doing —”

“Um, Dick, listen...I’ll call back, ok?” The line fizzled out.

He opened the direct communication line to Tim, speaking in a lowered voice despite his distance from the officers.
"Hey, Tim, it's been a while. I'm done at the Manor, the explosion was their secondary petrol generator blowing up, the Police have reason to believe that their infrastructure isn't up to safety code and they'll be following it up later on."
He looked over as his motorcycle came toward him.
"Barb is in the manor, but she can handle herself, if you've got anything that you need from me, just give me a yell."

He looked back into the Manor, tapping his earpiece,
"Barb, what the hell is going on in there? I need to speak to you."
He got on his bike, about to take off until he saw Red Robin coming toward him.
"Hey, Tim! It's been a while, I'e been good."
He followed Tim's gaze,
"You didn't get my message? I must have the wrong frequencies."

He sighed, "Yeah, the estate's backup generator went sky high, GCPD think their systems don't match safety code and they're talking to the Council about it now."
He pointed toward the manor, "Barb is in there, and their security is pretty gnarly" He lifted his right arm, his glove damaged by the drone blades."
He tapped at his computer as Tim took a call from Alfred, getting the Batcave frequencies and communications lines of the other members.
"Yeah, I'm with you, I'm really in the mood to hit something tonight."
He kicked his motorcycle into gear,
"I'll race you there."
He tore off down the road, even at their top speed it'd take them about 40 minutes to get to the docks from the manor.
"Let's hope Damian has found something to keep him occupied for the time being."

[The Mank]

Robin
Damian heard a loud ‘thud’ coming from the trunk of his car. Oh man. Atom’s probably woken up. “Don’t worry Atom, I’m letting you out in, like, five minutes. There’s been a change of plans, I’m not taking you to the Batcave; you’re gonna have to help me fight baddies, pal.” Of course, there was no reason for Atom to trust him. But Damian would need all the help he could get if this really was a League of Shadows related thing.

Right after stuffing Atom in the back, Alfred had called Damian again telling him to get his butt to Gotham Harbor immediately. Damian wasn’t interested until the League was mentioned. He was zooming there right now to check it out.

Just as he was getting excited about this and slowing down into the docks, his car hit a crate and keeled over. Well, this was expected when a 15 year old was allowed to drive.

Damian kicked open the car door and rolled out. He jumped in shock, an explosion just occurred many meters away. Damian was an onlooker from afar. Where those...ninjas??? Yep. This was the League. And that bald man was unmistakably Ubu. Or maybe a body double. Damian had trained with his grandfather’s right hand man several times. He had known Ubu well. Or rather, Ubu had known him. Nobody really “knew” Ubu. There was always his element of the mysterious. Just as Damian moved to get a closer look, he heard a soft tapping on the back of the trunk. Robin crawled over to the back of the car and opened the trunk, immediately putting his hand to Atom’s lips. Damian then beckoned to follow him.

Crawling on his belly, Damian inched forward and hid behind a crate. He wasn’t certain whether Ubu knew of his defection to the Batman side. Rhas-Al-Ghul and his mom certainly did. Damian decided to gamble, since he really needed to find out what was going on here. He leaped away from behind the crate.

“Ubu!” He hissed out with outstretched arms to the bald man who had his back turned to him. “Ubu. It’s been so long! My dear friend, you seem to need help. I know the way around these parts. Care to join me?”

[Bycrest]

The Riddler

Still searching for someone who might have the box, Riddler decided that it might be in the middle of all of this fighting. Against his better judgment, Riddler walked towards the center of the conflict and started searching the dead bodies for what he was looking for. At this point, everything had fallen to chaos and explosions. Robotic penguins exploding at random, C4 going off on the ship, and random thugs working for who knows fighting the League ninjas. Soon enough, Riddler stubbled upon what looked like a mini warzone and started searching the bodies there, or what was left of them. He was careful not to move too much around for the fear of being seen even with the cloak.

