Batwatch

[Aly]

It was the middle of the night, and the black of her suit made her nearly invisible on the rooftop as she watched a man below handing another man a black suitcase in the dark of an alley. There had been rumors of another assassination by a member of the Rat's Nest, and she was following up on a lead about this one man pretty high up in the business he worked in. Barbara adjusted her position, trying to get more comfortable. She couldn't hear what the two were saying, but she could read one of their lips through the small black binoculars she had pulled out of her utility belt. That thing seemed to be endless, like Mary Poppins' famous bag. Of course, that was impossible, but she was a woman and knew how to pack. She had also been trained by the big Bat himself, so she had quite a few nifty gadgets, some even of her own design. It had seemed like she was going to be here forever until the briefcase was switched from the second man's right hand to left and the two people shook hands before departing. Now they were getting somewhere. The binoculars went back into the utility belt and Batgirl took to her feet, staying low as her eyes followed the man as he walked the opposite way down the alley. Her footsteps were quick and silent as she crept across the roof, and she was still silent as she jumped to the neighboring rooftop, never losing sight of her target as he rounded the corner. Now she needed to stay with him and see if her lead was correct. The suspected target was nearby, and she felt like she knew what was in the briefcase. She definitely knew it wasn't money.

[Audrey]

"The deal's done." the low alto tone voice pierced the night from seemingly nowhere. You'd think there was a ghost present... and you'd be right. Hidden from sight in spirit form atop an orange Kawasaki motorbike was the enigmatic Afterburn. Typically maintaining this form was a difficult matter, but thankfully playing lookout didn't take very much movement which was the hardest part. After a long pause, her transponder crackled to life with a voice that sounded like they're at the end of a really long night.
"Don't assault. Pursue for as long as possible. Getting the package is useful, but if you can find the source that's even better."
"And I can only assume the source has plenty more weapons."
"What does that worry you? You're immortal."
"I still feel pain, but I'm sure you don't what that's like Mr. "Alpha 47" sitting in a cozy desk all day as you all do."
"Just follow them Afterburn... And do try to be subtle about it. As subtle as you can on that ridiculous vehicle."
"Contract says I have to attempt capture... They never specified how hard I had to try at it." she mumbled as she shut off the communication device, half tempted to smash the thing. She continued to stare on at the ending points of the rendezvous before perking her head up upon glimpsing a brief glint of yellow on the rooftops above. Looking closely, she found herself a little baffled being unable to locate the source. "Probably nothing..." she thought musing on the possibilities. She knew full well any rooftop vigilantes like The Batman were not the standard fair here in Jump City. You were lucky if you saw even his little trusty sidekick Robin. She figured it was worth a check though. It's not like Mr. Briefcase was in a rush or anything.

Flashing into existence, she reached into her tools and pulled out a pair of heat vision goggles, provided especially for this particular scouting mission. Looking up at the rooftops, Afterburn was taken aback. An actual heat signature. Female by the looks of it. Wonder who this little roostling could be. Stowing the goggles away, she vanished from sight once more and turned on the transmitter to speak with Alpha 47 again. "I have an onlooker. Possible bat family. Most likely a street vigilante. Should I confront them or stick to the scouting?"
"Ugh... Just do what you want, I don't care anymore."
"Fine by me." she answered looking up at the rooftops. A brawl with one of the 'heroes' of Jump City could be fun. Certainly levels better than this stupid follow bad guys around and get their phone numbers stuff she'd been doing lately, and it seemed her monitor for the night was apathetic enough to let her get away with it. With a sly chuckle, she left her spirit form once more and moved towards the edge of the wall, taking care to remain out of sight, knowing her flaming hair would be an instant giveaway. She examined the wall face, picking out some choice features such as an awning and window ledges on the upper floors and quickly formed a plan. She gave herself a quick count of three and sprung into action, swinging from a water pipe onto the awning, offering her a boost onto the third floor window ledge. From there, she pulled herself up and hopped to get a grip on the fourth floor ledge and from there to the roof. From there she took a squat behind a stairwell casing and remained until she could catch another glimpse of her little eye in the sky.

