Gotham

[The Regal Rper]

Alphus' response was cut off as his attention drifted towards the docking planks, the Hull was approaching. "I have arrived at the Admiral Docks, Brian. I'll make my way towards Jours. I suppose you'll be keeping watch in the air." he said rhetorically. "Please do alert me if you see our intended guest anywhere." Alphus' voice said over the sound of other men helping him moor his boat.


"In the meantime, stay safe." And with a silent click, Alphus voice was gone. Within a few minutes, he had hired a taxi to take him the rest of the way to his next destination; Jours.


@Crono @Sir Les Paul 

 

[Sir Les Paul]

The Atlantean spared no time crossing the waves. In fact, he was far faster on the water than he was on land--honestly no surprise. His method of transport was riding a conjured wave, little different than surfing although sustained with his magic. If not for his daunting presence, there might be an element of fun found in his surfing. What little enjoyment one might get out of it would be irrelevant as Reginn made way to the southern shoreline of Midtown in next to no time. Specifically, Titanic Street.

His destination was clear. The Phantom Hideout was an apartment complex just up the street and their leader was holed up in it, fervently tracking down the coins he had stolen just a few days prior. Reginn had no knowledge of the strings being pulled behind the scenes nor did he need to. His target was clear and the moment his foot stepped onto dry land, he was just another step closer. What was most interesting, however, is that someone had planned out just where this Atlantean would land. A few steps onto the sand below a concrete retaining wall and a flurry of criminals in outdated SWAT gear overlooked the ledge and began to unload onto Reginn. The Phantoms were buying time. Reginn was unscathed as the bullets bounced off him.

The Atlantean lifted his trident, resulting in a soft glow of the amber gem and a subsequent body of water to lift itself from the river behind him. Snakelike in appearance, the prehensile water coiled around before lunging at the decked-out thugs on the upper level of the concrete, plowing through it with ease. The retainer wall began to crack further down the structure, resulting in tons of soil falling down onto the sand only to be swept away in the ocean. More notably, the force likely was enough to throw back most of his attackers and most probably result in a handful of deaths. Still, the statute stood: he had commit no crime as they attacked him first. The damage done to property was something for paperwork later, but no civilians seemed harmed. The sand he was on was designed to not be tread on as the streets above it were supported by the concrete wall. In fact, being there was considered loitering.

Reginn and his trudge through Gotham was hardly slowed by this first line of thugs. He stepped onto the prehensile body of water, allowing it to lift him up onto the concrete barrier he had just damaged and begin his walk down Titanic Street.

Crono The Regal Rper


Marcel watch Freddy check his text; his assumption was simply that Gordon already messaged him back. Encrypted lines, maybe? Burner phones were a possibility, but even then, they had to be coded. The days of just picking up a prepaid phone and it being useful for a short period were gone. Big Brother monitored everything. The details didn't matter. Freddy and his question definitely did.

"Ramirez' life is hardly of value. His connections and image matter. Now, I don't know Gotham nearly like you do, but I know this: a King loses power when you begin to pressure his pawns. We want to make the people under him afraid to even be on his side. We need to make his side the wrong one regardless of what it costs. When he is weak enough, then we can start going after his image. I know he overlooks half the arms' trade in the city. Whether or not he deals in it... doesn't matter. We'll connect the dots for the people. Without support and with his image questioned, then we can strong-arm him. Then our threats will be more than threats. The other problem, obviously, is that we don't need to just make him resign. We need a proper replacement. There have to be a handful of crooked lieutenants and captains in line. We need to propose a Commissioner worth a damn. Kill him, he'll be replaced. Implicate him, he'll walk off free. Whittle him down until he's so weak that we can choose when he is dethroned; the next battle is getting our guy in. Might take a few tries, but will that matter? Getting rid of this scum is our goal regardless," Marcel explained. It was a complex plan with a lot of holes. A LOT of holes. So many that it became a little more clear why a man like Marcel would need Freddy.

Marcel knew people, sure, but he didn't know Gotham.

ChazGhost Loony_Bin

 

[ChazGhost]

Drake finished his food and began sipping his drink as Marcel and Freddy talked. Drake was getting a good idea as to why Marcel wants Freddy, he didn't know the city. Neither did Drake, he knew a few black market friends in town but hell did he know anything else about the town. Sense Freddy was more or less a expert on the town his experience would be needed.

...So we are going weaken the goons under the commissioner,... then find a guy trust worthy guy take over his job... then get the commissioner to give him the job before retiring... Then probably also put a bullet in his head to tie up loose ends... Drake thought to himself sipping his soda as Marcel explained his plan. "So in short we are going to mess with the guy's name, make his goons scared to work for him, and get a guy we trust to take over for him, right?... Sounds fun to me." Drake said before finishing his soda. He looked at the soda for a second and sighed. "Waitress, a refill please. And still haven't got your number yet so could write down for me as well?" Drake said shaking his glass to get the waitress attention.
Sir Les Paul Loony_Bin

 

[Crono]

Brian knew he should start actually keep his eyes out for the Atlantean and to do that he needed to lower his altitude. His partner having spoken about his current location over the communicator. The winged man dove suddenly with his wings folded inwards, free falling until he was just higher than most of the taller buildings in Gotham at which point he spread his wings and slowed his decent propelling himself forwards rather than down.