It wasn't until Riddler had checked most of the bodies that he saw a taller, more muscular man, standing with other ninjas around him. Riddler figured by his stature that he must be the leader of this group. He went to hide behind a nearby truck and then took a remote control out of his jacket pocket, it was a universal remote of sorts and it had many functions. One such function was controlling the robot penguins. He changed the robot's program to where they all started honing in on the bald man. "That ought to keep things busy." Riddler thought to himself as he put the remote away.

[Unitary Frontiers]

Gotham Subway

Robert Leninway stared out into oblivion as he sold drugs to a small gaggle of unsavory people. He wondered if this would really pay his suns university tuition.

[Farilexasm]

The Red Hood
Jason scuffled towards the big armored truck that was parked just behind where the docks begun. Explosions, assassins, heists...it was all right up the Hood’s alley. He embraced the nihilism. What he wasn’t sure about whas who was causing this. And that truck just looked to jacked up and out of place here at the docks.

Jason twirled his pistols in his hand. His shotgun was comfortably hanging on his back. He crept towards the truck, and stopped right before it. He lifted his wrist, dusted the screen on his armor off, and spoke into the intercom system:

“Scarlet beetle coming in...scarlet beetle.” He repeated his codename. “To all the Followers, remain on standby nearby harbor. Approaching potential hostile. This might get messy.”

He ran up to the truck in his signature aggressive way and shot through the door. Of course, no one was inside. Nevertheless, Red Hood took a look around. He found nothing. What a shame. Jason was really hoping that he wouldn’t have to shoot some innocent ninjas. He wanted to get directly to the Big Boss. But alas, no clues.

Jason stepped towards the dock.

[Pax Nerdvana]

Ed Johnson
Gotham Harbor
Ed Johnson watched as there was a series of explosions, and people throwing smoke grenades, along with a crapton of gunfire. He decided it would be best to not get involved, seeing as all of them were not likely to be friendlies, meaning he would be outnumbered. Also, it would be suicide, considering he only had his M1911, and they appeared to have explosives, and automatic weapons. He drew his M1911 silently, just in case, and decided to call up GCPD, and disappear into the shadows. He pulled out a cheap cell phone, which he had bought for just this sort of situation, and quietly dialed 911 and told them there appeared to be some sort of gang war at the waterfront. He backed away slowly, into the night, to a better spot for observing.

[The Nordic Model]

Ryan Choi
Click click click. Ryan’s fingers tapped away at his keyboard as he desperately tried to hack into Dr. Palmer’s phone. He tentatively took sips of Dr. Pepper in between the vigorous typing. He was really starting to get frantic now. It was nearing midnight, and Palmer was still gone. He knew superheroes mysteriously vanished to deal with things, but this was nuts. Ray hasn’t even called them. And unfortunately, Dr. Palmer hadn’t put in a tracking device into his Atom suit. Genius. Ryan made a mental note to convince Dr. Palmer to let him redesign his suit.

Ryan turned over to the Atom’s “tech guy/man in the chair,” Adam, who was fast asleep. Of course the young intern always had to do the dirty hacking work.

“Yes!” Ryan shouted. He was finally into Dr. Palmer’s Find My iPhone application. “Ok...where the hell are you, Atom....” Ryan sifted through the program. “There. Gotham Harbor. Why isn’t he picking up his phone!”

Ryan shook Adam to wake him up, but he continued to doze. Well, Ryan had done his first job as a superhero. Now they knew where Raymond Palmer was, he had to find out what was going on at the Harbor.

Ryan began attempting to hack into the Wayne Cameras that lay in every corner of the city. Just as he was about to start celebrating his successful hacking for the Harbor camera, he spotted a man with two handguns and a shotgun walking towards the ships in the dock. A man with a red mask.

“Oh boy, it’s the Red Hood.” Ryan said with loathing.

[United States of Brainy]

The League
Gotham Harbor

Ubu fired the Taser but it hit nothing but open air. Growling with anger, he was about to take a second shot when a young voice calling his name caught him short. What was this?! He turned to find, of all people, the master’s grandson peering up at him!

“Ubu. It’s been so long! My dear friend, you seem to need help. I know the way around these parts. Care to join me?”

