2017.03.10 - The Sorceress Attacks!
Dark clouds hover over Gotham City. The bitter cold winter has given way to a crisp but warming spring. Rain gently falls, almost as if Mother Nature were trying to wash away the cold and grime left behind by snow and the accompanying salt and sand used to fight the icy conditions of the past few months.
The Dynamic Duo are stationed atop a building in the Financial District. It's a true representative of gothic architecture with its arched doors and windows and glowering gargoyles.
Batman gazes down at the city streets below, the high tech lenses in his cowl adding magnification that zooms in to make it seem as if he were only just hovering above the ground. "The tip Gotham PD got said there was going to be a bank robbery tonight of Gotham National," he says, studying the street corner on which that particular bank is situated.
Robin nods as he crouches on a gargoyle poised over the building edge, his cape fluttering slightly in the wind as he looks down to the street below. "They have any idea of who might be doing it?" he says as he scans the bank building from his vantage point.
The rain hasn't stopped the young Amazon known as Ganymede from stepping out, either, and it's with unerring skill that he's found himself landing, silently, on the rooftop behind Batman and Robin, moving with all the grace of a well trained hunter. And why not? The Amazons worship Artemis, after all. "If they are aware of a possible robbery... why do they not simply make a show of force to stop even the attempt?" He's got good hearing. "Or... could such an attempt merely be a feint to draw attention elsewhere?"
"Guess who got let out of Blackgate on an appeal," Batman says with an edge of annoyance in his voice. He is a firm believer in justice and at times the almost arcane legal system which allows criminals to go free for, to him, frivolous reasons is one in dire need of change.
If the Dark Knight is surprised by Ganymede's appearance, it does not show. He seems to simply accept it in stride. "The police hope to catch the criminals. A show of force would only deter them and possibly send them elsewhere. Trust me, the police are just as much in position as we are and also not as obvious."
Robin frowns and nods at Batman. "Penguin? I saw the report," he says as he taps his mask to listen in on the police band. "Sounds like everyone below is in position," he says, doing a weapons-check on his utility belt by touch. "Cobblepot must need cash, and quick, if he's put this together this quickly..."
The Teen Wonder turns and smiles as Ganymede appears, then looks back to the bank building, grapple gun held ready.
"I spotted six lookouts." Ganymede says, casually. "Were I preparing for war, I could not have placed them better, myself." His tone is approving. His long hair has been pulled back in a knot at the nape of his neck, because this weather isn't doing the riot of curls any good, anyway. "May I be of assistance?" He smiles warmly back at Robin, pale eyes brightening just a bit as he looks at the young man.
Batman turns to regard Ganymede and seems about to say something when a jagged bolt of lightning flashes across the sky followed by a rolling boom of thunder. It all seems very misplaced in what had been, up until that moment, a rather placid rainfall.
The lightning and thunder are only harbingers of something worse to come, however. At first only a faint glimmer moving through the sky, a figure descends, the lights from the city below slowly allowing more detail to be seen.
A painfully beautiful woman hovers in the air just above the trio of heroes. She seems untouched by the falling rain, her brilliant red hair tumbling about her shoulders in tantalizing, soft curls. A smile curves her full lips as she surveys Batman, Robin and Ganymede. But, despite her smile, there is a cruel cast to her features that speaks of her being accustomed to great power and not using it for the betterment of others.
"Well," Circe purrs, "I seem to have you just where I want you."
Robin looks at Batman as the lighting strikes. "Radio cut out. I think.." then he's all open-mouthed and wide-eyed as the sorceress makes her appearance. Grapple gun already in hand, he turns and fires it at the floating woman, hoping to wrap her up in the tough cable. Hey, it's a shot.
"Circe." Ganymede's tone is, well, not nice. He actually sounds almost as if he just dropped an f-bomb, his expression disgusted. He recognizes the Witch on the Island, even if he doesn't know her connection to him, and the Amazon's eyes narrow. "What is it you want now, Witch?" the Amazon asks in the ancient dialect, ever trying to parley rather than head straight into battle.
A flick of one delicate hand and Robin's grapple is deflected harmlessly off to the side. The sorceress trills with laughter at the feeble attack then patently seems to ignore Robin as if he were beneath her notice.
"I want you to do what you were commanded, little Amazon," Circe replies to Ganymede in that ancient language. An irritated little frown actually creases her brow. She simply cannot fathom anyone disobeying her.
Her attention seems to sharpen on Ganymede and an almost anticipatory gleam shines in her eyes. Her lips are just barely parted as though she could already taste something very sweet.
Robin shifts on his gargoyle perch, clicking the button to reel in the cable - he pauses to watch Ganymede's reaction, cutting his eyes over to Batman to see if his mentor is readying anything. 'Well that didn't work,' he comms Batman through his mask.
There's a moment of confusion across Ganymede's face, his eyes clouding slightly... but then he seems to glow with an internal light all his own, squaring his shoulders. "I was commanded to love my Sisters, and my Brothers. Again, Witch, I offer you the peace and love of the Sisterhood of Themyscira. Lay down your dark magics... there is hope, even for you. Your crimes can be forgiven, your pain healed. ...Please." Ganymede steps forward, his hand extending toward the Witch, his expression softening. He seems to truly mean the offer. "Take my hand..."
Batman is watching the exchange between Circe and Ganymede. What can be seen of his face, his lips, a bit of his cheeks and the strong lines of his chin and jaw, remain inscrutable. When he wants, he can become just as impenetrable as the body armor he wears. But his hand does surreptitiously make its way to his utility belt and he palms several smoke pellets and a shocking batarang as he waits for his opportunity to strike.