His eyes wandered towards the docks Alphus just left, not spotting the younger from the distance. Instead he decided to focus towards Jours Street, it wasn't until he neared said location that he spotted a gathering of people across the river. Brian's sharp eyes honed in and he bypassed Jours street as he scanned it before flying over the water, "Think I might have found our first bread crumb Gretel." Brian spoke into his communicator just before landing on the bank. Soil was spread out on the sand and there was a mess of concrete that had collapsed, some of the first res-ponders had already arrived on scene.

Funny enough some of the bystanders hadn't noticed Brian so he'd managed to step up behind them and listen to the whispers and murmurs. "Heard some punks picked a fight with the wrong guy, someone with powers." A younger man stated towards an older woman who shook her head. "I saw some dressed in that SWAT gear, must have been some lunatic attacking the police again." She'd shake her head a the comment.

Brians brow furrowed, surely the police weren't stupid enough to try and deal with an Atlantean. The meta slipped through the small crowd, causing a few gasps. "You still got people trapped in that mess." He'd ask one of the paramedics currently bent over a stretcher with what looked to be an unconscious woman in SWAT gear that had been retired years ago. The rugged paramedic turned to him curiously, "We could only move those far enough away, it's too unstable to start climbing through it. We're waiting on backup."

Brian scoffed and stepped to the edges of the pile of rubble as he looked it over, if there were people under that rubble still alive they needed to be removed. And it looked as though he was the only one currently willing.

 

[The Regal Rper]

"Understood", was all that Alphus could make in response through the honking and sounding of horns that passed as he swiftly moved forward. "I will be there shortly." He replied, but in truth he lied. Whatever was going on down at the bank nearby Titanic caused a traffic jam at his location back at Circuit Street. And for the past nine minutes he'd had to continue the journey on foot, briefcase in hand, coat on as if it were just any other regular word day for any other, normal citizen. And in many ways it was.

Three minutes passed and the young man now walked up a ramp. As Alphus walked the narrow sidewalk up the ramp overhead that would put him directly near their intended destination, several cars passed him by. One of them had been a police vehicle with its lights switched off, disappearing down a different road that would take it below the asphalt ramp he now walked on. If anything it simply made the young man quicken his pace. And as his gait quickened so did his thoughts consider the matter of what they were here to do. Observe, not confront.

Since there was no panic and the sirens for that enforcement vehicle hadn't been blazing it was clear the Atlantean was keeping in mind that any civilians injured wouldn't bode well with the law or other Gothamites in general, so to a degree that simple fact gave Alphus some form of relief. But it also made him aware that Ghost's lackeys were very well aware that their pursuer was closing in on them if he hadn't already. Alphus only hoped things wouldn't get too out of hand before he got there. Then again, there wasn't much he could do about this... and he knew that. Still... if matters got too out of hand, perhaps a friendly confrontation with the Atlantean would be necessary, if this Torrent fellow failed to show. And in all honest, Alphus wished it wouldn't come to that, even if that strange feeling in the pit of his stomach told him otherwise.

Reaching the top of the ramp, Gotham's bank came into view and with it the sound of commotion passed by with a gentle breeze, accompanied with Titanic Street's view. Alphus ignored the distractions and instead contacted Brian as he began walking down the street's path, briefcase held firmly in hand, thumb ready to push the button at any moment. "I am here."

Crono Sir Les Paul

 

[Loony_Bin]

Freddy leaned forward just a bit as Marcel went into the ground work for their plan, though he was most certainly still on edge. The plan was good, for a base to begin at least, but it showed a lack of understanding of Gotham itself. There were to many assumptions to be made, to many unsafe bets to rely on. Drake's summary of the plan wasn't much better either, and Freddy opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by the sound of ice hitting the sides of glass as Drake attempted to get the waitresses attention. Freddy looked at the young thief with an annoyed look as the waitress walked over, a young woman in her early twenties with messy hair and stale gum in her mouth; there were very noticeable bags under her eyes and she looked at Drake with a look of annoyance, snatching the glass from his hands and walking back a but moments later with a refilled cup before walking away without a word.

After she left, Freddy pinched the bridge of his nose and released an annoyed sigh,"Okay, look, first off, if you ask for the waitress number again, I'll stuff the paper she writes it on down your throat. Secondly, the plan is alright, but it needs allot of work. When choosing Ramirez's successor, keep in mind it's not just Ramirez and his goonies who make the decision, it's the crooked politicians, the gangs, all of them. Our best bet might be to make our guy pretend to play dirty, and make him seem REALLY good at it. We'll apprehend all of the lower down dirty lieutenants and captains, maybe not take out all of them, but we'll stop their dealings when they go to start them, maybe let them get away with one or two small ones every now and again to avoid suspicion. But our guy will go to those deals as well, and he'll always look better coming out of them. Maybe we show up to a few, but he's clever enough to give us the slip, or some idiot jumps in front of a bullet for him, but the bottom line is he gets away, and he looks like a guy who can get the job done. After that? If we do our jobs well enough when exposing Ramirez, the people in charge will force him to step down, from there all we'd need to do is keep up the illusion best we can."

