2017.01.11 - My Big Fat Greek Robbery
Despite the cloudy, cold and damp weather, the who's who of Gotham City have descended upon the Gala Ballroom to fete the zoo. Celebrities, politicians and basically anyone who could get a ticket for admission is here to help raise money for the animals.
Prominently featured inside the Gala Ballroom are a few cages where representatives of the zoo's animal population are on display. There's an African lion lying in repose in his cage, looking quite regal and somewhat bored by all the proceedings. A quartet of ring tailed lemurs keep themselves busy in their own cage, apparently interested in everything going on around them. Lastly, a miniature tank has been set up where mated pair of Magellanic penguins can dive off their small island and swim about in the water.
Bruce Wayne is just arriving in a 1963 Bentley limousine along with Dick Grayson. Mister Wayne's ever faithful family butler, Alfred, is at the wheel of course. The paparazzi all try to crowd in closer, shooting questions at both Bruce and Dick as cameras and cellphones record them walking into the Gala Ballroom. As always, Bruce is looking resplendent in his custom tailored tuxedo and he never fails to dazzle the onlookers with his brilliant smile.
Dick Grayson is in a similar formal tux, and he smiles and waves at the crowd as they make their way through the storm of flashbulbs. "Things look pretty.. proasic.." the young man says to Bruce as they move to whatever area has been set up for them.
After suitably convincing Jack Drake that it was far too cold for him to bother going out tonight, Tim arrived in his stead some time ago. He's wearing a slim-fit tux and holding a champagne flute (obviously with something other than champagne in it) as he stands near the penguin tank. For now he's playing the part of an easily amused teenager, watching the birds swim, but his eyes skim critically over the tank, looking for any potential signs of foul play. When he hears the commotion of Bruce Wayne and his ward arriving, Tim turns in time to briefly catch Dick's gaze, tilting his head towards him but giving no further acknowledgment.
Jason Todd is dressed to the nines as well, but he arrives alone and looking... confused. Stormy brow and tense posture indicate that something must be bothering him, and he's taken up a position near the buffet table. Ostensibly he's eyeing the finger foods, but in reality he's watching the room. Thing is, he's not really sure what he's watching for. It's been a really weird day for one that started out so normally.
Whether his father got him a ticket or he bought his own ticket, Christopher Kent is here as well, fidgeting with a suit that looks suitably formal but perhaps more on the cheaper end of young teen style. In any case, he also, perhaps coincidentally, stands watching the penguins, looking very curious as he watches them. More curious about them, in fact, than the arriving billionaire and ward, as he doesn't do more than glance over at first.
Barret Flynn was bored, but he was still in the Gotham area from the last demon attack. He got a ticket to the event to spend the last of his time in the US before he had to head home to Europe.
It's a typical affair for Zachary Zatara, and he's dressed in a tailored tux that surely rivals even the Wayne clan's. While normally he would be milling about and mingling, he's...unsure about Gotham. It's never easy to do in that part of the city, and he still feels a little skittish about getting too close to anyone there. Especially upper-crust types.
So instead of flitting about social groups, the young magician ended up at the penguins, champagne in hand, and just staring at the birds. They're adorable...but they're also perceptive and intelligent. They notice him, of course, and eventually it becomes something that looks like a staring contest between them and the Great Zatara.
But Zach just steadily looks more sour, whatever thoughts weighing heavily on his mind, until he abruptly just drinks the last of his champagne and purses his lips after. "You don't know me," he snaps at the penguins and stalks off to the refreshments table, brushing past Chris and advancing on Jason. By the time he gets there, he's divested himself of the empty crystal flute on a passing waiter's tray.
"Just like always, Dick," Bruce answers the young man who arrived with him and made it through the gauntlet outside. The wealthy philanthropist glides through the crowd, saying the appropriate things and smiling at the right moments as people come to see and be seen with him. Eventually he finds a quiet moment to himself off to the side where he can look over the room with a critical eye.
The hum of conversation is actually quite loud when taken in all together. A steady stream of people make their way upstairs to patronize the buffet and the bar, with the restaurant tables filling up quickly as people want to sit to enjoy their food and drinks.