Another flash of annoyance crosses Circe's features. <Well, you seem somehow immune to my power,> she admits to Ganymede. <But what about your little friends?> she asks, her attention shifting to Batman and Robin.
Batman suddenly grunts, his lips peeling back into a grimace. He stands there quivering as though he were caught on a live wire.
Robin grunts and wavers on the gargoyle, staggering back to the edge of the precipice as if he'd been struck a blow. He shakes his head violently and puts one hand to the side of his head. The other hand lets go the grapple gun and drops slowly to his utility belt by stages, as if the boy is fighting his own arm. And losing. "Get.. out.." he growls almost to himself.
"Why do you do this, Circe?" Ganymede's voice is soft, now, sad. He snaps free his lasso from his hip, raising it in both hands, the material glowing with the same unearthly light. Perhaps this is why Ganymede is able to shake off her control. "Release them." he says softly, warning in his voice, anger in his eyes. When it becomes clear that she won't, Ganymede rushes forward at blinding speed, striking out with the lasso and seeking to encircle the witch with it.
Batman's limbs twitch and jerk yet he somehow manages to remain standing upright. His face is a rictus of bared teeth as he struggles against Circe's control. And that control slips for just a moment as the witch is surprised by Ganymede's sudden rush forward. Free from the crushing weight of Circe trying to impose her will upon him, Batman flings the shock batarang at the hovering sorceress.
Circe seems intent on dodging Ganymede rather than allowing the Amazon to close with her and do battle. But as deft as she is, she can't quite escape Ganymede's lasso and the youth manages to get it looped around her left ankle. She turns, throwing her palms out toward Ganymede as though trying to shove him away despite the distance between them. A ball of fire suddenly springs to life and darts toward the Amazon, growing in size with each passing second.
Robin staggers forward, his hand moving from the explosive capsules to another shock batarang that is second behind Batman's toss. The teen springs from the gargoyle's head onto the rooftop proper and away from the yawning steel canyon below. Circe's voice still echoes in his head, but for now.. he can withstand it. "Can't do two things at once, can you?" he mutters, and tries to follow up his batarang throw with a glue pellet tossed at her hands - maybe if she can't gesture, she can't cast. Hey, it works in D&D.
"I said /RELEASE THEM/." Ganymede demands, tugging on the lasso, tightening it, locking the knot tight against her flesh with a deft twist. As the fireball approaches, Ganymede dives toward it, crossing his forearms and shielding his face, intent on deflecting the fireball away from Batman and Robin, or taking the blow, himself. Passing through to the other side of the flames, the Amazon is singed, the sleeves of his costume ruined in the blast. "Sleep!" Ganymede commands, the lasso pulsing and glowing as he issues the order, seeking to tug Circe to the rooftop, now.
Batman's batarang misses Circe in her dodging and weaving but he pulls another one out and waits, hoping for better opportunity. Robin's batarang makes contact, though, and the sorceress lets out a pained screech at the sudden jolt of what should be crippling electricity. The glue pellet strikes her left hand and covers it with the sticky substance which fuses her three outside fingers together.
But it's the lasso around Circe's ankle that she's most worried about. At Ganymede's command, she sags and then begins to drop out of the sky, only caught and held up by Ganymede's grip on the lasso.
Robin fans out away from Batman so they both can't be taken out by the same attack in case Ganymede's tactic does not work, and he preps another batarang just in case. He keeps careful watch on the witch as she cries out, ready to go at a moment's notice.
The young Amazon rushes toward Circe, determined to catch her before she can fall and be harmed by it. Yes, she is a Goddess, imbued with the soul of the Titan, Hecate, but that doesn't mean she isn't a fragile thing when compared to the Amazons. He continues to will the Witch to sleep, even as he reaches for her. It's not even occurred to him that this could be a trap.
Batman watches Ganymede and Circe, ready to do what he can if needed. But the witch seems subdued for the moment. He glances aside at Robin. "Are you all right?" he asks the Teen Wonder.
Circe hangs limp in Ganymede's arms, apparently compelled by the power of the lasso into a deep and dreamless sleep.
Robin gives a quick nod to Batman and the code phrase they use when mind-control might be involved: "I'm good; right as rain," he says. He approaches Ganymede cautiously. "Are you certain that's working on her?" he says to the teen Amazon.
The slim form cradling Circe looks up and between the duo, frowning. "It should be impossible to lie within the embrace of my lasso... But Circe is a Goddess." Ganymede shifts his grip on the Witch, so that her head is pillowed on his shoulder, rather than dangling loosely, the boy shaking his head. "I fear your operation may have been compromised by her attack... I should get Circe to Themyscira. The sooner she is given over to Queen Hippolyta, the quicker her rehabilitation will be."
"But it always helps to carry an umbrella," Batman answers in code in return to Robin.
The Dark Knight turns his attention to Ganymede and Circe. "Will it do any good?" he asks pointedly.
"At least they can hold a meta prisoner," Robin says as he checks the police frequencies to see if the robbery watch has indeed been compromised. "There's only a couple places outside of Belle Reve that can do that, stateside.."
The smile Ganymede flashes at Batman is brilliant, something to rival Diana's. "We always have hope. Even with the bleakest of souls, there is a chance at redemption... and the Goddesses instruct us to offer it. If Circe refuses to accept our ways, she will at least enjoy our hospitality... We have a beautiful garden waiting for Circe, laced full of Moly." Ganymede includes Robin in the smile. "If you could inform Diana I may be gone for a few days?" he asks... and then he's heading into the sky, cradling the unconcious Goddess close, to protect her from the rain as best he can.