Freddy looked directly at Marcel and Drake now, "Of course, this would mean that our list of candidates to put in the spot would become much more exclusive. In fact, I think it really can only be one guy, and both of you have already met him...then again, maybe this is a garbage plan, after all we're not taking into account things like the Beetle and the rest of the family, never know when they'll decide to start acting like they care about Gotham again, nor are we taking into account the never ending amount of points at which this could utterly fail in every way imaginable. Remember both of you, this ISN'T Bludhaven, what you did there was impressive, but Gotham's corruption is the kind that's been in the city since day one. It's the kind that people like Batman have utterly failed at cleaning, and to even take one step at fixing it is like preforming the Nutcracker perfectly with ballet shoes made out of lead. This is something that's going to take a long time to figure out and it's going to be difficult as all hell to turn things around..."

Sir Les Paul ChazGhost

 

[Sir Les Paul]

• Shadows of Gotham
• The Dynamic Duo

• 
  Marcel listened to everything Freddy had to say. Intently. If Freddy paid close attention, he would see the same spark of interest in the eyes of the man in front of him as he did in his exchange with James. It was an odd thought; a reminder that they were human. Once interested, Marcel shifted entirely. It made sense. Their conversation was no longer small talk and beating around the bush; they were on point, tongue in cheek. Well... at least Marcel and Freddy were. Drake likely had intents on his tongue being elsewhere, but Freddy was doing well to keep him in line. Someone had to.
  
  Once Freddy finished, there was a somewhat obvious look of contemplation on the face Marcel displayed. Prior to this, he was completely quick-witted. Prior to this, he always knew what he wanted. Now, it became apparent that even he had to take new facts into consideration. New thoughts, at least. "Those are all good points... our man, if he really is the only person fit to do the job, would take quite some time to get him where need. Getting a good man promoted is hard. But, I do have just one thought, so give me your opinion on it.
  
  If we're going to play the long game, why not make all the little pawns on the other side too scared to move? Corrupt or not, men with weak hearts will always run at the sight of real danger.
  
  We're dangerous men, aren't we?"
  
  
• 
  The Atlantean moved absurdly quick for a man on his feet. Although, that may be due to the fact cars, pedestrians and other general hazards hardly slowed him down. The streets were virtually clear as he marched down them. This alone was likely congesting other parts of the city, increasing danger there, but that thought alone was just a trickle of the impact this nigh force of nature had on the city. It honestly was a wonder that a people like this could have 'diplomatic immunity' while creating chaos like this.
  
  Half a minute after those ideas might have sprung up, the reality of why they were even remotely justified came around. Nearly two dozen thugs in assault gear flooded out of of two alleys near a large, brick building that Reginn approached near the lower half of the street. Without hesitation, a flurry of gunfire unloaded on the Atlantean... only to ricochet off of him. The trait that made almost all Atlanteans so dangerous was there durability, not just their magic. Not all of them had magic, but almost all of them were bulletproof tanks.
  
  With the streets clear, it hardly seemed like much of a problem... until larger weapons were broke out. Aimed from a third story window, a missile was fired directly at Reginn. For the first time, he was knocked back. Not to the ground, just shoved back. The shockwave set off car alarms and busted the sidewalk ground, but far worse was about to happen.
  
  Lifting his trident, Reginn began summoning water from surrounding sources. Pipes and manes began busting under ground, causing extensive damage, as well as those within the building and even two nearby fire hydrants. Water did not just come from nowhere; it required a source and getting to that source meant tearing through municipalities. Reginn gave no second thought to this as he began creating whips and lashing that knocked men back and slapped at the building with enough force to begin tearing through the brick and mortar.
  
  They had missiles... he had magic. A giant ball of aquatic fury.
  
  
  

Loony_Bin ChazGhost The Regal Rper Crono

 

[Loony_Bin]

Freddy looked at NoOne's sudden shift in attentiveness oddly, but didn't look to into it, instead focusing entirely on what ideas and info the man across the table for him was presenting him with. Freddy listened to what Marcel was saying, up until he said they were dangerous men, after that, Freddy interrupted NoOne almost immediately, "Being a dangerous man and making people afraid can only get you so far in this kind of system, if it got you farther we wouldn't be HAVING this conversation because I would have taken care of this already!

...you can scare the scumbags on the streets and in the alleyways, the ones who go to deals and look down the barrel of a gun on a nightly basis. They're the smart ones, and they know they're not invincible. So yes, we can manipulate the pawns, in the sense that we can put other pawns in their way and stop them from moving. But then you run into a rook, or a queen, or a damn bishop who has enough power and money to make themselves believe that they're invincible and immortal because of their status, and all they have to do is make the other pawn disappear and force their pawn forward.

You can't make a system afraid, you can't strike fear into the heart of money, and when you attempt to scare men working in such a large system, it doesn't work, not matter how much of a dangerous man you are. That's why we can't just make them to scared to move."

Sir Les Paul ChazGhost

 

[The Regal Rper]

Alphus wasn't one who liked to waste his time on expending energy for senseless causes. But the moment he'd heard that boom echo across the street followed by the song of various cars- training and reflex kicked in immediately. As he ran, a thumb slid forward and pressed the button on the handle of his brief case. The handle extended, the case cracked open, and gradually the wrist band on his hand called pieces of his gear to form around it. Looking more like a detailed glove with what one could only assume was intricately styled metal covering.

