Summary:More tattoes. More glowing animals. What the hell is going on? Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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The botanic gardens are supposed to be a place where one should be able to go to relax. It's why Keiko had ended up here after the debarcle in Central Park. Her next job is not for a hours and she needs to recover. Of course, having a *certain* WAND agent grill her about *what she had done* hadn't helped.
She's not found peace though and the social media feeds are filling again. #glowingwolf in #botanicgardens is trending.
When people arrive, they'll find there is indeed a glowing wolf and huge glowing hunting cat growling and spitting at each other as the tumble over and over. Not far from them though are two tattooed people, engaged in one seems to be a martial arts fight.
And it's serious.
Exercising some violence is exactly what Rose Wilson, the Ravager, needed. Batman had told her to be prepared. So now? Now, she was. Dressed in full costume that is eerily reminiscent of one Deathstroke, right down to the mask with the split orange/black colors and the closed/open eye, the young woman moves into the gardens with a wariness, and ease that bespeaks of the training she's head.
At her back, are a pair of crossed twin katanas, these are not yet drawn. At either of her hips? A pair of automatic handguns, and a few spare clips across one shoulder down to her waist.
Ravager draws one gun in each hand, narrows her eyes as she trains them on either animal. But, she holds her fire. For the moment. Waiting for the opportune moment. Striking too early? That could be a mistake.
Maximus has escaped supervision and is smacking his vans against the walkway as he winds his way through the gardens, talking to himself. "…and then you take a left…no its a right. Maybe its /up/. There's definitely a vending machine though…" He shoots both fists suddenly into the hair and his t-shirt exposes his lean tummy, navel and all, "AND THAT'S WHERE THE CHEWY SWEET TARTS ARE!!" His triumph lasts a moment as he finds that right in front of him is a glowing wolf battle. He looks to the left, then to the right, then up, then down, then left again. He spots Rose and grins overbroadly. "Oh…so you also see this. That is /fantastic/ news." He claps his hands.
Things like Pokemon, and the such, are generally children's activities, and were glossed over the first time that they had come up in Batman's feed at the cave. However, as social media erupted with information and video of the second wolf attack and the #pokemonrises comments, he had taken video from the event and had been processing it. Information on the 'creatures' had been removed, and he had it down to the wolf, trying to glean information from it about any unique marks or runes and putting against the database to try to find something mythical, arcane, or even historical to match.
It was during this process that the alert came up again on the #glowingwolf trending. There's a frown from the man as he pulls his cowl down into place. "Alfred, place my dinner on hold. Did I have any plans?"
"No, Master Bruce, your schedule, as usual, did not involve any social meetings or conflicts." He almost sounds… disappointed in Bruce.
"Good. I'll be back shortly." With that, he moved to the Batwing and climbed within, before it took to the skies. As it approaches Brooklyn, he fans the jets to rig it for silent stealth flight as he approaches the park. Taking in the look of the two figures, feeding them into the camera and back to the database in the Batcave to feed him real-time information and updates. Opening the canopy of the Batwing, the Batman ejects and starts to freefall for the ground.
At about 200 feet up, he electrifies the cape, depolying it's glider capabilities. The cape flutters in the wind as he descends, landing near Rose. Glancing towards the woman, there may be a moment of … approval … that she didn't run in guns blazing. That may be a first for her. The arrival of Maximus, and his rant draws the brow of the cowl upwards, and he glances to Ravager with a look of 'friend of yours?'. But then he gestures to the battle, reaching for his utility belt. "The wolf has been the common element in all the attacks."
Though he knows he's seen that cat.. somewhere.
A truck pulls up and a rather annoyed looking man gets out of it at the far end of the garden green, closest to the Museo Del Barrio. He doesn't seem to feel the need to hide, dressed in an old leather jacket, jeans and a tee shirt.
"Only a fool would try to trash central park twice in one day…" He mutters.
