I'm not gonna make any more threads, I feel like it's becoming a bit of a troll on my part and I don't want to take up any more forum space. Chapter six will be here, not in the other one labelled 5 and 6. I kind of outwitted myself on it trying to do my intro post and follow up. I'll just flow between here and the original Cassandra Cain thread from now on if I have multiple chapters worth of material. Truthfully, I probably accumulated four chapters' worth today >.>
The next evening their investigation began. During the day, Cassandra had anally nitpicked the progress of the cleaning crew in her dojo such that they were relieved when Barbara sent her home. She was in a much better mood at this point and ready. Barbara suggested pairing with Batwoman, mainly because she wanted to know more about her and stay on point with coordinating their work this evening from the Lighthouse bunker.
Barbara appreciated being able to take full advantage of the Black Bat helmet suite. She used the specialized server in the bunker to keep an onsite observation of their movements through literally Cassie's perspective. For her, this was a little more awkward than it could have been because of her free running style rather than the reliance on gliding and swinging that the others had. She disliked that she gave up her cape for this reason as she tries not to watch the video monitor too closely. She didn't worry about the Robin duo because Nightwing was more experienced than herself, having been Bruce's first protege'.
The only sound Black Bat usually made was the occasional whisper of her scarf or the scrape of gravel when she bounds from one rooftop to roll on the next before darting to repeat. Barbara doesn't comment as she knows too well her preference for silence.
Kate Kane, also known as Batwoman, kept up well to her credit. She's no slouch, but the pace the other girl sets doesn't escape her notice. She arrived at King Street Choppershop quick enough that she didn't know that it would have been faster on her bike.
Black Bat perched on the rooftop edge, squatting flatfooted on the ledge like a genuine bird of prey as she took stock of tonight's target. She whispered just loud enough for Batwoman to hear, but mostly for Barbara's benefit,"On site."
Barbara, tonight as Oracle, replied,"Roger. Nightwing, ETA?"
Nightwing replies,"Twenty seconds," in a similarly whispered tone.
Tonight's operation was more rigidly organized than normal as they wanted to take down both operations with minimal oppurtunity for response. The idea was to make it seem like a bigger crackdown than it was, and Oracle would be monitoring traffic from her end to guage the level of their response. Oracle, to that end, directs Black Bat to take that moment to go ahead and get closer to place on sight cameras. She wanted on sight footage for at least the next day, but she also wanted to be able to keep an eye on their performance and Cassandra's back.
"On site," comes Nightwing from his end, he was a little quicker than he expected.
Oracle replies,"Go ahead and set up monitoring on your location. We penetrate in two."
"Roger," Cassandra and Dick both reply at nearly the same time. Coordination was critical tonight. Any flaws and they could wind up with reinforcements. Or worse, a withdraw and they'd be cleaning up. At least she liked to think of that as the worse event, in the back of her mind she knew well the risks they all take. Jason Todd never came home, it was only his face beneath the Red Hood.
Both pairs wasted no time putting cameras in place and wiring the external connections. To her credit, Batwoman proved a steady hand in this task. Oracle had worried she would be like her friend Cass used to be, iron knuckles with no finesse. This task is what weeds out the chaff among crime fighters, gathering intel.
As soon as the wire taps were in place, it was time to breach. Black Bat let Batwoman take the rear, she knew she could maximize surprise and Batwoman would have minimal trouble. Either way, the object was stealth until they determined a presence and she knew someone was here from what seemed likely a bathroom light.
Enterring via lockpick, she crept in in a half crouch. Easing the door closed behind her, taking the extra measure of keeping the nob turned to avoid a click, she moved in an angular manner. Moving one leg crossing the other to keep her outline broken if she cast a shadow. as she endeavors to minimize exposure. She almost smiles when Batwoman catches the man from the bathroom herself, taking him down in a skillfully executed from-behind-sleeperhold. She might be new, but she has skill at least.
Black Bat doesn't stop to confirm anything, lingering only long enough that Oracle had eyes on of her partner taking down their first target before moving in. Speed is life in any breach. A bullet can put an end to any career in a doorway, that's why they are referred to as Death Funnels by special operations units. Silence is a close second in importance, until noise can be useful with a well timed flashbang or the like. Their time hadn't come yet, she had only just located a secure entrance to the bikeshop's subterrane. In the main office as she searched it via night vision, she found the entrance beneath the desk itself. A trap door that would be effectively hidden by merely rolling the chair over it. As it had been off to the side, likely due to the man who took a leak, it had been exposed.