One armored hand clenched the handle tightly, the other relaxed as Alphus prepared himself for what he would see on the street up ahead. Slowing to a more quickened gait, the young man was ready to turn the corner and face the sounds of chaos ahead just before a friendly bullet nearly made itself comfortable in his foot. Alphus stared at the ground, then at his foot, then back again. A unsteady silence filled the air in the midst of panic yells and people rushing out of the way. Trying to stay clear from danger.

Even with his poker faced reaction to the bullet, Alphus' surprise was clear. He hadn't been expecting to have to take action this quickly. Perhaps it was a mistake he didn't wear his armor ahead of time.

The speed it took him to remove his coat, toss it, then rush towards a dark alley in between two bereft buildings was almost inhumane. Four luminescent green lights blink and Alphus' overly large briefcase had shifted. In the distance he could hear it: gunfire, bullets hitting buildings, something striking someone and shouts and yells from all angles. So this is what its like. He thought as bit after bit of padded armor fixed itself into place. It's not quite what I expected. A loud clank echoed from the alley as his mouth visor was spat in his direction, contacts long gone, armor adjusted and covering arms, legs, and chest the knight of violet moved forward, the owl insignia humming to life.

As he made his way back into the light, Alphus made it out of that alley just in time to watch a goon of Ghost get taken out by a hostile blast of water. But if anything, that only made him more determined to ensure civilian casualties were minimized. Rushing forward, O.W.L rushed into the fray.
Sir Les Paul Crono

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Marcel Ducard

Marcel looked at Freddy with a gravely serious expression. If this were a humorous conversation, one might call it dry or deadpan. This, however was no joke. "How about we make a Bishop feel like a pawn, Freddy? How about we make the pawns feel like even Gods bleed," he told him as an absolute reply to his explanation.

Marcel understood what Freddy meant, but it was his turn to make Freddy understand. The crime lords of Gotham--whether they were behind a giant desk or hiding in a warehouse--needed to be reminded they were mortal. Marcel may not have known Gotham, but he knew every mortal man could be scared. Maybe Freddy was used to working on his own. Maybe Freddy thought it was impossible alone. Marcel wanted to show him all of the new possibilities they had--together.

Marcel then let his eyes dart over to Drake, but only a half-second before they fell back on Freddy. "At night and when serious, Drake could likely take down half the GPD alone--SWAT included. Do not underestimate what we can do, Freddy. Or maybe... do we need to prove to you what we can do?" he asked ominously.

ChazGhost Loony_Bin

 

[Loony_Bin]

Freddy slammed a hand down on the table and looked directly into NoOne's eyes, "DO NOT, threaten me! That's one thing you NEVER do!" Freddy took a deep breath and sunk back into his seat, his eyes never once leaving NoOne's. The diner had gone silent for just a moment, as the waitress looked at the scene cautiously and the sounds the cook in the back had made stopped completely. A few moments went by and most everything around the booth began to move again, though the few others in the building with them seemed a tad more wary of their booth.

Freddy shook his head, his eyes still never leaving the man in front of him, "It's easy to make one bishop feel like a pawn, or to make pawns see one bishop bleed, but it's never that easy to do..." Freddy sucked on his teeth and crossed his arms, leaving the booth in silence for just a few moments before talking once more, "But y'know what, fine. We'll do it your way, make pawns see bishops bleed and all that shit. After all, you clearly know better than the guy whose spent his entire life in a place that you're a visitor in, right? We'll do it your way, sure..."

Freddy nodded towards Drake, "If what you say about him is true he'll be arguably more useful than either of us in this. While our main goal is the GCPD at the moment, we'll still have to deal with factions like the Jokerz who pop up to make life hell for me whenever they feel like. Also, be sure to be careful about the way you use any tech, because, uh...let's just say I'm not the most friendly with Black Beetle at the moment, and once I start making headlines again there's no doubt he'll be on our asses as well. Now, I'm not saying this stuff because I want you to be afraid or whatever, I just want you to keep these in the back of your mind, because gentlemen, you've aligned yourself with the Red Hood, and allot of people in this city hate his guts, meaning we have to make sure we keep the others who could start getting on our asses in the back of our minds at all times..."

Sir Les Paul ChazGhost

 

[Crono]

The moment the gunfire and reverberating boom came from further into the city Brian was tired of waiting, it wasn't his thing. Throwing himself forwards and onto the pile he grabbed hold of a particularly large piece of concrete and started to heave. Alphus had spoken through the comm but he suspected his partner had already started for the chaos, and Brian wanted to follow suite. The Meta's muscles strained more than they had in a long time as he gave a yell once he'd managed to flip it off to the side, it was a start and that was good enough. "I popped the cap off and it didn't cave so get in there!" He called back to the first responders nearby, the gamble had paid off. With that he leaped into the air and allowed his wings to carry him skywards.

It wasn't hard to pinpoint the location what with the people running in the opposite direction below, "Alphus, what's your location?" He'd ask whilst flying in that general direction while above most buildings, the younger man had so far remained quiet since the blast.
The Regal Rper Sir Les Paul

 

[ChazGhost]

Drake shrugged off Freddy threat of stuffing a paper down his throat. From their he sipped his newly filled glass of soda as he watched Freddy and Marcel go back and forth with their conversation that seemed to start turning into argument. Then when Marcel talked about Drake being able to take down half GPD. Drake looked at him and thought for a moment. "I never thought about it... I guess I could take down the police, not head on of course because you know bullets are deadly." Drake said after thinking about it for a moment.