Those watching will probably see him reach out a hand. A little pigeon just drops dead off a tree. Little red motes flow into the man and his left arm starts to glow green as he begins to wrap something from his pocket around his right fist.
"HALT! ARCANE AUTHORITY!"
The cat might look familiar but it might not too. Though, Batmans analysis will find several references to #glowinganimalsinNY. The bulk of them started about two and a half weeks ago.
It's not just a wolf!!
The arrival of Rose and Maximus don't gain much attention. A big black bat dropping from the sky has the animals breaking off. The wolf growls, going into a crouch - but doesn't move much. The cat though … a *huge* panther … leaps at the three, clearly trying to knock them all over but aiming for Rose in the centre.
Keiko rolls just as Koa arrives,NOT avoiding a metal quaterstaff blow to her head. She's dazed.
The other - a tall bald man - with tattooes on his head turns. Flicks his fingers in Koa's direction and several bolts of light fly at him.
And no, Keiko is not a fool, thankyouverymuch Agent Turner.
Rose was moving to train her guns onto the wolf, until someone near them who isn't Batman, or the crazed idiot playing with his belly button suddenly garners a lot of attention. But, it's nothing Rose doesn't think she can handle. A quick succession of shots are fired at the incoming cat, seeing it immediately as a threat as well, even as she's rolling towards the side and -away- from Batman, giving the Dark Knight a clear opportunity - or herself - to follow up an attack on the creature if the bullets don't do their job.
Maximus yelps when a black panther leaps in his direction and he covers his head and ducks down into a 'tactical', fetal ball. The shots being fired doesn't help the panic level any, either. He's about as helpful as one would have guessed upon looking at him. During his crouching, though, he does happen to glance at Batman with all his gadgetry. Hum.
As the wolf goes charging at the group, Batman turns his attention to moving in the direction opposite of Rose - not to leave Ravager open to attack, but to cause a divide between the pair to create space as they split up. "Keep apart, keep moving. We need to make the spell weaker by straining itself out against multiple mobile targets." Batman says quickly, grabbing a couple of pellets from his belt and tossing them out. From the pellets, a thick smoke screen starts to form, giving Ravager cover to go into as she needs it.
The next item grabbed is a pair of devices. As he uses his cape to flare it out and draw the cat's attention, he runs for it and then leaps. Hopefully as the creature was charging at him, he flicks out the pair of devices to try to stick to the magical creature.
They flash a few times, and then go solid red with a pair of small explosions. As he works to keep the creature at bay, he may not have noticed Maximus looking at him yet as he calls out to Ravager. "They're using something similar to arjan tattoos - you'll need to disrupt the caster to have any real affect!"
Koa sighs internally as he's attacked. He brings his right fist up and blue light around some kind of odd stone attached to a chain coalesces into a shield. The attacks that strike true strike on that.
"My turn." He growls not that many will hear him. He pulls his sidearm which gets surrounded by the same green glow as his arm and begins to advance, firing over his magical shield. Rather than bullets though the weapon seems to be firing bursts of viridian energy.
Between the round shield and the pistol he might look reminiscent of someone else at the moment. The pistol blasts though, those will probably get the attention of the other combatants.
Keiko, at least for the moment is out of the fight. She shakes her head as she tries to rise to her feet. "Bella…" she croaks. "…protect the boy." The boy. She means Maximus. She might apologise for that later.
Rose hits the Panther, once as she moves, causing the hunting cat to hiss and snarl, dark ichor dripping from the bullet wound. This might be worse - possibly - it's not just a cranky cat, now. It's cranky, injured, cat that's bearing down on Rose. Or it was … until the smoke pellets go off. Those and the explosions, slow it but don't stop it.
The tattooed caster, who's tattooes are distinctly different to Keiko's, is hit by one of Koa's shots. He starts to fall back, not trying to engage in this fight. He glances at the downed tattoo woman as if judging the difference, sending two more blasts of energy in Koas direction.
Bella - that has to be the Wolf - growls low and leaps, to stand protectively over the crouching Maximus.