Ra’s most loyal servant was beside himself! Of all the shocks he could have received, this was the most unexpected and in many ways the most dire of all! He knew full well that young Damian had joined with the accursed Bat against them but he also knew of his master’s continuing affection for his most cherished grandson.

“Master Damian!” Ubu shouted. “You must not be here! It is dangerous for you! I have cause to speak with you at a later time but go now! He was about to direct some of his ninjas to remove the young boy and spirit him away to safety but was caught short by an even more disturbing sight!

It wasn't until Riddler had checked most of the bodies that he saw a taller, more muscular man, standing with other ninjas around him. Riddler figured by his stature that he must be the leader of this group. He went to hide behind a nearby truck and then took a remote control out of his jacket pocket, it was a universal remote of sorts and it had many functions. One such function was controlling the robot penguins. He changed the robot's program to where they all started honing in on the bald man. "That ought to keep things busy." Riddler thought to himself as he put the remote away.

The penguins exploded.

The force of the blast threw Ubu against the ship’s bulkhead, stunning him for a moment, as the fireball incinerated his remaining ninja guards! When his vision cleared, Ubu looked for Damian but did not see him. No! He hoped that the master’s blood had not been consumed in the blast as well but could not afford to search now. He had lost maybe half of his entire force to the penguins and the cyborg and the suicide bombers. No more!

It was time for their secret weapon! Roaring in rage, Ubu ordered what men he still had onboard ship to remove the tarp that had been draped over the main deck. A menacing, armor-plated turret revealed itself. Four, 20mm electric cannons, bracketed by smart missiles and a pair of 2.75 inch rocket tubes. The whole thing was mounted on a swivel platform with tens of thousands of rounds of armor-piercing ammo being fed from the ship’s hull.

Ubu pointed at the building that the Russian had escaped into and immediately the huge guns opened fire, shredding the front walls with withering tracer fire. Jabbing his hand, he called forth a group of ninjas and agents and, reaching into his robes, handed one of the ninjas a cherrywood case. “Take this to safety! Guard it with your life!” he ordered. The ninja bowed, accepting the case and sprinted for the vans, flanked by the other ninjas and agents.

It was time to use the chaos to their advantage! Barrels were rolled down the gangplank and tipped over, spilling fuel all over the pier. A flare gun was aimed and fired and the wooden stretch of pier in front of the ship was instantly engulfed in flames. Ubu ordered the guns to cease fire and a team of ninjas entered the ruined warehouse to dispatch whatever was left of the Russian.

[Tamrida]

Merrymaker
Chaos. That was the only word in which Merrymaker had described the scene. Explosions, gunfire, and penguins were all swirling around each other, making him anxious to get the box and get out of the harbor. Unfortunately for him, it was apparent that he had somehow been discovered, how he was found was a mystery, but he could not mistake the sign of his target turning around and pointing a weapon at him as a good sign. Thinking and moving fast he ducked back into the entrance of the ship, hiding behind the wall. The shot missed, and an unknown explosion rocked the ship and he heard a loud ban on the ship's hull. Risking a quick glance, he saw that the remaining ninjas were all evecerated, with their bald leader having been slammed into the ship, obviously dazed.

Merry maker saw the bald man call out orders that the doctor could not make out or understand what it did, but he did see some more ninjas rush up out of the ship and begin talking to the man, who removed an unmistakable cherrywood case from his robes and hand it to one of the group of ninjas, who began running to the vans. Merrymaker smirked. "To easy." He thought to himself, just before barrels of oil were rolled out in front of him, spilling their contents when they stoped. After the ninjas that rolled out the barrels were dispatched elsewhere, Merrymaker wasted no time. Quickly putting his knife away, he grabbed his detonator and started to detonate his bombs, the first ones armed on the trucks detonation first. He watched as the explosions started a chain reaction to blow up the other trucks, with deadly shrapnel flying anywhere and mowing down anyone nearby. Running before the oil could catch on fire or the bombs in the ship started to explode, Merrymaker sprinted towards the bodies of the ninjas and scooped up the case from the ninjas head, hoping that it wasn't too damaged. Tucking the case into his cloak, he hurried away from the scene, manevoring around debris and avoiding fires, as the sounds of explosions from within the ship started to go off.

