Summary:Robin and Speedy get a bloody surprise at the docks. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
  |
'It's not much, Speedy. But I did hear that something was going down tonight at the shipyard. Just get there and do reconnasance only. Don't do anything stupid.'
That would be the premise for tonight; doing something stupid. Being a sidekick to a great, as she believes it, was a little bit taxing and tiring. Speedy, being the daughter of you-know-who-that-Ollie-doesn't-know, figured she could handle anything that came her way. So on her bike, which Robin had helpfully installed with GPS, she was there.
It was dark; the spotlights shined down on the shipping yard, containers soon carried from the large lift and placed down upon the concrete. Dozens of armed guards seem to be in attendance, which seemed like an easy enough job. But Thea at least was smart enough to call in backup, as she watched. She had time, it seems like the crew itself was struggling to get the chains free from the container.
She presses upon the buttons upon her watch, taking the earpiece from her belt which was stuck in her ear, waiting for an answer.
"Robin? Are you busy? I got a situation.." She says quietly, looking around one of the empty containers to spy the men arguing. Something about Blood. Something about Rituals. Something about failures. "..get here quick. Track my bike."
Luckily, Robin was already on patrol tonight, shaking off the rough waters of the chaos on a boat just a night before. He was glad to be on his own, this time. It was fine being part of the team, but sometimes he got tired of not calling his own shots. Speedy was different, though. She just needed his help.
"Five minutes," he says into the com, triangulating her location and putting the Redbird on the quickest route to get him there discreetly, finally pulling up a couple of blocks away and sliding out into the darkness, his cape tight around him as he moves to join her.
*CLACK! CLANG!*
The finally had gotten the chain off of the container as soon as Robin arrived; Speedy remained pressed flat against the wall, obscured by shadows casted off the container she leaned against, non moving. It's actually a scary sight, if anyone would look in her direction they would see nary a thing. Not even the red that littered her outfit.
"Robin.." She quietly murmurs, tilting her head to the show ahead. "Reconnaisance. I don't know what's going on, we're only supposed to watch." She was already planning, or had a plan. They looked easy enough to take down. "Whatever is in that shipping container, we snatch and grab. Figure that'll buy us time to figure out who they are and what they want." She pauses, then turns to him with a smile. "Stir-fry on me after?"
Tim Drake nods, "Observation's fine to a point, but we can't let anybody innocent get victimized further just because we're following orders," he nods in agreement. He reaches into his utility belt and presses a dispenser that looks like it spits out subway tokens, only in this case they're onyx ball bearings, five in total, that he rolls in the palm of his hand.
"Memorize their locations. I'll throw smoke, you take 'em out, and I'll sprint in and get who we're after while you keep me covered. I'm good at sprinting. Sound good?"
Yeah, this was going to be the best partnership ever! Thea wasn't used to this, and she enjoyed it. These two were on even game and it also feels like they were of one mind. As Tim gets his items ready, Thea rolls her head slowly, working out the stiffness from staring in one direction long, both hands crossing over to her hips to draw out two stilleto swords that were tucked against her leg.
No bow action this time!
She stares for a long moment, watching as they fuss at getting the door open. And soon? She gives a nod towards Tim to signal. He was good at sprinting, so what she! "Go."
Tim Drake throws his smoke bombs first, rolling them smoothly along the ground until they erupt, spilling thick clouds of obscuring gas across the men. He gives low as Speedy goes high, his staff in one hand but still minimized, just a fighting stick really as he takes out one guy at the knees, clipping through him and coming up as he tries to get to the door, confident enough that Speedy's swords will keep the rest of them busy while he sees just what they were snatching.
Speedy had to be careful with this one; slicing at the air in the smoke is dangerous and she could actually kill someone. But she was true, as soon as the smoke erupts, she and Tim are on the move. High is where she went, slashing at a mans face so that he screams and falls to the ground. There were shots fired, but it was all in the wrong direction, the sword side smacks a mans hand hard which was turned against and sliced down to the bone. A twirl and a kick. The two young ones looked as if it were a choreographed dance that was soon blown out of the fog by a double kick from Speedy. She continues to fight; Tim has got this.
Well, he would except that it doesn't exactly seem to be a helpless victim that he finds in there. Instead, it's a girl, not much older than them, with black hair and a red dress, sleeveless. Her arms and face are criss-crossed in slashes of red, her entire skin scarred with open wounds. When Tim throws open the door to her 'prison', she opens her eyes and blood pours out of them, down her cheeks.
This is Crimson Tears.
She screams and throws her hand out and a weapon forms there, a staff made of blood that sprays out from her wounds and she lashes out, blasting Robin in the chest with it and sending him flying out to crash amidst the last of the guards Speedy was taking out.
For a moment, one would guess that Speedy was showing out to impress one of the Bat-Family, but intsead, she was right in the moment. A shot goes whizzing past her cheek which she last secondly dodges, the butt of her sword smacking against a temple of one, while she leans and kicks the other's side so that he could bend. That bend was bad for him, for she twirls with a kick-smack of the side of her foot to take him to the ground.