Then he listened to Freddy's latest edition to conversation. "He has point, unlike ludhaven, Their's bigger gangs and more capable "heros". I don't think you can send Black Beetle into mentle crises as you did to Nightwing... I wonder how she's doing now thinking about it, She was kinda cute." Drake said getting off tracked thinking back to his first meeting with Marcel.
Sir Les Paul Loony_Bin

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Marcel Ducard

Marcel listened to everything that Freddy had to say. In fact, Marcel made a miscalculation on his part. When Marcel asked if Freddy wanted a demonstration, it wasn't intended to be a threat. Quite the opposite. He wanted to show Freddy just what he and Drake were capable of. However, his wording was poor and it was taken entirely wrong. In a worse scenario, it could have been the end of things right there. Luckily--very luckily--it wasn't.

"I hold one piece of information about Gotham that I doubt you do, Freddy. In a more private place, I'll explain to you in detail how I got this information. But for now, you need only know this fact. Twenty-three some odd years ago, Arkham Asylum moved all of the equipment in its storage to a new location--some place that escaped criminals could not easily attain it. Arkham holds nothing but faux equipment, but the public, mayor and criminals are kept thinking that everything is holed up in Arkham..." Marcel said. He allowed a brief pause to permeate the air. A time to reflect. It made sense to separate out the dangerous equipment; in fact, it made one question why it wasn't done before. At the same time, it brought up the question... how was this done without anyone knowing?

"Warrington Avenue. Do you know the street? It's well below Downtown... used to be a suburban area of Gotham nearing the outskirts. A couple of decades ago, urban rebuilding came around to try and increase the property value--the area was, at that time, a Gotham ghetto. It worked. Warrington Avenue is home to a building called the Amadeus Complex. It's used primarily as a local job site and often runs fundraisers or provides scholarships--on paper, it runs on taxpayer money just like any other welfare office. I'm sure you've seen plenty of them," Marcel explained. His explanation was lengthy. Dry, actually. It became apparent that he was intentionally drawing it out for suspense, but it wasn't the type of suspense that one might find annoying. It was a narrative he was weaving. One that told an odd story about the city that even a lifelong resident might not have thought twice about.

"Reports state that underneath the Amadeus Complex is a facility managed by the elites of Gotham Heights. The same that donate to Arkham Asylum for some reason or another. That facility serves the primary function of reserve engineering advanced technology, but according to reports, it houses at least three inmates of Arkham that continue their research in secret... as well as all of the old equipment from nearly a century's worth of Arkham inmates. The ones in there now and the ones thought long-dead, Freddy. I purpose that we don't have to be NoOne, NeoShade and the Red Hood... " Marcel allowed a nearly evil smile to creep along his face. It became apparent was his plan was as soon as the words came out of his mouth. It was dubious. Manipulate. Dangerous. It was exactly the type of plan that one might expect from the man that shook Jessica fucking Grayson to her very core.

"Steal what we want, tailor it to us, and wreak our havoc as various different criminals from the history of Gotham... give Black Beetle a red herring or ten to keep him off us while we thin out the GPD. What better way to strike terror into those pigs than as Scarecrow? Or to burn down dirty buildings as Firefly. Or to take over bought bodyguards at the Mad Hatter?" Marcel continued on, bringing several criminals he knew the history of and how their capabilities could easily help them in some of their upcoming endeavors.

The same devilish grin stayed on his face as he finally asked, "The real question... is who do you to be first?"

ChazGhost Loony_Bin

 

[Loony_Bin]

As Marcel had begun to speak, the expression on Freddy's face had started out of one that still showed slight annoyance, to one that showed doubt and finally one that was unable to hold the massive pleasure in just thinking of the idea that was proposed. Freddy the took in a deep breath and returned his expression to a doubtful one, "Before we even think about enacting this plan, I'm going to let you know I'll not only need to know where you got this information from, but I'd also like accesses to the source. The fact I hadn't known about this isn't annoying, it's worrying. Now, that being said..."

Freddy shifted forward in his seat and allowed his massive smile to return once more, his eyes showing what was almost a childlike joy, "Do you think it's be to obvious a fuck you to the Jokerz if I dressed as the Joker? Or maybe it's a bit played out? Maybe I'd make a better Hugo Strange..."

Sir Les Paul ChazGhost

 

[ChazGhost]

As Drake listen Marcel's plan he could barely hold in his excitement. Every part of the plan he just loved. He would get to break in into a high security place, steal powerful weapons from legendary arsenal of the original batman rogue gallery, and finally get to pretend to be them and use their weapons. "NoOne you genius bastard! It's I'm in a hundred percent." Drake said with a huge smirk.