[Aly]

The man under watch turned and walked through the door of an apartment building. Great. It would have been easier if he had gone to a house or something, but of course not. It would be an apartment building that she would have little chance of getting in to without being seen. Something about bright lights and tight hallways leaving no shadows for her to creep in. Batgirl rolled her eyes beneath her mask and was about to jump down from her perch and find where the man had gone when she heard a noise not far behind her. All thoughts of the possible assassination were driven from her mind as she assessed the situation. No one had known where she was going, at least from Titans Tower. Sure, Robin probably would be one to follow her, but he wouldn't hide like this spineless being. She had a feeling their intentions weren't as kind as her teammate's. Not moving up from her crouch, the former Bat-protege turned and walked silently towards the sound, removing a recently sharpened batarang silently from her belt. Whoever was following her had a flame or something, as there was a flickering light surrounding the back of the stairwell casing. It seemed to be more concentrated on one side, so Batgirl decided to creep around the opposite side, hoping to catch the stalker offguard. She peeked around the corner for no more than a moment before placing the batarang against the girl's neck in a swift motion. "I suggest you tell me what you are doing here while you still can." She stayed a good distance from the girl's flaming hair as well as she could with a hand up to her neck.

[Audrey]

"So I did manage to find a Bat. Amazing. You're an awful long way from home aren't you?" the girl joked with a snide smirk, finding the venetian vigilante's little threat hardly that intimidating. Threats of death meant nothing to her at this point. She'd died a good ten times already here in Jump City. Her exploits earned her the only spot on the most wanted list for the morgue on account of her tendency to get up off the operating table. She debated in her head what exactly she'd tell this caped crusader. There was nothing about giving away secrets in the Hephaestus contract, but to be honest, she really didn't know much about them beyond her own situation, and whoever was in charge was probably pretty happy with it being like that. This was embarrassing though. She wanted a fight out of this do-gooder and now it was probably going to come down to either Ms. Bat backing off and leaving her with a warning, or a frustrating night in the city jail until Hephaestus could bail her out and subsequently chew her out. Either option was less than optimal, but the latter certainly more so. Negotiating time. "I'm here for presumably the same reason as you, chasing down Mr. Briefcase down there. I happened to catch you in my thermals and got curious who might be spying on a poooor innocent girl like me on a lonely night like this. A girl's gotta protect herself right?" she said in the most sarcastic tone she could muster clearly not finding anything serious about the situation at all. For now, she'd leave out the details about the Bat Family being on Hephaestus's Wanted list. Mentioning that would nail her a one way ticket in with Cinderblock for the night. She didn't actually know how a super like her would be jailed... and really, she didn't exactly want to find out either. "Now can you let me go? I've an allergy to sharp things."

[Aly]

Batgirl scowled, bringing the batarang closer to her neck, finally leaving it resting on her jugular. "Haven't you ever heard that home is where the heart is? I don't have a heart, so I don't have a home." Though her comment on finding a Bat puzzled her. Why was she looking in Jump? Granted, just about everybody knew about Robin, but no one would really classify him as a "Bat". Most have unamusing little quips having something to do with a "bird-brain" or calling him "bird-boy". Was this girl alone, or were there more? The girl's clothing hinted at more. Hopefully she wasn't on a hit list or something like that. Or, god forbid, Bruce was. It's not like they hadn't been on any before. She just didn't know how she had made such horrible enemies already here in Jump, other than for her affiliation with the Titans. She hadn't done much here since her lengthy visit back home, so there was something else. "If you really were paying attention at the vision through your thermals, you would have noticed that I was not spying on someone as insignificant as you, but watching someone totally different. Though the hair does attract attention. Why are you out at night anyways? You're like a beacon in this dark." Scoffing, she rolled her eyes. These people were getting dumber and dumber. Her hand lowered and she gazed back at the building. "Unless you're planning on setting the building on fire with that crazy hair, I wouldn't suggest pursuing the man. You distracted me, so now I have no clue where he's going. Thanks for that."

[Audrey]

"You're welcome." she answers, her words practically oozing spite. "And you know, burning the place down doesn't sound half bad. I haven't been to a good barbecue in quite some time. What do you think human flesh tastes like all cooked, chicken maybe?" she adds snickering at her own joke as she gets more comfortable on the cold rooftop. "Unlike you Ms. Bat, stealth isn't really my thing. I'm the run in guns blazing type. I don't see the point in beating around the bush when it comes to apprehending or... eliminating those on my naughty list. I mean, why do you need to worry about death when death already has given up on you? But... I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot here... Or do you say claw? I know some of you 'hero' types like to be all punny with your word choice. We both want that briefcase, and I think I'm just the girl who can solve your little predicament of being able to get into that building. We may not agree morally, but our end goal is the same. Get that briefcase into the hands of someone more responsible, why couldn't we work together here? It'll be like Bane and Batman. Wait, bad example, but you get what I mean right? What's a little fire hair between fellow crusaders? You can touch it by the way, it looks like fire, but it's just gas." she gos on, waving her hands about and glorifying in the sound of her own voice. Of course, she was leaving out matters again. Sure she would work with the bat to get the briefcase, but as soon as the dangers were done, she'd take up the advantage and take this little brat out. Hephaestus would be more than willing to give her an opportunity to leave Jump City for a vacation if she handed over both the target AND a high level member of the Wanted List. The only tricky part was convincing Ms. Bat to go with it.