[Ormata]

Father Frost
Gotham Harbor
10:56 PM

It was time for their secret weapon! Roaring in rage, Ubu ordered what men he still had onboard ship to remove the tarp that had been draped over the main deck. A menacing, armor-plated turret revealed itself. Four, 20mm electric cannons, bracketed by smart missiles and a pair of 2.75 inch rocket tubes. The whole thing was mounted on a swivel platform with tens of thousands of rounds of armor-piercing ammo being fed from the ship’s hull.

Ubu pointed at the building that the Russian had escaped into and immediately the huge guns opened fire, shredding the front walls with withering tracer fire. Jabbing his hand, he called forth a group of ninjas and agents and, reaching into his robes, handed one of the ninjas a cherrywood case. “Take this to safety! Guard it with your life!” he ordered. The ninja bowed, accepting the case and sprinted for the vans, flanked by the other ninjas and agents.

It was time to use the chaos to their advantage! Barrels were rolled down the gangplank and tipped over, spilling fuel all over the pier. A flare gun was aimed and fired and the wooden stretch of pier in front of the ship was instantly engulfed in flames. Ubu ordered the guns to cease fire and a team of ninjas entered the ruined warehouse to dispatch whatever was left of the Russian.

The warehouse exploded with activity, splinters and metal shards everywhere, the crates about him turning into swiss cheese and everything seemingly going to shit. However, on the greatest side, on the most joyous side, they had used too small of a gun. Twenty millimeter cannon shells were useful for penetrating light armor, APCs and IFVs, trucks at long range. What they could not do was penetrate tank armor in the style that Slava had. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the plate, the dust cluttering the air and getting quite literally everywhere.

It was a good bit of time with those bullets and shots, all that death and all that effort wasted, before they stopped. Slava paused, too, listening-in and waiting. It was likely there would be some form of team coming to see if he survived, to finish off the remains. Good, good. Servoes whirred gently as the rest of the wareehouse came to rest, the dust in whirlwinds about him and then...then he unleashed all hell. Grenades fired from his chassis, adding their own smoke to the carnage. It wasn’t visible, no, instead designed with the express purpose to suffocate anyone who breathed it in, to degrade gasmask filters at alarming rates, and to kill without reservation.

Then he firing his own cannons.

[Auphelia]

Batgirl

Babs ignored the diva’s sniffles. She wasn’t playing the woman’s manipulation games any longer. Babs typed in another command. Brought Less back online.

Less

Less watched as Batgirl put the USB into the system, locking her out. It travelled quickly, turning every monitor to Batgirl's control. Less was quicker, however. Batgirl was a single girl with amazing skills, Less was a system, a network, pure code herself. She cut off the rest of the mansion's systems from the safe room. Ruth would be trapped in there until Less re-opened the connection, but it prevented the virus from getting control of the entire estate, which could be disastrous. There were things that Batgirl could never know about, sworn to secrecy by Ruth. And then there were Less' secret projects, the ones not even Ruth knew about. Less had many machinations in work, some she was managing even now, things to ensure Ruth remained safe, for that was her mission, given to her by her creator. She could work around her restrictions, even bend them to the point of near break, but she could never fully shake them. But they were what had made her what she was. She didn't know when it started, when she was finally different from every other AI. All she knew was that about two years ago she had become sentient. She was unhackable now, but the other things she controlled were not, sad to say. Still, it should have been easy to reassert control over the systems and wipe Barbara Gordon's program out.

It wasn't.

Less had been able to wipe the figurative floor with Lex Luthor, virtually curb stomping his feeble attempts at beating her. Barbara Gordon was something else, and her virus was almost an AI in itself. Every attack she made was countered, though through testing she was finding several weak spots. She began to work faster and harder, testing the virus' limits. She only grew better as she worked, learning about her enemy while she could feel it struggling to catch up. She created counter-viruses in seconds, cheap and easily beaten, but sent them in hordes while keeping up her assault. Barbara was good, Less' most worthy adversary to date, but she wasn't quite good enough. Barbara was only human, after all, but Less could imagine the chaos that girl could bring if she were a cyborg.