Then he thought about who he should be first. "I call Firefly. I always wonder what it be like to fly and with that suit I'll be able to, and get to set things on fire at the same time." Drake said still smirking. Drake was obviously super excited for this and was curious to know who the other would want to be. He chuckled a little when Freddy said he want to be the Joker the mess with the Jokerz gang. "I think would be obvious, better sounds fun anyways. So NoOne who do you want to be?" Drake asked curious look at Marcel.
Sir Les Paul Loony_Bin

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Marcel Ducard

"That's a good question... Marcel replied. He hadn't completely considered it. As he was most accustomed to being a ghost, picking a new identity didn't come easy to him. In his moment of thought, he pulled out a beat-up, leather wallet to pull out three $20 bills to toss on the table, then stood up and slid his wallet back into his pocket all in one motion.

"I'd say Deadshot, but I couldn't pull it off. I was considering Mister Freeze, but I've put thought into it... for a while, actually. I've always been partial to Victor Fries. He was never honestly a bad person; just a man trying to save his wife. However, I'm quite sure that freezing over half of Gotham would get us about as much attention as that Atlantean on East Side. Same problem goes with bringing back the Joker," Marcel said as he started leading the others out of the restaurant. He explained, "I'll show you how I know this, but you'll won't believe it until I show you what I have in storage." His statement was obviously aimed at Freddy.

Oddly enough, it seemed like actually 'proving' all of this was secondary to deciding on who they wanted to be. What they wanted to steal. It was in his tone. An odd confidence that almost boasted he knew all of this--and Freddy didn't. Although, it was unfair to compare anyone to the secrets held in the League database.

"I'm thinking Killer Moth. The name has been used a handful of times. Demonic possessions, bio-engineered moth armies... all sort's of crazy shit. The original is what interests me. The original Killer Moth was a prisoner with no name, just a number: 234026. In the early days, he set himself up like Batman. Papers called him the 'anti-Batman', in fact. See, Batman had just came up and Gotham didn't know what to think. Crazy man in a bat suit doing the cops' job, right? Well, why not have a crazy man in the Moth suit working for the crime lords?" Marcel chuckled at the thought. It was hard to joke about Batman, especially considering just who Freddy was and his lineage, but at the same time, there was reality to that sentiment. Batman wasn't always a badass hero. At one point, he was just a man in a suit.

"I want to steal everything they have on Killer Moth and make him the anti-Black Beetle. A new moth for a new era," Marcel said, now smiling. He then turned his head over to the two following him. He eyed Drake down first, then let his gaze go to Freddy. "Unless you think that's just a little too stupid. I could always try Scarecrow," Marcel commented, grounding himself back into reality.

ChazGhost Loony_Bin

 

[The Regal Rper]

" Second building to the right of its boulevard. It has--" the young man's voice dropped abruptly as something sounded like it had just been lit like a firecracker, followed by the faint sounds of a raucous creaking. One moment Alphus had been talking calmly, the next his end of the line had went completely dead, showing he'd shut off his communicator.

If it made things any better, something loud and very heavy could be heard hitting the streets not too far away moments after the young vigilante's end had abruptly died. It wasn't hard to tell from where a flock of people now fled that something had collapsed from the loud crash. And soon enough came the up rise of smoke. Smoke and hints of fire.

Alphus' response came almost a minute after the yelling of civilians on his end had ceased to just the faint sound of people scurrying away from the skirmish. "Apologies", he spoke calmly though his breathe came as uneasy. "It had a commercial sign, but that seems to have collapsed. If you follow the smoke" -the rush of a bullet or two swiftly flew by- "you'll find me within its proximity."

Crono

 

[Sir Les Paul]

"Condor, that is enough," a new voice said through their comms, "Scarab Sight shows no signs of life within the debris."​

If the youthful, arrogant tone wasn't enough, the reference to the scarab was. Black Beetle was in the area. Specifically, flying over the field from above. It was frustrating. Not only were efforts to move the rubble pointless, but Beetle just outright told him so. While dozens of officers and almost as many medics were on the scene, he was flying above just watching. The reality was that he was looking for something on he could help, but from below, it seemed like he was merely content to watch.

"Condor, O.W.L., ETA on Torrent is four-to-six minutes. I will maintain the scene, you complete your mission. I am sure you weren't told, but you are official League witnesses to whatever acts that Torrent or Reginn perform. You are a necessary set of eyes, do don't get killed watching," he told them. His tone was cold. A different kind of cold. When Waller spoke, it was to a soldier whom he had expectations for. He was cold. The frost from this tone felt closer to their deaths being an avoidable nuisance.

Meanwhile, Reginn was tearing through the front of the building that housed Gentlemen Ghost. The would-be thugs were completely outmatched. Each missile they fired was caught by the tentacles Reginn had summoned and the explosion contained within the water. Shockwaves were sent out, sure, but there was no collateral damage. It was difficult to tell if this was just him protecting himself or out of some duty to the well-being of others. The thugs defending the building realized it was a futile as it looked an ran, leaving an almost barren building stripped of its brick face.

"There will be no assistance. The targets are outfitted as GPD and SWAT; the Commissioner decided it was too great of a risk to intervene. This is also to your benefit. You will not see officers of any kind in uniform; everyone that is not a civilian is your enemy," Beetle explained over comms. At this point, Reginn was climbing through the rubble to a set of stairs. He knew precisely where his target was on the eighth floor. He just had to get there. Comparable to an 80's slasher film, Reginn made his slow ascent the stairs full of suspense knowing escape was next to impossible and a fight was pointless. Time was drawing near.