And then Robin hits the ground.
"What the.." Speedy murmurs, turning swiftly to see the screaming girl, her brows furrowing beneath her cowl as she moves to the attack. Her swords were tilted, so that the butt of her swords would be the first to hit, but it was clear that this girl was in distress. At least to Thea..
Crimson Tears comes to the doors of the container, but she's not walking. She's floating. The blood around her forms a diadem of complex shapes, swirling constantly around her, the girl's eyes streaming with scarlet as she sighs.
"I am sent as an emissary and they cannot even guard my arrival a single moment. They are as weak as my master believes. They shall be reborn. They shall be bathed in blood. As shall you," she says, raising a hand and lashing out with a whip of ichor that lashes and tries to strike and disarm Thea.
Oh.. my.. "God.." Thea murmurs as she takes a few careful steps back. Those few steps seemed slow in comparison to her floating. In fact, Thea hasn't seen anything like this since.. the pits..
"Wha.." Is all she could get out, her hands drawn up, blades pointed downwards to shield the lash of the blood-whip. "ROBIN!" She cries out, soon to skitter backwards, for sure that more blows were going to come. "ROBIN GET UP!"
There's a metallic sound as Robin extends his bo staff to full length, although the menace is lessened as he's forced to use a bit of it to help push him to his feet. He'd bruised his ribs, at least, with that impact, even with the kevlar in the chest of his costume.
"I don't know who you are, lady. But you picked the wrong fight," he says. And he lashes out, flinging a razor-edged R to try and wing the floating woman in one direction, even as he flicks out with his staff.
"Take her down, Speedy."
The whips hurt, a few of them catches her forearms but she holds true. She grits her teeth to deal with the pain, but as Robin rises? The blades were soon tossed aside, her body crouching, leaping off the ground to a sideways mid-air twirl that allows her to grab her bow from her back. As she lands in a crouch, she snaps the bow out, retrieving three arrows from her quiver.
One smoke.
One knockout.
One explosive.
All for good measure.
The tension in the bow is strong enough for her to never, ever attempt such a feat. But she does, latching all three arrows upon the line, drawing back with all of her might (cue the effort-filled grunt of a heroine) and lets 'em fly. OW.
Lashes of blood flicker out, catching the first and second arrow, knocking them aside. The third, however, strikes true and it's the most potent, the explosive arrow catching the floating assassin in the hip and detonating, sending her spinning head over heels and through a set of nearby crates.
"Hell yeah," Robin grins, allowing a fist pump before he moves to follow, his staff serving as a pole vault as he flips himself up and over to land in a double-stomp to try and drive the woman further into the debris, only to be met by another fountain of blood that sends him tumbling instead off to the side.
God bless it! Her arms were already sore, the fist-bump was a little half hearted as that hand soon reaches over to grab the shoulder. She still follows, holding onto the compound bow, and as Robin is vaulted away, Speedy quickly jumps to the side to catch him at his back to soften the blow before he lands.
"URG!" She manages to squeeze out, almost looking as if she has Robin in a headlock. This was such, a bad idea.. but.. "..We gotta get moving!" She manages out. "Flank left, I go right." She only has two more explosive arrows left.
Tim Drake lands with some control, tucking and rolling and coming up. He nods and follows Speedy's lead this time, letting her strike right while he lets out a few more of his sharp-edged darts. Crimson Tears has risen up, pushing to her feet just in time to get slashed by arrows and darts alike.
"SERVE." she calls and there's a sudden thrashing as the blood she's already spilled pours into the mouths, ears, nose of the fallen thugs, making them shove up, their minds still empty but their bodies ready to fight.
Thea nods and is already on the move. Flanking right with her bow drawn, flinging off arrows as quick as she could. It wasn't until the men rise from their incompacitated state, she gets a start. She.. for once.. was truly frightened. But she doesn't hold back, not this time. She wasn't sure if they were actually alive or dead now, but all that mattered to her was they keep moving.
"We gotta go!" She cries out, they were outmatched. She felt that if they had taken those men down, they'd rise again with much more horror. Even as they began to approach, Thea snatches her bow back behind her again, then begins to fight with her fists. Striking one upon the jaw, kicking another, leaping for another kick and a punch at the opposite. Rolling upon the ground to snatch up both discarded blades to slash at their bellies, backflipping to gain more of a distance. This was nearing futility..
Robin comes up swinging, spinning his staff around him with surprising rapidity and skill, a dervish as he lashes out and helps Speedy take out the rising tide of their former foes, the henchman managing to be dispatched once again with a series of thuds, kicks and strikes.
And then they're finally down and the blood leaks out of their noses and their eyes and then just roll back up in their head…
The blood-drenched girl is gone, leaving the two heroes with six knocked-out flunkies, several large pools of blood and a whole lotta questions.