From the cover of smoke, thanks to Batman's assist, Rose emerges, her guns pointed outwords, just in time to see wherethe tattooed caster is firing at Koa. Her guns do not shoot veridian colored - whatevers. Her guns shoot bullets. And Rose is a crackshot. Killshots are off the table with Batman here, so she goes for the next best - one shot to the man's arm, the other to his right knee.
Those shots fired, Rose turns to her side, brandishing the guns and having a few shots left she points the guns out to either side, one aimed back into the smokescreen for the panther that still might come out, and one to the tattooed man in case he's more durable than she suspects.
'The boy', Maximus, overhears what Batman has to say about the panther's owner. He's able to observe enough of this fight from his ball to figure out that its the tattooed dude that is to blame for all this. Peering through his fingers at the man, there's a brief moment where his stare is particularly intense. Physically, there's not much to see, especially in all the chaos. A flash of blue, easily explained away.
With others going after the tattooed man, and not exactly wanting to get in the way of Ravager's shots, Batman instead moves over towards where Keiko is downed. Kneeling down next to her, he gives her an assessing look of her condition. "How do you dismiss it?" he asks her suddenly. "You're using lampblack, I assume." Reaching into his pouches, he's already looking for something within them.
He's still observing things, but there's questions to be asked, and preparations to be made in the future. And the young woman may have the answers that he needs.
The shape and form that Koa is using is not lost among the Bat, as his eyes dance from one person to the next, lips pulled into a thin line as his eyes turn back to Keiko.
Pak! Pak! Pak! The shots from Koa area steady and aimed. He's trying to force the other tattoo wielder back more than anything else. If he could put him down that'd be good but the man is proving surprisingly resiliant.
And then Koa drops his shield down to his side and the aura around his arm swells up into the shape of a giant asp. The thing goes shooting over Keiko and Batman's head - EASILY visible to Rose and Maximus fighting the Panther - and tries to catch the bald man in its great jaws. He's RIGHT at the edge of its reach. Fish or cut bait, cultist.
Rose is indeed a crackshot and her aim is true. The bullets strike the mages shoulder and knee. He buckles as he drops the staff he was wielding. The panther … falters and starts to dissipates. When Maximus directs that uncanny stare at him, he falters for a fraction of a second, which lets Koa tag him right good.
The Panther disappears in a puff of blue haze after letting out an agonized yowl.
Behind the tattooed mage a portal yawns. Starting at pinprick of … darkness and opening wide. Behind the bald man, looming out of the dark is misshapen red 'eyed' creatured. "No." The mage calls, diving into the portal "We recover Tatuaje another day." He leaves his staff as the portal closes quickly.
"Lamp what?" Keiko blinks at the Bat, a look of fear running over her features. "To dismiss his you need to knock him out." she mutters. His, not hers.
Bella growls, holding her place over Maximus.
Ravager does not stand down, however. Not for a few long moments. Things in portals? Well. She won't antagonize it. Especially if the freaky magic user is making a getaway. There is some carthartic release in seeing the blood spilled, but her features don't show it. The only exposed part of her skin, her lower jaw and mouth, remain set.
Her singular eye looks to Batman, then. She makes a grunt which might, or might not be, a way to say thanks for the smokescreen. Then, she's holstering each of her guns, smoothly.
"We done here?"
"Brilliant, excellent, everyone was terrific." Maximus laughs nervously, it sort of popping through his lips as he looks up at Bella and tries to be nice and still in his ball. Slowly he opens his hands, showing that he isn't armed. "I'll forget whoever wants to be forgotten, and remember who wants to be remembered…" His grey eyes shift between the heroes with their gadgets, guns and ghosts.
Koa lowers his weapon, eyes narrowed as he sees through the portal. He turns to glance at the other combatants as he holsters his gun. "Agent Koa Turner. WAND."
The words that do NOT follow are 'you are under arrest'. Why? Well, Koa's not exactly in the arresting business. More spirit binding and working with people.