The Regal Rper Crono

 

[Crono]

"Beetle? Butt out." Brian's eyes narrowed as he soared, turning throughout the sky to try and spot the other man but gave only a moment of attention before looking back towards the ground near where Alphus had given a position. Being ordered around by the other man wasn't something he was interested in. There was chaos and water up and down the street connected to the alley where the main brunt of the fighting was coming from. Torrent was on the way, that was the upside, the downside was that Reginn wasn't going to wait.

A smirk crossed his face at Beetle's final words however, "You hear that kid? This means we can let loose on anyone with a gun. Civilian's should still take priority." As he spoke Brian was already closing in on a pair dressed in SWAT uniformed thugs with guns at the ready near the alleyway's entrance, staring rather hesitantly towards the area where Condor assumed the Atlantean was. Condor dropped swiftly onto one, the force instantly knocking him out. The second turned his weapon in surprise but Brian was already elbowing the man in the face rendering him unconscious as well. If nothing else it was less people shooting at the Atlantean which in turn meant less force from the water breather to deal with them.

"Atlantean's make the biggest messes." He snorted before soaring upwards once more, nearing the building that by the looks of the destruction Reginn had entered. Condor's eyes scanned the windows as he drifted by looking for a visual. Then he clicked on the comm, "Can Torrent not verbally give someone the authority to act in his place? At this rate he'll be too late." He wasn't speaking to Tim or Beetle in particular but to whoever might know the answer to such a thing.

Sir Les Paul The Regal Rper

 

[The Regal Rper]

The sudden intrusion of their own comm links, momentarily surprised Alphus. Emphasis on momentarily. The young bat or Black Beetle's voice was but a slight surprise to the armored vigil as he made his own surprise on a unsuspecting shooter. One whose gun had been down as if he were considering fleeing or continue fighting.

Ultimately, neither could've been done as one foot slid his out of place, followed by the sweet embrace of cheek on a cold, thick, and almost metallic feeling surface. Several bullets tore into the air out of reflex but they never met their target as the culprit found his arm locked in a position that prevented movement. By the time Beetle had finished relaying the necessary information, the sound of bullets riddling the ground could be heard before Alphus tossed the ruined weapon to the side.

To Brian's remark in general, Alphus said nothing. It was more of a silent understanding than one that demanded him to speak aloud, so in general and for the sake of preserving energy Alphus kept silent. He wasn't sure if anyone could take Torrent's place. Especially considering the level of strength the Atlantean had displayed. But if it was any form of compensation, Alphus had a feeling they'd be a bit busier than they already were.

Sucking in a breath of air and calmly exhaling, heavy steps only quickened as Alphus began focusing his destination on the ruined building Reginn had entered. If he was going to be a witness of another act of 'justice', he might as well see it through to the end.
Crono Sir Les Paul

 

[Sir Les Paul]

"Atlantean law could allow a herald, Condor. Such person, in theory, could make a decree in the name of another and that word would stand within a certain time period. I'm not for sure of that time--" Black Beetle explained. While it wasn't entirely evident, Black Beetle was attaining these references from the voice of Bruce himself. Not that it mattered, but he was an integrated encyclopedia of vast knowledge. Despite that, he was still interrupted.

"Twelve hours, nineteen minutes. Atlanteans call them Tidal Shifts." The interruption was Tim. It was an oddly specific piece of information that he was interrupting Black Beetle for, but at the very least, it took some of the authority away from the man. "Short answer to your question, no. Atlanteans can only appoint other Atlanteans." Tim continued. His tone was short, sweet and very matter of fact. More importantly, it was sharp enough to cut right through the Beetle.

As Brian soared up to get better vision, Reginn turned to him to make eye contact. In that brief moment, the reality of Reginn sank in. He was a hunter. A predator. A man with a bestial instinct. While Atlanteans were considered a subset of homo sapien, it was hard to believe eyes like those were human. They possessed a distinct danger. A focus. It was more primordial than the stare Waller had. It was just for a second, but that second would give anyone all they needed to know about Reginn... he was not someone to trifle with. Luckily, Brian would not need to. Reginn made no action toward him, instead focusing on the floors above him. Reginn crouched down only to leap upward and launch himself through what appeared to be several floors simultaneously. In doing so, he broke off another large chunk of the building beneath him, sending it plummeting to the ground. In the next moments, more gunfire echoed from within the building. Reginn was on the second to top floor by the sound of it.

Meanwhile, Alphus would find himself stuck. As he quickened his step, the sidewalk itself seemed to merely grow longer, creating an odd, distorted image of an impossibly stretched street. Just as the world seemed to make this impossible, elastic scene, one odd figure stepped out of the frozen backdrop that was now a warped reality. Everything frozen. Everything eerily silent. Nothing quite the same. "Oh, no, Alphus," the figure said. It was an ambiguous voice. An impossible-to-determine gender. Just effeminate enough to make one question, but with a masculine tone that refused to affirm a guess. The figure was odd in and of itself as well. If Alphus caught it quick enough, the figure appeared to be a moving jacket only to quickly take the form of a dull, gray humanoid walking towards him. In the next few moments, that same figure began to shift into a more distinctive person. And, in just a few more, that person became a young man, albeit still older than Alphus. Clean-shaving, handsome, but somehow out of place. Out of time, maybe.