The house lights dim then brighten a couple of times and a hush falls over the crowd. A small circle opens up in the middle of the dance floor around a balding, middle aged man who introduces the Gotham City Zoo curator. The curator takes the mic and begins a droning speech about how pleased he is to see such support for the zoo and what an honor it is to serve the city and blah blah blah... He does quite go on.
Suddenly, in the middle of the boring speech, the lights go out. A murmur passes through the crowd, part fear and part anticipation. Was this all part of the show? What was going on?
"Fine people of Gotham City," a new voice comes over the speakers. "It is such a pleasure to see you all here tonight. And now, we will be taking contributions from everyone."
A startled yelp sounds in the darkness. Then, a woman screams, "No! Not my diamonds!"
Dick Grayson frowns as the lights go out, and he shakes his head as he hears the voice. "Huh.. not.." then he's ducking to the side behind a catering table, and pulling off his special tux to reveal the costume underneath. A quick practiced change that takes seconds, then he's affixing mask to face as Robin The Teen Wonder!
He unclicks a flash grenade from his utility belt, clicks it's tiny controls and tosses it to the ceiling, where it sticks and 'goes off', shedding a flickering radiance that should last several seconds at least -- it's not great lighting, but it's lighting nonetheless.
Then he leaps over the table and heads for the nearest crook-like person.
At some point, an older Gotham socialite who knew his mother wanders up to Tim, and the light level of conversation he keeps up with her is decent cover while he continues to sweep his gaze across the ballroom. He generally avoids lingering overlong on anyone in particular, though Jason does get a companionable tip of his head similar to Dick, and Zachary's admonishment of the penguins has his eyebrows lifting in mute confusion. Otherwise he has very little to do but wait, really, and his champagne flute dangles from his fingers. Until the lights go out, and let's be honest, he knew something was going to happen, so it's a good time for him to drop off his non-alcoholic beverage somewhere convenient and disappear into the shadows.
There are already costumed sorts around, he's aware, and they'll probably have the heavy lifting covered. Tim is more intent on finding out who's behind all this.
Jason would have enjoyed meeting Zach, so it's a shame that instead some crook or other decides to crash the party. Once it's dark, Jason puts aside his personal frustrations and melts away into the deeper shadows. Like Dick, he finds a place and then makes a quick change. Amazing how small a package these costumes can become with the right preparation. So, when Robin's flash-bang goes off, the light shows flashes of another caped figure in red and green--another Robin--also on the scene, moving to investigate the area and find out who's doing this.
There's a buzzing sound from Chris' pocket, and he reaches in to pull out a cell phone. He looks a little disappointed, but pockets it again and starts to glance around, when everything goes dark. He blinks, looking around quickly, pulling his glasses up slightly so he can see. Then, to most present it might just seem like a gust of wind, and Superkid is there, interposing himself between the woman who screamed and her attacker. "Please don't do that," he says.
He had left the transformation device at home. Of course, he didn't think it would be necessary to bring to the zoo, and of course he was wrong. Barret punched one of the crooks that had decided to attack during his precious free time.
The one who really doesn't need a costume change is Zachary Zatara, and he's attentive to what happens around him. Staying perfectly still for the first few moments, once the flash grenades start being thrown around, he waits for the illumination to fade completely before he murmurs quietly to himself. Then the magician somehow has bright a pyrotechnic shower of sparkles to either side of him, making a spectacle of himself -- it's hard to concentrate on anything else, especially if you're one of the thugs undoubtedly tasked with sucking up valuables like a rogue vacuum cleaner. Zach may not dedicate himself to blind fighting, or really fighting in general for the most part, but he can certainly move with strategy to allow his allies to do what they do best.
Blinded by the sudden light from Robin's flash grenade, the stunned criminals with their night vision goggles stumble about in a bit of a daze. But not all of them were caught with their proverbial pants down and a few start dashing for the exit, hoping to make it out of the front doors and into the night.
One of the more enterprising criminals takes the confusion and hubbub as an opportunity to pick the lock on the lion's cage. The door swings open and the large predator is quickly out and into the crowd, snarling at everyone around him.
Bruce starts moving through the mass of panicky partygoers. They don't even seem to really notice his passing with all the rest of the commotion going on. He sees Robin... and then... another Robin? Perplexed, he looks between the two Teen Wonders, studying them.