"Thanks for protecting my informant." He almost said sidekick ALLLLLLLMOST. Just to cheese Keiko off.
"I suppose that depends on what you mean by done Miss…?" And Mister…?
Bella actually lays down at Maximus's feet, even curled in a ball as he is, and puts her head on paws. And … whines. Now it's quieter, they can all see the ichor dripping from the bites and scratches all over her.
"Bella. Come here…" Keiko manages to get some stength to her voice. The Wolf pointedly ignores her and looks at Maximus. And *liiiiiiicks* his hand. "Bella!" the tattooed woman hisses again as she straightens.
On the ground, just over there, is the staff that was dropped.
"Agent Turner. Of all the gardens in all the towns you had to walk into mine." Keiko's knowledge is eccletic. "I didn't do it."
"Thank you." That's to Rose and the big scary black caped man. To Maximus, she limps over "Are you alright? Bella won't hurt you, unless I tell her to."
Probably not very reassuring.
Rose Wilson's lip curls. "Yeah. Whatever," she says in response to Keiko. Someone isn't used to getting 'thanked' and isn't sure she likes it yet. Rose, and weird feelings don't usually mix well, afterall.
That monocular eye looks back to Koa whom she tells briskly, "Ravager." He'll either instantly recognize the name, or not. She looks between the parties, and seeing that everything is winding down? She turns, and starts to walk off, complaining, "Wasn't even a fight." No. She's not sticking around to answer questions, if it can be helped.
Maximus reaches out to try and pet Bella, actually. There's a distant moment in his eyes, then an overwhelming kindness. Pups is hurting? awwww. His insane little heart melts. "Agent Wand…and this is Bella?" He asks of Keiko. "I have a dog you know…he can teleport." Then a sad look. "Had. I lost him in the divorce."
Koa chuckles. "Agent Turner. And yes that is Bella."
The odd story about the dog who could teleport that he lost in the divorce gets a confused but sympathetic looks. That's… unfortunate.
"Ravager, then." Koa nods. Wasn't even a fight? Well maybe not much of one, but it was Four on two. Five if you count Bella. He'd hate to see more than one of these damn tattoo wielders in one place on the same side. It'd be the worlds most deadly zoo.
"You're on your way out I take it." Koa, who seems to be 'the law' or what passes for it does not appear to be interested in stopping them. "Be careful. Whomever that was might take you beating up on his cat kind of personally." And they have portals so, you know. Watch your back.
As Rose turns to go, Keiko looks over to her. "He knows who you are now, Ravager, and you hurt him. Giovanni does not let insults like that lie." The tattooed womans accent is strange. A mishmash really. That of someone who has spent time in lots of places or around lots of different accents. "He will find you. Be careful. If you need help - call me." A business card is tossed in the womans direction.
Keiko Kurita, Handyman. It has a phone number on it.
Koas not wrong. "They do Agent Turner and The Mindless is at his call."
Bellas tail wags at the pat, even as she whines and Keiko huffs. "Traitor." That Maximus had a teleporting dog gets raised eyebrows. "Do all dogs do that?" Eccletic knowledge.
"She is hurt though and must rest. Say good bye Bella." the asiatic looking woman waits for Maximus to bid farewell before muttering something and gesturing. Bella turns into a blue smoke that is absorbed on her arm. Right into the tattoo of the very realistic looking wolf.
"How do we call you?" That's to Maximus and she means his name. Not his phone number though he might be forgiven for getting confused.
Rose catches the card effortlessly. Her reply back to both Koa, and Keiko? "Next bullet I fire at him is going through his skull if he's dumb enough to come after me." She turns again to leave as the card is slipped beneath her waistband, pauses, frowns, and says after a moment, "Thanks for the warning." Then, the Ravager is gone as fluidly as she came, disappearing around the corner and into the night.