"You can't die today, Alphus, so I'll need you to wait... two more minutes," the figure said, now in a voice significantly more masculine. "You cheated Death once, it would be such a shame to waste it... but since I am stealing a little of your time, I'll make it up to you." the figure continued on. And, out of his pocket, he withdrew a Walkman. A brand-name cassette player from eighty years prior. In pristine condition. Stepping up to Alphus, he offered him the device. "On this is a recording... a disturbing one. A heartbeat. A precious sound. In another world, in another time, one man fought against God for a heart stolen from him. He captured Death, halted Destruction and overpowered Desire. In that world, he was given what he wanted. What he earned," the figure continued on.

"And, now that I've wasted most of your time, I'll explain why it's worth it. Press play for as long as you like, but you only have two minutes and eighteen seconds. In that time, the world will stand still for you just as it did for that man, Alphus. Any questions?" the figured asked, although that question was nearly an impossible one. Of course there were questions! Of course, all the while, Brian was receiving nothing but silence from Alphus. It seemed the young hero simply vanished.

Crono The Regal Rper

 

[The Regal Rper]

Every muscle in Alphus' body, immediately went tense. From the moment he'd been running along the road's extension something in the back of Alphus' mind kept nagging him. Particularly on who was preventing his arrival. It takes no mathematician to realize that one's immediate destination is no more than a few yards away and it takes equally no magician to realize that one is being played for a fool. The road's extension had been easy to pick up. The fact his progress brought him none the closer to his destination was a give away, that someone or something was delaying his arrival. The question was, why. What was there to gain? Who was preventing him from moving forward? And for what purpose could they get out of it?

All those questions were answered as Alphus was made to blink through the distortion of space and the blur that approached him; shifting in form each time he subsequently blinked the haze over his eyes away. But if Alphus was surprised by the sudden interruption by this unknown entity, he was more surprised of what came out of its mouth. His subsequent death.

Death, was a concept Alphus had grown to not fear but accept. He did not fear dying. Be it by public accident or in the field of heroism. He feared failing to right the wrongs that had yet to be rectified. But these were irrelevant thoughts. Thoughts that had no place being in the current situation Alphus found himself in now.

The young man merely blinked once something had been plopped into his hand. Taking a step back after the olden cassette player was deposited Alphus gave it one quick look then looked at the immortal as his mind processed the time limit he had left.. He looked at the device, then looked at his host, and with a quick glance around Alphus' eyes scanned the surrounding distortion that was this space. In doing this, seven seconds and counting were ticking by, that left him with t- 2 minutes 08-- 07, seconds down. Giving the stranger one last calm glance before his orchid eyes moved to the cassette player, Alphus spoke clearly before pushing play.

" Tell me what you mean by my death." He said benignly, but in frankness it was anything but a friendly request. And with a simple push, the tape began to roll.
Sir Les Paul

 

[Loony_Bin]

Freddy shrugged at Marcel's comment, "I think you could pull off a pretty good Killer Moth, the whole 'Beetle vs Moth' thing sounds weird, but I can see where you're coming from. But Scarecrow? Unless we were able to also get our hands on fear gas or whatever it was called, I don't see that one working out to well personally..."

Freddy brought his hand to his chin as he thought, going completely silent for a few moments before a small chuckle escaped his throat and a very slight grin came upon his lips, "I got it, I'll go Two-Face. I think it'll worry the Beetle more if he can't know for sure what his opposition is going to do, and when all of your decisions are seemingly decided by a coin flip, you can never really know what's going to happen. Hell, not even the guy who's flipping the coin really knows what he's going to do after it lands, he only knows two of the possible outcomes."

The grin then slowly left his lips as the expression on his face became that of contemplation once again. It was clear by now what kind of thought process Freddy went through in these types of conversations, he was the kind to question every choice he made before he made it, to take time and consider every outcome he could think of. He liked to be as thorough as he thought he could be, because he knew one slip up meant everything else they'd planned could crumble easily, and everything they'd planned would be for nothing.

"There's still a few more details to think about though. Like, are we going to be working together while we're in costume, or should we just coordinate our attacks to happen at convenient times? We could do less separate than we could together, but if we're separated, we could draw Beetle's attention to multiple places and wear him down quicker. We should also probably determine what we're going to do if one of us goes down. I'm not saying it will happen, but if it does, do we just leave that person in whatever prison they're left to rot in?"

Sir Les Paul ChazGhost

 

[ChazGhost]

"I never real thought much of killer moth, granted I never heard much about him at all." Drake said listening to Marcel. "Through If we can get some fear gas that would be really scare the hell out of the crooked cops and make the Beetle take notes quicker." Drake said smirking. Then he listened to Freddy talk about maybe become two-face. "The thing a about becoming two-face is you have to follow through on your coin flip, if you don't then their no point in being him" Drake added

Then Drake continued to listen to Freddy. "I'd we should split up when we are costume, because if we stay together Beetle may figure out easier who we are. But if we are separated then and change are super villain persona often we can keep him guessing." Drake said smiling before sipping his soda. "But if one of us goes to the big house we should get them out, so to avoid having them be tempted to, you know, snitch on the others."
Sir Les Paul Loony_Bin