Party time and more [Action]

[idkmybffalfred]

[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.

Comments

[genuine_human]

Batman would notice a small space behind the grand staircase at the center-front of the room. If he slips through the space, he would notice the wall and wallpaper over it. To the untrained eye, there is little that is suspicious with the sight, but to Batman, he might notice even in the dark that the colors on one part of the wall are off from the others. It's a secret door and behind it is a set of stone stairs that lead downward into the basement.

[gothamsknight]

After some poking around, Batman found the trick to opening the secret panel and slipped through it. Time to see what "The Major's" secrets really were...

[hair_dress_accent]

As the panel opened and Batman moved through it, a shadow that seemingly wasn't there a second ago shifted. The form wore a large, claw-like device on one forearm, and a black uniform.

While it was good for Kallen that this masked shadow had noticed a path of his own... She couldn't have him grabbing the information she was coming here for.

For now, however, she simply followed, several steps behind, each step quieted by careful movement - hoping not to draw his attention.

[genuine_human]

Once Batman climes down the staircase and through the basement, he would enter Millennium's laboratory. The laboratory is a wide, winding hallway without walls, but steel bars lining through the pathway. Batman would come across multiple desks and tables with several notes scattered about. Inside the cages are numerous operating tables with yet more notes scattered below them. The entire floor seemed to be covered with paper. Further in, they would notice corpses hanging from the air by the nooses around their necks. They have signs hanging from their necks detailing patient information. This isn't the end of it. There's much more to be seen. The smell of decay mixed with various different chemicals linger in the air and they only grow stronger further into the laboratory.

[gothamsknight]

Batman stopped in his tracks when he realized what he was looking at. He had been expecting some hidden filing cabinets with orders, maybe a weapon smuggling operation at most, but this...

In the silence, he heard the slightest ruffle of cloth and a tiny creaking of the stairs. Someone had followed him down here! He grabbed a batarang from his belt as he spun around to see how in over his head he was.

[hair_dress_accent]

... If there was one thing Batman was NOT expecting to see... A girl half his age, obviously as thrown off by what she was seeing as he was, would probably qualify nicely.

However, the woman raised her claw, obviously ready to fight... If that was what he decided to do.

[gothamsknight]

Woman? Ha! The girl raised her claw. Her outfit wasn't even remotely similar to The Major's, though, AND she appeared to be someone from the party. Some nobleman's daughter or something, he'd look into it when he got out of this. "Put that away and get out of here before you hurt yourself. This is no place for children."

[hair_dress_accent]

Kallen looked directly at this oddly-dressed man, but did not lower her weapon

"So you're the other one in the rumors, then. Don't get in the way of my collecting some evidence, and we'll be fine."

She didn't move, however. Better to hide her ace in the hole until it was time to use it. The evidence here... She had to gather it. The potential value for the Black Knights here was beyond immense.

And if that meant a fight, so be it.

[gothamsknight]

"You're not even listening to me. You have no idea what you're getting into down here."

He spun around to continue looking around this...dungeon. He had to figure out what this place was for, but somehow doubted this girl was gonna go home. He had a feeling the most he could hope for was her staying out of his way. That she even got down here was a testament to her skill.

[hair_dress_accent]

"You mean what I've already gotten into," Kallen corrected, walking for the desks first, to start figuring out which notes to grab. Anything with images, of course, would be ideal...

[genuine_human]

Without warning, a group of men charges in through the laboratory doors and immediately begins firing a rain of bullets at Batman and Kallen. The men are all clad in the same Teutonic-styled armor as the guards above. They are soldiers of Millennium that have caught wind of the break-in from the two.

[gothamsknight]

Oh look, men with guns.

No way that many men in heavy armor can move silently down a staircase quickly. Batman spun and threw a pellet at the ground a second before the gunfire started. The pellet exploded into a cloud of dense, opaque smoke, through which the dark knight was able to make his escape down a side passage. He needed to spread them out and take them out one by one.

[hair_dress_accent]

Kallen, on the other hand, took a much simpler tack - namely, diving behind a desk to buy herself a second's cover, grabbing any paperwork that passed her open hand and stuffing it in a pocket.

Hopefully, most of them would go after Batman, leaving her to break down the others, point by point.

[genuine_human]

The soldiers stopped as both Kallen and Batman hid themselves from their range of fire. They continued down the path with their guns never being lowered. These guards were prepared for just about anything that could have happened. In fact, both Kallen and Batman may notice that their reflexes are a lot quicker than the ones of those patrolling the manor. If they give the guards even the slightest opportunity to shoot, then they will do so.

[gothamsknight]

Then he couldn't give them an opportunity. The moment the guard popped around the corner, A gas powered grappling hook fired from the shadows and latched itself neatly onto his gun, allowing Batman to get a good chance at pulling the gun out of his hands, or even just pulling him over entirely. Supernatural strength or not, the guard only weighed as much as a human being.

[hair_dress_accent]

Meanwhile, Kallen glanced out... Aha. They were blocking the stairs... But not thinking to watch behind them. There was no way to get past them, so no point in watching them from behind.

Until she suddenly stood up, and seemingly disappeared, triggering Hakkyoukushiki to step directly behind the guards. Only a split second, but it was more than enough to slam her claw arm directly into the back of one guard's head with enough force to assuredly knock him out - then disappear again before they turned around, moving to another corner then stepping to one side side to get cover.

Creating disarray was the first step. She didn't have any backup she was willing to count on, but the opponents had to split between two foes - that would be more than enough to handle them nicely.

[genuine_human]

The guard released his grip on his gun, feeling that it wasn't worth it to keep it. Instead, he drew for a knife hidden just beneath the cloth over his armor. With what appeared to be near superhuman speed, the guard ran towards Batman, ready to slice him through with it.

Hakkyoukushiki indeed struck at the guard's head, toppling him, but it did not knock him out. Instead, he aimed his gun at Kallen midway into the fall and fired a shot. Before landing, he quickly caught himself with one hand and picked him up before letting his guard down even more. The last two others that were near the guard that had been hit continued their march towards the intruders.

Normal means don't seem effective against these knights.

[gothamsknight]

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.

[hair_dress_accent]

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.

[genuine_human]

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.

[gothamsknight]

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.

[hair_dress_accent]

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...

[genuine_human]

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.

[gothamsknight]

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

[hair_dress_accent]

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.