The crook that Superkid is facing shakes off his momentary blindness and pulls his night vision goggles down around his neck. Blinking stupidly at Superkid, the man asks, with a heavy foreign accent, "How you get here?"
Barret decks one of the criminals who reels from the unexpected blow and stumbles back to fall on the ground. The crowd moves away from him like he is a plague victim and they might somehow get a contagion by being too close. Struggling to gather his wits about him again, the criminal feebly sits up and tries to figure out what hit him, blinking owlishly at Barret.
The illumination of the flash grenade fades, only to be replaced by Zachary's display of lights. The area immediately around the world famous Teen Magician is as brightly lit as a baseball diamond at high noon. But the further reaches of the huge space are still left in shadow. The sudden display spooks the crooks and any that were headed Zachary's way promptly take a detour in another direction.
Dick Grayson explodes into action, vaulting over a table to kick one thief in the head, turning to punch another, and still able to let a batarang fly to stop one of the runners. Then.. there is a sound and a rush behind the Teen Wonder, his flapping cape having caught the big cat's attention like a flag with a bull, and it pounces!
The massive predator bears Robin to the ground, huge clawed paws on his chest, it's teeth inches from the youth's masked face as Robin jams his gloved hands into the cat's mouth and tries to hold it's jaws away from his neck and face. He struggles under the weight as the lion growls and flexes it's claws, poking holes in the caped crimefighter under him!
Honestly, anyone who would rob an event like this is insane. Ganymede of Themyscira arrived a few moments late... just in time for the lights to go out. Standing in the doorway, the Amazon frowns softly. Definitely not normal. And him without his costume. At least he brought his lasso and bracelets, though the chiton certainly isn't the ideal garment for fighting in. Rushing into the Ballroom, Ganymede unsnaps his lasso from his side, twirling it overhead, even as he takes to the air, aiming to entangle the lion before it can harm anyone.
Skulking about in the shadows thus far has only produced... more shadows, so Tim ducks into them for his own quick-change. Which is admittedly slightly longer than either of the other Robins', because, you know... pants. He vaults up onto the lion's cage using his staff and crouches there, reflexively tossing out a shuriken towards an escaping thug as he takes in the lay of the land with the night vision of his domino mask.
Aaaaaand that's about when he notices that the lion is both: A. not safely in the cage underneath him and B. trying to chomp on OG Robin. "Ah, jeez," he grimaces, reaching for his utility belt. He'd augmented his load-out this morning, but his tranquilizer darts are of the human variety, so as he aims from the relative safety of his perch above the fray, he fires several of them into the lion's flank.
Robin Mk. II, AKA Jason, also activates his night-vision. Catching sight of the lion going for Dick, but he also spots Ganymede and Tim moving to intercept, he gets on the open bat-com and starts moving away from the center of it all, looking for a possible ringleader. Along the way, he'll deploy any number of handy little gadgets: sleep-darts, shocking stun batarangs, and even just plain ol' knockout gas pellets. Speaking on the comlink, he says, "< Robin-1 is in distress. Robin-3 and unknown Amazon assisting. Robin-2 moving to cut off criminal escape and looking for possible big bad. >"
"I'm really fast," Superkid says, rolling his eyes, and practically demonstrates by speeding around the criminal, tying him up with his own clothes. Then, he glances up. Seeing that the lion is being dealt with, he turns to speed across the room, using his speed to try to catch any of the criminals who are racing for the exits.
Barret Flynn kicks another crook trying to punch him. He honestly wasn't that strong without his armour, but he had to deal with what he had. Barret knocked him over a table and onto the floor. However he wasn't paying much attention to his surroundings, and he was kicked from behind.
Lions are not part of Zach's milieu. He doesn't do animal acts, aside from the doves and occasional bunnies he temporarily transforms people into. He's pretty sure his cousin and his uncle have worked with them, but he's kept his stages generally simpler than that, easier to manage when humans are annoyingly uncooperative enough.
Fortunately, all he has to do is stand around with the pyrotechnics, which seem to last literally forever (or at least indefinitely as he maintains them) and act as a repellent for the thugs trying to roll the fete. With Ganymede and Superkid around, to say nothing of the Robin trio -- there are three of them?! -- he's fine just being a spectacle.