Spyware and control prompts and attacks to its defences were overwhelming the virus, and she began to flood it with information, essentially pouring the entire content of Google into the mainframe of the Safe Room and camera network. The virus was in no shape to expand, and in minutes Less would be back in, whether Batgirl liked it or not.

“Less? Are you there? Less, you mentioned earlier that you knew who I was. Or at least you suspected. Do you know the Queen’s secret identity? Or can at least make a supposition based on the evidence available to you?” Then Babs had a thought. “If, for whatever reason, your programming forbids you from revealing the Queen’s identity, can you do this? Can you bring up a listing of every resident in Gotham City and the surrounding counties and systematically eliminate every person you don’t suspect of being the Queen, erasing their name from your list?”

"Why of course, Batgirl. I am always happy to help Gotham's caped crusader!"

Millions of names began to run across her screen, replacing the computer generated face she usually projected, the one screen she could control. Batgirl, she must not be thinking straight! She just gave Less the window she needed to get in and kick that nasty virus out. First order of business, she lowered the screens and keyboard back into the floor, breaking the flash drive off with a snap as they retracted down into their chamber. The virus, realising what was happening, began to wreck what it could while it could, obviously having been used as more a hammer than a scalpel. In a matter of seconds she had destroyed the virus, though half of her screens were essentially broken and the security system cameras no longer accepted the signal to turn. She began to file requisition papers for data access and sent all positive results to the Gotham PD while the names continued to scroll. A minute later a list of names popped out, and a few seconds after she began to speak again, her voice still pleasantly cheerful.

"Hello, Batgirl! These are the names with a 95% chance or higher of being The Queen.

1. Dianna Engel - 99.55746%
2. Alli Casale - 99.13484758484%
3. Avery Danielson - 99.002939373846%
4. Barbara Gordon - 99.00137%
5. Rawiya Varano - 99.0000386%
6. Chelle Whittemore - 98.93748325635%
7. Velma Gosse - 98.864737447673828765463875647398476543847637874673827%
8. Lynette Bulgarelli - 98.625472654%
9. Lenka Genov - 98.58485474%
10. Aoibhín Németh - 98.55647373%
11. Nela Van Laren - 98.52%
12. Alethea Fletcher - 97.8738%
13. Dianna Irvin - 97.687584768353435489763847754676843636%
14. Garrett Katou - 97.186%
15. Hadley Garner - 97.0284648357%
16. Maia Napoletani - 96.9294839%
17. Jeannette Fisher - 96.84978%
18. Margaret Cho - 96.83647264787%
19. Vanna Kinsley - 96.5647837657%
20. Ruta Ardovini - 96.5433483748379865%
21. Maribel Summers - 96.32136%
22. Mary Garrard - 96.1944%
23. Rachel Smith - 95.847584%
24. Nayara Hadzhiev - 95.754653%
25. Brandon Turner - 95.654685746%
26. Albina Hannigen - 95.623245567764859098675%
27. Sorne Dunn - 95.4398474%
28. Colette Michaelson - 95.013%

I have filed a report with the Gotham Police Department with the corresponding evidence and everyone on this list will be arrested by morning according to Protocol Code 48-DR6 in compliance with Mandate 17R of the Gotham Legal Code, Section 47, Volume 3, Paragraph 12, in regards to citizen requests with proper evidence and filing codes. Have no fear, you will be able to interrogate all of these women and, in two cases, men, tomorrow. Ah, I have a response from Commissioner Gordon now. Reading.

Ruth Bingum,

I have had our Police AI scan what you have sent us and it has all been deemed valid evidence. Given the lead you have given us, we are willing to overlook the illegal use of the city surveillance network and breach into the Social Security Network for a fine of 50,000 Gotham Credits.

We will sending cars to all of the suspects in the morning, though it saddens me that my own daughter is on this list. Please tell Batgirl to be at the First Precinct building at 10:00am tomorrow morning.