Openning the hatch as quietly as possibly, which wasn't very as it needed WD-40, she hopped down, sidling in a crouch as she taps her helmet to turn off the nightvision she no longer requires while Batwoman drops down immediately behind her. "Hey...oh shit it's the Bats!" The greeting has been given.
The flutter of a cape heralds Batwoman's charge, fist raised and reared as she crashes towards a pair of thugs who had apparently been dividing a shipment. While she went high and dealt with the lead, Black Bat sprinted low and tucked into a roll past the two combatants to intercept his partner who has already grabbed an M-16 and was levelling it to try to get a shot.
The confusion of a woman in a cape scrapping it out with his partner and winning would buy Black Bat the distraction she needed to close on the gunner. Batwoman's opening punch was raw, but it did its job thanks to the moment of surprise. It went square to the man's nose flattening it, her follow through being her offhand reaching around to grab him by the hair on the back of his head and bring his face down to collide with her knee as she rams it up before twisting his head to one side to take him to the ground via leverage. Glancing up to check on Black Bat's performance and seeing her handle the other, she finishes her man with a groin stomp.
Black Bat handled hers with considerably more finesse. She snatched the rifle first by the barrel to leverage it to one side then grabs it by the stock and pins the bearer to the wall safely behind it before he could effectively react. First she knees him in the groin to get him to relax his hold on the weapon, then checks him in the mouth with a quick shove it that puts him back against the wall and off balance then takes it from him and drops the magazine from it before clearing the chamber. She finishes him with a baseball bat swing of the weapon by its barrel across his head, knocking him out.
Black Bat surveys the singular room they have found, intoning just loud enough for her partner to hear,"Clear." Her head pans around, giving Oracle a thorough overview of the operation they've seized.
On the other side of town, Robin and Nightwing had a decent time of it as well. Unfortunately, their targets had reacted better with one of them snapping off a couple wild shots. In the end, they'd been taken down with not much more effort. Nightwing radios in with the same response,"Clear."
Black Bat upnods the target Batwoman had taken down as he groans,"Knock out." Batwoman brings her heel across his temple, complying promptly as Barbara comments in her helmet,"She's not bad. " Black Bat folded her arms then and proceeds with a one time walk around of the room, panning her vision over the packages of heroin as she says in her radio-quiet tone,"Should Gordon-call."
Barbara replied with a stifled chuckle,"Should call Gordon, yes. I'm notifying them presently."
Tim, presently with Nightwing as Robin, chimes in then,"Minute last putting cameras, chief,"to which Oracle replied,"Cool it, wonder boy." Presently over there, he had just gotten a slap to the back of his head from Nightwing in proper fashion.
Batwoman set up an audio device in the overhanging light fixture, then the two of them depart as quietly and quickly as they entered. Oracle reminded them tersely about the habit of these types for monitoring check ins, and they didn't want to be there if the cops arrived to secure the scene at the same time as their site handlers.
@jamiewolfe7: It really is okay to post each chapter as a separate thread. We all do it. It makes your story episodic like a comic series, and it's easier for someone to tell that it's a new chapter, rather than someone commenting on your thread (or you responding to a comment). It's not trolling at all.
@cbishop Ok, it's just that I haven't found myself slowing down any with this char and I was worrying about how much room I was starting to eat up with the name, lol.
@jamiewolfe7: This site has over 1,100 pages of "Off-Topic" posts. So you don't have to worry about how much room your comic related fan-fic is taking up- especially when this is a fan-fic forum. Have a blast. ;)
@jamiewolfe7: Could you post a library for this? It's just that comicvine's search engine is notoriously unhelpful and short of Fic-O-Pedia it's hard to find all issues of any fic that passes the 4 or 5 issue mark.
@jamiewolfe7: Hey there, just read the first 6 chapters. Sorry, I'm a slow writer and a slow reader ;). I like the story so far, but who's the murderer of Vesper Fairchild? ;) See ya!
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