It's about par for the course in Zach's life, and it's one of the things he's most comfortable doing.
The lion is strong. Incredibly strong. And he nearly closes his jaws on Robin. But then a silvery lasso falls over the beast's head and slips into his open maw, giving the lion something else to suddenly worry about. The tranquilizer darts meant for human use don't seem to affect the creature much at all, at least not right away.
Criminals fall to the heroes left and right. But not all of them are down for the count. A few remaining crooks are trying to stealthily make their way about the dark edges of the room.
When the third Robin appears, Bruce just shakes his head in disbelief. He knows which one is Dick, but who are these other two? And where did they come from? But, there's no time to worry about that right now. He heads for the obvious exit, the main entrance at the front of the Gala Ballroom. And he's waiting there when the crooks arrive. "Going somewhere?" he asks smoothly, his confident manner drawing up the two criminals as they try to size up Bruce in his evening finery.
Robin struggles against the lion's jaws, as the teeth get closer.. and closer.. and then.. the lion shakes its huge shaggy mane and growls at the lasso around it's neck - Robin takes that opportunity to grab a gas capsule from his utility belt and toss it into the lion's mouth.
POOOF! Green gas escapes from the lion's nose and mouth.. and it keels over. Right on top of the Teen Wonder. Five hundred pounds of fully-grown adult male African lion. Oooofff. Slowly, he levers the now-sleeping lion off his chest, and rolls free.
Tim activates the comlink at his throat as he scans the perimeter. < Did anyone get a positive ID on the perp over the speakers? Was it Cobblepot? > His lenses pick out two figures hastily making their escape via the upper level, so he lifts his grapple gun and fires. He twists over the balustrade and lands heavily on his feet, and the thugs are nearly out of his grasp, but he extends his staff and sweeps it in an arc towards their ankles, following with a targeted attack with the taser end of the bo. "It's rude to leave a party so early," he deadpans.
"[ I put down a bunch of these losers, but I can find the head asshole. ]" Jason sends, then spots Bruce being menaced by escaping thugs. Firing off a grappling hook, he launches himself across the room on a batline. As he detaches from it, he turns a forward flip and aims to double-kick one of those thugs in the back. Hopefully flattening the guy, he shoots Bruce a look and says, "Okay, *Mister Wayne*?" And as he speaks, he flings a stun-batarang at the next guy.
Though he has no radio, and isn't on their frequency, Superkid can still hear the conversation. So, he answers out loud, "I haven't seen anybody that looks to be in charge either." He turns, spotting someone sneaking by at the edge of the room, and lets out a blast of breath to try to knock them against the wall. Less harmful than a fist, really, but still painful.
Barret Flynn was knocked onto the floor grunting. He stood up quickly and gave the henchman a quick kick. He jumped back and started to search the area for any other henchmen to take out. He couldn't find any and decided to withdraw, figuring he was a burden without his armour on.
There's no one Zach can see either. Whoever orchestrated this decided -- wisely -- to refrain from being a direct part of it. An aspect of being so literally bright in the darkness is, of course, that they can't easily look at the magician...but he can look at all of them that his pyrotechnic effects illuminate. Fortunately, the Teen Wonders and the rest of the heroes are doing a bang-up job of taking them down. "Nobody that I can see," he adds, when he hears Superkid.
With the lion down, Ganymede rushes in to lift the beast from Robin, looking down at him with concern, even as he's lifted the beast and is cradling it like a kitten, over his shoulder, to gently remove the lasso from its mouth. "Are you unharmed?" he asks the young man, shifting the beast's weight to his hip. It's almost adorable. Almost. All the thugs are down for the count. All in all, it hadn't turned into a disaster. More people could have been hurt but other than Robin being slightly mauled by a lion, there were no serious injuries.
Bruce advances into the center of the room and retrieves the microphone that the curator of the zoo had dropped in his panic. He taps it a few times, the sound reverberating from the speakers placed around the room. "Does anyone need medical attention?" he asks the crowd. A chorus of negatives come back to Bruce and he goes on. "I believe we should all wait patiently here for the police to come and take our reports." The crowd seems to agree and some of the tension drains from the room. "How about a round of applause for our heroes?" Bruce asks, waving a hand toward those who had confronted the crooks and taken them down. Everyone bursts into cheers and Bruce steps away, handing the microphone off to someone at random.
