imperial_stage | Party time and more [Action]

[In a ballroom at Central City.]

The auction was done and a hefty pile of wealth had been gathered to help pay for the reconstruction of Amestris in the wake of the devastating undead invasion. All that was left at this point was the after party, and EVERYONE has been invited. The majority of the party has moved to a huge ballroom, complete with an in house orchestra, several tables of light snacks and drinks, a large dancing area, tables around the edges of the room, and servants with trays of drinks making sure no one goes long without a glass. Brag about your newest acquisition, seeth with jealousy at the guy who bid more on the piece you wanted, enjoy fine food and drinks from across the empire, get drunk, dance, have fun. Mr. Wayne is footing the bill tonight.

[Elsewhere, later that evening...]

A dark figure edges close to the tall wall surrounding the manor belonging to the mysterious man known only as The Major. It produces a grappling hook from under its cloak, and is perched atop the wall in short order to get a better look at what it has to contend with here.

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He had to take a shallow cut across the chest to manage it, but Batman was able to twist the knife charge into a hip throw, hurling the man into the wall with all the force of his own charge.

Kallen's quick step was enough to get her out of the path of her immediate target's shot. Clearly, however, it wasn't going to be enough. Fortunately, she had more tactics handy.

Spotting Batman's toss, she quickly flash-stepped to a few paces behind him, slamming that guard's head against the wall with her claw. If one strike wasn't enough, as she'd just seen, perhaps two would work - especially since she was slamming it against the wall.

The second strike, however, did not knock the soldier down. Instead, with the knife in his hand, he swings at Kallen behind me at least to get her out of the way and thrusts again. The man's armor is bruised and there is a small amount of blood sliding out of the armor, but the knight continues to fight as if he was not hurt.

The other soldiers maintain their distance. Two take the time to reload while the other two continue firing regardless of whether their comrade is shot.

This isn't working. Whatever Millenium is, it has access to more than mere humans. Batman, being currently unoccupied, squeezed his eyes shut and threw a flashbomb at the ground, filling the room with sound and light for a second.

Kallen quickly lept back, tiggering a flash-step to get well clear of the firing of their allies. Obviously, she wasn't dealing with anything resembling human... However, that didn't mean she was powerless. If nothing else, if she could get a clear line of sight to the stairs...

For now, however, that flashbomb was in the way. Quickly, she moved for another desk as cover, grabbing more papers and pocketing them. It was random samples, she'd have to hope she got something good when she left, if she had to flee...

The flash bomb worked quite well. Each guard covered their eyes with a hand to fend off the pain from the sudden burst of light. They randomly began shooting in different directions, but their aim was fully disrupted, giving the best opportunity for escape right now.

Batman grabbed Kallen by the back of her shirt as he sprinted past them. "Come on!"

As Batman grabbed at Kallen, she immediately shouted, "Get off! I'll move faster on my own!"

Which, given her teleportation? Was probably the truth.

The guards had difficulty seeing, but after hearing Batman and Kallen's voices, they started shooting at their direction. The shots were clumsy, of course, and their aim was hardly focused. It was until they had to reload when they would be put out of commission until their eyesight returns.

There's wasn't time to think about it, so Batman let her go and dashed through the midst of the stunned guards. This had been an absolute disaster because of that damn girl, and now millenium would be expecting trouble.

Hell, he'd be lucky if he could get out of here alive.

As soon as one foot touched the ground, Kallen took off. As soon as she could see the stairs - and the remaining guards - she teleported, well ahead of Batman. A split-second later, she was at the top of the stairs in a second teleport.

Her plan had fallen apart - only some random notes off one desk. If she was lucky, they'd be useful to Zero. If not... She had a report to give.

If anyone would believe it...

Once he got past the superhuman soldiers in the basement, the merely mortal guards up above posed little challenge. He was over the wall and vanishing into the darkness of the city at night in short order.

The oddly-dressed girl, for her part, was very quick to use her teleport, first to the top of the wall, then into an alley, then a rooftop, then another alley.

From what she'd learned about her tools, that would be enough that tracers would be thrown off. Now she just had to verify no physical ones were successfully planted on her. A nice, quiet alley was the perfect place for a private inspection before she moved back to base...

While she was fiddling with her gear, she got the feeling she might not be ENTIRELY alone in this alley. A feeling confirmed quite quickly by a gravelly voice coming from somewhere behind her. "Nice night for a stroll, don't you think?"

Immediately, Kallen turned around to face the man.

"... Surely you've got better things to do than tracking down random girls," she declared.

"Random girls aren't as interesting as trained infiltrators and I don't like it when someone else ruins my work."

"I could say the same about you. I had my orders, you know."

Kallen took a more defensive stance.

"The daughter of a wealthy nobleman's family who is supposedly anemic was given order to infiltrate a heavily guarded manor and has access to teleportation magic and martial training. Maybe I've learned something useful tonight after all."

"You're probably not much different! Somehow, I don't think you do this all day and night either!"

Kallen glared at Batman... However, she did not move to attack.

"I'm warning you this time. Don't get in my way again."

"Shouldn't I be asking that of you?"

Kallen's glare was... Pretty strong, all given.

While she spoke, Batman faded into the darkness, and suddenly Kallen found herself speaking to an empty alleyway.

Party time and more [Action]

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