[Aly]

Batgirl's lip curled back in disgust. "Don't make me change my mind about killing you, or at least throwing you in a cell." Jokes about cannibalism did not amuse her in the slightest. Repulsed greatly, though. "Why don't you just back off and let me do my thing, alright? If I can just find out where the guy went since you made me lose him." Turning her back on the girl, she went back to her perch near the edge and studied the side of the building. Many rooms had lights on, so quite a few shadows were visible. None seemed to be of the man in question, however. "There's no need to kill anyone here. Especially the innocents in that building, how few there may be." She had ignored the pun jab, and focused more on the building. "I can work just fine on my own. As you can see by the lack of other Titans around." Honestly, she had felt less like a team member since she had returned. The smaller things like this were better done alone, anyways. "If you want to help, stay out of my way. If I need help, I'll call someone I can actually trust, unlike a stranger met on the rooftop." She wasn't looking at the girl as she studied the building, and kept her back turned to her as she pulled out a small smartphone-sized item out of her utility belt. A few touches and she had found what she needed. "Mr. Miles is in apartment 329. Thankfully, it has a window around the side of the building right next to the fire escape. Now excuse me as I finish what I started here." Pulling out her grapple gun, she shot it at the building neighboring Miles' apartment complex and was off the roof. She just needed to hop over to the fire escape and bust in the window to apprehend the suspect.

[Audrey]

Oh no she did not. She did not just degrade Afterburn and then walk away before a retort could be made. She had a zinger prepared too. A comeback that would've knocked this poor vigiwante wight out of her wittle boots. No matter, Afterburn wasn't going to let some high school cheerleader Batman wannabe tell her what to do, especially after that little pout about not taking any Titans with her. Seems she inadvertently revealed her reasoning for being in Jump City. Afterburn was well aware Robin led the Titans so the connection to the Bat family was already established, but here she had one right in front of her. An idea was coming into mind. Secure the briefcase tonight and give Batbrain the slide after dropping a hint about becoming a Teen Titan. Slowly earn up their trust and then turn them right over to Hephaestus when they throw in the welcoming banner. While not all the Titans were on Hephaestus's wanted list, turning over those that were would keep those bigwigs in whatever office they're in happy and pleased enough with her to give her some liberties and perhaps enough privacy that she could get a chance to figure out who exactly they were finally.

It would be annoying, but it looks like she had to play by the Bat's rules tonight. No innocent casualties, set phasers to stun, and no setting the place alight. She reregistered the apartment Batlass said out loud rather carelessly. "Apartment 329 on the third floor" she repeated to get it cemented into her head before hopping down onto the awning she climbed on and returning to street level. Checking if the coast is clear, she proceeded to leave her revenant form and return to looking like an average human being once again. No moron would answer the door for a girl with flaming hair. It meant minimal use of her pyrokinesis and no use of her phasing, but these goons easily could be taken out with some good old hand to hand. Considering they let two teenagers follow them, they couldn't be that intelligent. With her revenant form diminished, Afterburn removes her jumpsuit revealing her simple dress shirt and skirt combo underneath. Bat for brains wouldn't even recognize her at this point. She tosses the suit onto her motorcycle, and breaks out her glasses and spare clipboard Hephaestus gave her for... something. She didn't exactly remember, maybe to check her moral ambiguity or something. Didn't matter.

With everything set, she proceeded to enter the apartment building's front entrance, using the best hipster strut she could muster. "Afterburn, master of disguise" she mused to herself as she confidently ascended the staircase of the building. With calm collectedness, she found room 329 and knocked on the door, ready to be met with either some angry goon or the sound of Bat lady breaking their skulls.