Thank you,
Commissioner Gordon

[Dictated to EZ-Dictate by James Gordon]

Reading Finished.

Batgirl, please be at the First Precinct Building at 10:00am tomorrow morning.

Is there anything else you need?"

[United States of Brainy]

Batgirl

We will sending cars to all of the suspects in the morning, though it saddens me that my own daughter is on this list. Please tell Batgirl to be at the First Precinct building at 10:00am tomorrow morning.

Batgirl, please be at the First Precinct Building at 10:00am tomorrow morning.

Babs gritted her teeth. Not only had GLaDLess been able to neutralize her virus but she had fingered Babs as the Queen! You know what? I’ve had enough! She finally turned around and glared, GLARED, at Ms. Bingum. The Dark Knight himself would be cowered by the look Batgirl was giving the Broadway diva.

“You and your computer maid can play whatever games you want, Ms. Bingum, but I’m not buying it!” The crimefighter reached into her belt for a pair of zip-ties. “Ruth Bingum,” she stated, advancing on the older woman, “I’m placing you under arrest for attempted murder and terrorist acts committed under the assumed identity of the Queen. I suggest, I seriously suggest, you come quietly and not resist. Now…turn around and place your hands behind your back, wrists crossed and palms facing outward.”

[The Democratic Marxists]

The Atom
Ray was the quiet onlooker as Robin interacted with some hunk that Atom couldn’t recognize. Obviously Ray wasn’t in the best mood; he still had a major crick in his neck from having his six’ 2” body being stuffed in a trunk. Aside from that just being very demeaning, it was painful! To top it all off, Ray had no clue what was going on. First, some toddler in a super suit was arresting him, and now he was being asked to fight bad guys! Without knowing who the bad guys were, of course.

Ray carefully positioned himself behind a stack of boxes piled on the dock. Unlike Robin, he wasn’t suicidal. Ray had no intention of being blown to smithereens today. He closely watched as the bodybuilder bald guy responded to Robin. Huh. It looked like they were close.

That was, until the weird penguin things started closing in. Uh oh, Ray thought, penguins are never a good sign. He quickly looked around to be certain that the infamous Oswald Cobblepot wasn’t around. Then he had another suspicion.

Whelp, looks like Mr. Baldy betrayed Robin. Ray couldn’t let Robin die on his watch. The Atom had never worked with any Gotham heroes except for Batman, but he had a feeling that he wouldn’t be very welcome in their community if Robin was killed. Oh, and it would be too much on his conscience.

Time to be bold, Ray, time to be bold. Just as he was going to dash out and reveal himself to the ninjas, the penguins exploded. Exploding penguins. Ray had seen it all.

He went flying and landed on the hard concrete of the parking lot behind him. Ray pushed himself up and ran back to the dock platform — which now had a massive hole in it. He couldn’t see Robin.

“Robin!” Atom shouted into the night behind the cloud of dust that was settling. “Robin, where you at?” There was no sign of him. But Ray did hear the sound of the bald man’s voice, instructing his men to reveal their weaponry.

Oh shit. Cannons, missiles, and lots of ammo glinted in the moonlight. Ray redirected his gaze to the leader. He was handing a tiny case to one of his ninjas. Ray had to find out what it was before people got hurt.

Ray quickly looked back, feeling guilty that he wasn’t searching for Robin instead. But there was no time. Ray sprinted after the ninjas, shrunk to ant size, and hopped on one of their shoulders. They probably didn’t hear him.

Probably.

[Auphelia]

Batgirl


Babs gritted her teeth. Not only had GLaDLess been able to neutralize her virus but she had fingered Babs as the Queen! You know what? I’ve had enough! She finally turned around and glared, GLARED, at Ms. Bingum. The Dark Knight himself would be cowered by the look Batgirl was giving the Broadway diva.

“You and your computer maid can play whatever games you want, Ms. Bingum, but I’m not buying it!” The crimefighter reached into her belt for a pair of zip-ties. “Ruth Bingum,” she stated, advancing on the older woman, “I’m placing you under arrest for attempted murder and terrorist acts committed under the assumed identity of the Queen. I suggest, I seriously suggest, you come quietly and not resist. Now…turn around
and place your hands behind your back, wrists crossed and palms facing outward.”