The Gala Ballroom staggers back into operation. The bar is handing out drinks again (perhaps more than before) and the buffet was entirely unaffected by the attempted heist. Soon enough, Gotham City police are pulling up outside and entering the building, the reporters and paparazzi asking a barrage of questions at the police presence. The police begin to methodically take reports from all the witnesses.
Robin gasps as he finally gets out from under the lion. He stands and gives Ganymede a grateful look. "Thanks, man," he says. He taps his comm. [No idea; it doesn't sound like Penguin, no idea who this dude is…] Almost casually, seemingly without looking, he spins a batarang after one of the fleeing felons, knocking the man to his knees. He scans the chaotic scene - lions, felons, Robins, a kid in a superman costume, Ganymede, and more. Wow. That... seems to be most of the would-be thieves, he counts, noting who's taken down whom.
[Why couldn't they have let out the lemurs instead?] Tim doesn't stick around for the applause; Bruce Wayne at the microphone is enough to hopefully drag any potential wayward gazes away, so he takes the opportunity to slip back into the shadows. Several moments later, Tim appears, back in his tux, on the bottom level of the ballroom. "Here you go, Mrs. Rothschild," he says, carefully pressing a glass of water into the hands of the older woman he'd been speaking to earlier. She's been sat in a chair but is ostensibly waving off all medical assistance, saying she's only had a fright, that's all. Tim looks around at the relative chaos of the remaining scene and frowns.
The second Robin glares briefly after Bruce when he just slips away like that, but then he pulls a vanishing act of his own. A few moments later, Jason Todd comes crawling out from under one of the buffet tables and gets to his feet. Straightening his jacket, he glances around with a sigh. "Always a fun time in Gotham," he mutters. Then, shoving his hands into his pockets, he starts to just walk out. Between his mood when he arrived and the party crashers, he's had enough for one night.
Superkid vanishes before the police arrive, flying off before he has to answer any questions. And then, moment later, Chris crawled out from a table, seeming to have been hiding out of sight the entire time. "Are they gone?" When the time comes, he doesn't have much to say to the police.
By the time the lights come up again, Zach has dismissed his pyrotechnic effect. He calmly goes over to the refreshments table, picks up a flute of champagne, and takes a sip of it. Then he starts to move to the finger foods. Good, those remain unmolested by the obnoxious goons unleashed on the crowd. At least nobody was hurt.
Well, except for the people trying to do it, and that's okay as far as the magician's concerned.
Moving about with the lion still on his hip, like a gigantic infant, the Amazon carries him back to his cage and places him inside gently, even going so far as to lay hands on the beast, and heal it of injuries, his hands glowing faintly as he does. Rising, the Amazon closes the cage and secures it with the lock once more, leaning forward to look at the waking beast, smiling. "[It is alright, my brother. You are safe now, none will harm you.]" He turns his attention back to the crowd, relieved no one seems to need healing, and then begins winding his lasso back up, walking toward Bruce Wayne. "Mr. Wayne, though you did promise entertainment, I did /not/ think this was what you meant."
And just like that, all seems to be back to normal. Or at least as normal as it ever gets in Gotham City.
Bruce shrugs in response to Ganymede. "I don't know if I'd exactly call this entertainment, but it was something."
The police get around to questioning Mister Wayne and he does his best to provide an accurate witness statement. The party seems to be over for the night and as people get done with the police, they depart for the comfort of their homes. Soon enough Bruce is safely ensconced in his limousine and headed back to stately Wayne Manor.
Robin looks around as the police begin to arrive, and he nods to the crowd. "Everyone stay safe, now; Gotham's finest will have everything under control," the Teen Wonder says, to a few whistles and catcalls from a few women in the crowd (and a couple of guys). He quirks a smile at the crowd, fires off his grapple gun to upper gallery of the ballroom, and exits through a balcony door.
He has eyes on him, so he can't just reappear as Dick quite yet. He'll drop to the street outside, deal with those as he changes, and 'reappear' minutes later, moving to Bruce's side just as he gets in the car.