[Deleted]

Royce was what one called a "deniable asset". He did work for money. His work wasn't exactly... legal, but he was good at it and it paid. Half up front, half on completion, no unnecessary questions, no unnecessary mess. He was good for that fancy pre-screening that the airport did, or rather, Lucian James, his fake ID, was. Today, his job was to wait. His employer, unknown to him, had arranged the whole thing via proxy. They'd contacted Royce and told him to retrieve the case, hop a plane to Metropolis, and drop it in a specific Dumpster. Easy. He'd set up the plane ride for tomorrow in order to allow any tails some time to slip up and get themselves caught. Apartment 329 was one of several bolt holes. The last thing the freelance... I guess I'm a smuggler today. I dunno. The last thing Royce expected, anyway, was a knock on the door.

Paranoid criminal that he was, the man took the time to look through a peephole. A sickly-looking girl with a clipboard stood there in a skirt and dress shirt. He took a deep breath and examined closer. Something was off about the way the girl refused to look directly at the peephole. Royce didn't trust anyone, especially if they hid their eyes. The shadow coming closer to the apartment out the window was forgotten as the criminal yanked the door open, flicking his wrist to allow a ceramic knife (easy to hide, undetectable without physical search, still pretty effective in a fight) to drop into his hand. "What do you want?"

((Royce looks like this!))

[Audrey]

Upon hearing the creak of the door opening, Afterburn looked up directly into the eyes of this... Julien Assange looking guy. Fitting that Hephaestus would want her to stop a guy that looks like another guy they'd probably want her to capture. "Rather surprising he didn't introduce himself with a pistol. These guys always want to shoot first ask questions later. But hey I'm not gonna complain." Her yellow eyes shone a little as she adjusted her glasses a bit. "Hello sir, I'm with Jump City Public Works. Due to some structural collapse in the sewers below from 'terrorist activity', we need to take a look at the structure of some of the buildings and make sure they're not at threat of collapsing due to lessened support below. As I'm sure you noticed, one of the central support beams for the building is in your apartment. I just need to take a look at it very quickly as well as at your water heater to ensure it will not rupture from the increased pressure. I'll be in and out in about 10 minutes." she said using the most professional voice she could muster and flashing her Hephaestus badge cleverly covering the Hephaestus logo with her index finger. It that looked close enough to a government ID that you'd never know the difference if you didn't look closely. It had proved a surprisingly valuable asset from something she was very reluctant to get in the first place. "May I please come in?" she finished putting the badge away and standing with her utmost best posture. The advantage of working for a professional agency was that the standards and protocol were generally much like most other agencies. She got a slight kick of enthusiasm every time she got to use those lovely buzzwords like terrorist activity and public works.

She couldn't physically see her out there, but Afterburn knew Batdame was out there watching. Afterburn mused to herself what the bat would make of this little turn of events. A civilian in the mix. She mused with even more relish of what she would think when said civilian suddenly turned around and started kicking butt. Ooh, it was endless, the face that gingered viggie would display when she suddenly changed back into her revenant form and proved she could handle everything without a single casualty, it was pure delight. She liked that a lot for some reason. That's bizarre. She almost liked playing with the Bat's rules and coming out victorious. Not because she challenged to do so, but because it just felt... clean. Good. Must be from that espresso from earlier. She didn't actually need to eat, but she could still do so for the sake of tasting it, though she wasn't exactly sure where any of that went since her body can't exactly process food anymore... Man, the things you don't think about when deciding to become undead.

[Aly]

Batgirl's lip curled back in disgust.The exchange from Grapple Hook line to fire escape was effortless and silent. The Bat deftly climbed, making no sound except for the whisper of her cape in the light wind. Batgirl was at the projected apartment in no time, but peered inside the window from the shadows to make sure she was absolutely correct. That this one had belonged to the man with the briefcase that had disappeared into this building just minutes before. By now, the man would be in the apartment, and she was right. His profile was the same as she had seen from the rooftop. Her boot was just at the position to kick the glass in when she heard a faint knock, and saw the man approaching the door. Damn, what is it now? Batgirl retreated back to the safety of the shadows to watch. Hopefully he wasn't handing the briefcase over yet. The man approached the door and opened it, and from her point of view, she watched as the young woman flashed a badge at the man. Oddly enough, that does not look like the Jump City Police Department badge. Her hand was to her utility belt to get her binoculars, but the badge was lowered just as fast as it was shown. She had a bad feeling about these two, so Barbara stayed as silent as the shadow she appeared to be, raising the unlocked window and sneaking inside before shutting it just as silently behind her. The apartment was dark enough, Batgirl only had to find a place far enough away for her profile to be hidden in the darkness. She let the two talk at the door, that would be just fine. But this gave her a vantage point to attack if the man attacked, and even take both of them down if he handed the briefcase over.