Maximus isn't super sure himself, if she's asking him for his phone number for contact later. "Oh." He sits up, getting dangerously close to showing off his underwear under that skirt at one point, but he manages to stand up and dust himself off without exposing himself. "I am Maximus." He smiles, which is a little wrong somehow, kind of overbroadly trying too hard. "And, I have a phone number, technically. But, DO. NOT. call it. I have it hooked up to the toaster. Better to just call Kaleb Miller. Or I can give you my statement now…" He arches his dark brows.
Koa waves it off. "I think she was just asking your name. Maximus, mmm? Maximus Decimus Meridius? Commander of the Legions of the North?" It's a quote of course from an old movie. But it is quite an unusual name.
That HAD been a good movie though.
"Not many would stop to fight a giant glowing cat, I have to say. Much less with that many guns involved or…" He glances around but the man seems to have disappeared. "The 'Goddamn Batman' involved…"
Because he's not just Batman. Or The Batman. He's 'The Goddamn Batman'.
Maximus looks saddened again, like a REALLY SAD PUPPY when Keiko makes the wolf go away. His lips even part as the blue mist sucks back into the tattoo on her arm. A frown follows.
Batman seems to have stalked off to collect the staff. Who knows what else the enigmatic Bat is doing, Keiko doesn't.
"Maximus. I am Keiko." Koa gets a flat look, she heard what he called her. At least it wasn't 'sidekick' this time. "What do you mean, plugged into your toaster, I didn't think phones did that." Koa might get the impression she might try it. "Do you need a statement, Agent Turner?"
Looking at the man Keiko offers a hand as he tries to rise. He can see the tattooes - there's a lot of them, all very detailed and incredibly lifelike. He can see Bella of course, a mythological black dog and a dragon on one arm. The eyes of the creatures seem to follow him.
"I was not lying when I told Ravager, Giovanni knows who she is. He knows you to and might decide he can use you to get to me. You must be careful." The sad look gets a snort. "Bella needs rest and sustenance, I have taxed her today. It will take time before I can call her again."
"Agent Turner, is there anything you can gather from here? If not, I think we need to move on."
Maximus looks between the two of them. "The army is no longer in the north. Its on the /moon/." He answers seriously to Koa. He could easily read as someone who is on drugs, or crazy, or both.
"The… moon." Koa quirks a brow. Unfortunately for Maximus in Koa's world there's something else he could read as. Someone who is inhabited by a spirit. Spirits don't tend to know a whole lot about human culture or lives and they tend to say really, really strange, incongruous things.
Sort of like that.
"I see. Well thank you again. I'm going to make sure my informant here doesn't get shot on the way out. Do you need a ride anywhere?" Because he doesn't see how Maximus got here but that might just mean his car is on the other end of the park.
Or it might mean he's homless. Though he looks a bit too well groomed for that.
Koa's reference to the army in the North had gone right over Keiko's head but she peers at Maximus as his answer. "Do we need to call this … Kaleb … person now, for you?" So she got that much.
She sniffs at Koa's comment though. "I told you Agent, it wasn't my fault." beat "But if we can get my bike, I would like a lift home. I really need to sleep."
She looks to Maximus waiting for his answer.
Maximus considers that for a moment. He lifts a finger. "That's not a bad idea. I really like both of you, you know. I hope I see you again. Ah…wait…maybe there was a driver, actually." He seems to gather himself a bit better and then he looks around. "Yesss, there it is." He points to an old super fancy Lincoln with tinted windows that's definitely a rich person's vehicle. A driver can be seen in the front seat. "I'll just…" He points, grins again, then starts towards the vehicle. /Despite all odds/, he actually does get into it. The driver doesn't seem perturbed in the least and then it takes off.
Koa quirks a brow. A driver. Well that doesn't necessarily mean he's not crazy or possessed. But it does mean that he's well off while being both of those things. Still, he'd seemed like a fairly decent sort. Pulled Keiko's bacon out of the fire, certainly.
"Alright Miss Kurita. Come on. Put your bike in the truck and on the way back you can tell me how you got tangled up with Maximus, a gunwoman and the Goddamn Batman…"