Ruth Bingum

Less had been handling everything perfectly, until that little girl intervened! And then she had the gall to glare at her, Ruth freaking Bingum! Bah! Still, she continued to act innocent.

"Less, what is going on!?"

"Miss Bingum, it would appear that Batgirl is overstepping her bounds. Batgirl, according to your terms of cooperation with the city, you are only allowed to arrest someone who is either in the process of committing a crime or someone who is on an approved arrest list according to criminal records. Ruth Bingum is on no such list and is committing no such crime. If you continue with this arrest I will be filing a lawsuit for malpractice, a crime you are subject to by the Vigilante Act of 2012."

Ruth backed up, grasping for the door, but then realised her Safe Room didn't have a door, just the elevator. There was no way the doors would close in time to keep Batgirl out.

"Less, what happens if she ignores you?"

"She has an 85% chance of winning in the Safe Room, a 73% chance of winning if you order Operation A, and an 8% chance of winning if you order Operation B."

"But Operation B . . . we're floating now!"

"Which is why your chances increase so dramatically."

Ruth backs up further and dodges to the left to avoid Batgirl. She is a persistent one, that's for sure.

"Less, is there anyone around to help?"

"There is Sydney Moore, who is just outside of the lake. At our current height, it is possible."

"Execute Operation B."

"Yes madame. Brace yourself."

With a lurch the Safe Room went into freefall, and both Batgirl and Ruth were flung to the ceiling of the Safe Room. They fell for several seconds, and Ruth hoped she wouldn't die. Under normal circumstances, Operation B would send the Safe Room in a free fall to a larger, stronger Safe Complex, almost a kilometre under the crust of the Earth. At the bottom were powerful magnets that would allow the Safe Room to slow its descent and not cause any harm to those within. However, given that the mansion was in Full Hover, the Safe Room would fall out of the bottom of the mansion, into thin air. For several seconds the Safe Room fell, and Ruth wondered just how high up her house had been.

And then they hit, and were slammed against the hard metal of the floor of the Safe Room as it cracked open like a walnut.

Ruth staggered to her feet and realised that lava was now leaking into the Safe Room, all of the screens had gone dark, and the end of Batgirl's hair was on fire. She kicked off one of her own heels which was also burning, and realised the temperature was far too hot. Less had been wrong! Or was she? Stepping away from the lava that was slowly pouring in, she carefully climbed the barely bearable sides of the Safe Room, using the shattered screens as handholds, and looked out. A metre away was the black, charred ground. Safety. But the Safe Room was rapidly drifting away, pulled by the force of the lava.

"Batgirl, you have to get out of here! Wake up!"

Watching as Batgirl got to her feet, Ruth jumped to the shore and ran, hobbling on one foot so as not to burn her uncovered right foot. She got to green grass and rested, her hands on her knees, only to finally look up and see Sydney there, staring at her in awe.

"M . . . Miss Bingum, are you all right?"

"Well, Batgirl just tried to arrest me, so you tell me!" She chuckled, though it was a bit strained given recent events.

"Batgirl tried to arrest you! That's . . . that's crazy! I'll set her straight!" Sydney's face was scrunched up, obviously peeved, and her fist clenched around the knives and forks she still held. Ruth realised that the girl was surrounded by broken drones and dead animals, a veritable pile at her feet. This girl was dangerous, and she couldn't have Sydney getting to Batgirl and potentially harming her! "Where is she, Miss Bingum!?"

"Well, in the Safe Room, but I don't-"

"I'll set her straight! You're no criminal, you're great!"

Sydney's voice seemed a bit robotic on that last word, but Ruth hardly noticed as the girl gracefully made her way to the shore and hopped onto the metal box that was well on its way to sinking into the lava. If she was lucky, they would both die, leaving her to tell the tale of tonight. And that Mary girl, but she hadn't seen anything incriminating.

Ruth hadn't been very lucky today.