[Deleted]

Royce could understand most of what was being said. The important parts anyway. He wasn't stupid just because he was a criminal. He was a professional, and that meant having the tools to do his job, both mental and physical. However, that didn't mean he had to be entirely nice about it. He flipped the ceramic knife into a reverse grip, recognizable as Spetsnaz combat-trained. His normal American accent made a calculated "slip" into a Russian one, all the better for intimidating someone, as he said "You can check tomorrow, да? It's not a wise idea to come into my house unannounced on today." Without waiting for a response, Royce slammed the door none-too gently and turned, grabbing the briefcase from the coffee table in order to move it into the safe.

Then, the criminal just froze.

Standing in the corner, almost invisible save for the bright yellow bat, was someone who should not have been there. He didn't pause to identify the intruder further; the Bat-symbol was bad news for anyone who'd ever broken the law in Gotham, that was well-known. That was the reason Royce didn't do business in that place. However, now that nigh-mythic symbol had found him here in Jump City. He gripped the suitcase tight and barrelled out the door, city inspector forgotten. Need to find a place to stash this til tomorrow, somewhere Batman can't find it.

[Audrey]

Afterburn's face didn't move a muscle as the door was shut in her face. She simply gave a brief sigh "I knew it wouldn't be that easy. It is NEVER that easy." she mumble to herself. On the bright side, the criminal was foolish enough to let her know he didn't lock his door. No doubt he'd soon be confronting Batlass, so with a good bit of stealth, she could sneak in and strike him from behind while he was occupied with her. She reached to open the door, only for it to be opened for her by the criminal dashing out in a huff. For a brief moment, Afterburn could feel the tiny bit of respect she had for this man completely go kaput as she realized he ran from the bat instead of confronting her. "Can somebody say coward?" she thought as she spun around to react. She watched his speed down the hallway and held her hand out with the right trajectory to meet him just right. From her palm burst forth a flaming ball of heat easily capable of leaving some 2nd degree burns from just contact, and 3rd degree if she got it just right. She aimed it high, hoping to hit the man's back and prevent any sparks from hitting the rotting carpet of the complex. Luckily though, even if she did manage to get the carpet alight, she could just smolder it with a wave of her hand. Burns to the back wouldn't kill him, but she'd give money to see him get back up in any sort of rush. Not to mention fresh burns made for great prodding points for an interrogation.

[Aly]

It wasn't surprising that the man took off like a bat out of hell, excuse the pun, to Batgirl. All it meant was that he was familiar with her mentor back in Gotham. It would also be kind of scary to see someone in the corner of your apartment, criminal or not. Not really in any kind of hurry, and maybe a little overconfident that she would apprehend the man, she started walking casually out of the apartment behind the man. The police-imposter was still standing outside the door, not yet running after the guy. She still didn't know who it was, or at least didn't until the girl shot a giant ball of fire straight towards the man. As soon as she saw her aiming, Batgirl started running, and at least tried to knock the girl over by barreling into her, but was too late. "I said to back off. You're going to kill him, and possibly burn this place down, damn it!" Batgirl was furious with the fiery girl by now. Batgirl stepped back and watched helplessly as the ball of flame headed for the man.

[Deleted]

Royce wasn't that concerned with the second occupant of the hallway. Batman sort of took precedence over some random city inspector chick. At least, until the runner felt the heat approaching from behind, on top of a distinctly feminine voice reprimanding someone. Batgirl, then? Without much time to think, Royce turned sideways and jumped, spinning through the air as the fireball caught up with him.

Most people would've been burned to a crisp at that point. Most people weren't Royce. There was a reason the blonde was highly sought after, and it wasn't his lovely Russian impression or his paranoia, though those certainly didn't hurt. No, Royce was the rare breed of superhuman that didn't use their powers for either vigilantism or supervillainy. He was a 'runner. That was what he did. He had the ability to control flames, though, and that attracted quite a bit of business.

So, back to the fireball. Royce used his motion through the air to do something a little bit fun with the fireball. Instead of taking the shot head-on or simply deflecting it, Royce could keep rolling and make the flame roll with him, reversing its direction and sending it back at the Batgirl and the city-inspector-pyrokinetic-person. He rolled across the ground as the flames rushed back across the hallway, standing back up and shouting over his shoulder as he bolted down the stairwell; "Just leave me alone! I haven't hurt anyone, you crazy Bat!"