Animal Instincts [Batman]

[vixen]

Players: Batman and Vixen
Location(s): Gotham City
Plot Summary: Vixen and Batman go after some exotic animal smugglers in Gotham.

Camera bulbs flashed, Mari paused in front of them, moving her hands to her hips. Shifting her weight from hip to hip, the statuesque model gave the camera men what they came for, then pivoted and walked off stage to change costumes. The designer had forecast bright colors for the new season, and Mari stood out in...bright orange. The irony was . The proceeds for the star-studded event went to charity.

As she detached from the runway, she began to change costumes. Pausing, she saw women whispering over by the door. They were careful not to let anyone else hear their conversation--to the point of covering their mouths from any lip readers.

Mari narrowed her eyes at them, the Tantu Totem sliding around her neck.

Owl

Harnessing ability the best listener in the cosmos, Mari was able to pick up their conversation.

"...can't believe that they were so cheap..."

"...Best way to get that fur coat I've been wanting..."

"...straight to the taxidermist..."

"...tons of animals, from abroad...in the warehouse..."

Mari stood, struggling to get her anger under control. She disrobed, sliding her Totem back around her neck, and fled, ignoring the whimpering please from the runway organizer.

Mari was in Gotham, and the caped crusader was the guardian of this city.

************************

It wasn't hard to find Batman, cover of darkness or no, the sound of bone breaking and the anguished cries of the repentant filled her ears. Harnessing the power of flight, she glided through the air, and landed nearby. It was always hard to gauge when the male heroes wanted help. Some preferred to handle their criminals their way. Mari decided to only intervene if Batman needed her assistance. Mari tilted her head to the side and watched in silence. These thugs didn't stand a chance. It was almost masochistic, the way they threw themselves at Batman, each thinking that they would be the one to defeat him.

[Batman]

“I swear. The whole lot of you are masochists.” This was shaping up to be a good night. Dick had been able to successfully put an end to quite a few street crimes while Damian and Stephanie handled gang violence in the East End. Over all this was shaping up to be a relatively quiet night. The only legitimate villain he had run into was Two-Face and it had only taken one knock out punch to take him down. Dick was looking forward to an early night. He’d probably get back home around two or two-thirty and get a good night of sleep before waking up at 9 for a benefit tomorrow. Since Dick was the face of Wayne Enterprises he had to play the part. He had figured that Bruce would at least take over the company again now that he was back but he had yet to do that. He guess he could understand why. It made no sense for Bruce Wayne to reassume an identity he despised if he didn’t need it. He was having too much fun with Lucius. “You all rush me with the same moves every single time like you enjoy getting your teeth smashed.”

6 men were currently surrounding Batman in an alleyway in The Narrows. They were mafia members assigned to make a hit on a former thug under witness professional. The man had decided he wanted out of the gang life due to him having a newborn daughter. He had snitched on the mob in order to avoid jail time as well. So six men had been sent to kill him. What they didn’t know was that the man wasn’t here. Dick had already arranged for him to be sent out of the city with the help of James Gordon. Yet here he was beating these guys up because trying to kill someone was wrong even if they weren’t where you thought they were. Besides the team he was currently fighting was considered to be the best hit squad Black Mask could conjure these days so they needed to be off the streets too. “Shut up! Shut up!”

[/color] A grin crossed Dick’s face. His chit-chat had a similar effect to Bruce’s intimidation. Yet instead of causing paranoia and fear it caused infuriation and irrational thinking. Either way it got the job done. “No.” Dick said in a solemn tone as he raised a gloved hand and caught the screaming man’s punch. “I’ll never shut up.”

He turned and grabbed the man by the shoulder and twisted him to face another thug behind him. The man held a baseball bat and though he had been swinging at Dick’s back he soon found himself swinging at his comrade. The baseball bat struck the man on the shoulder and the sound of bone breaking echoed through the alleyway. Dick winced. “Your level of incompetency is appalling.” He stepped towards the man and the thug swung his wooden bat again. Dick ducked under the swing and stiff-armed him in his solar plexus. The man doubled over and as he gasped for air Dick nodded him out with an elbow strike to the back of his neck. Sensing that there was only one man left Dick turned to the mouth of the alleyway. The last thug stood there with a gun in his hands yet his arms were shaking and Dick could tell that he didn’t even have confidence that he could make the shot. All he needed was to make one small push and this fight was over. “Go ahead. Shoot me. But beware. I’m vengeance…I’m the nigh-hey don’t run!” The man turned to sprint and only found himself tripped up by a grapple hook that had suddenly tangled up his feet. “I need to arrest all of you because killing is bad. I’m serious.”

As Dick was tying the men up he finally acknowledged Vixen’s presence. “I was really hoping to get a good night’s sleep.” was all he said. Knowing Vixen and her M.O. he had a feeling he was about to be guilt tripped into doing something ridiculous. [/blockquote]

[vixen]

"You? A good night's sleep?" Mari arched an eyebrow in disbelief. Batman seemed to be everywhere, all the time, and Mari had long held the suspicion that he never slept. Walking forward, she stood underneath the dimming bulb of a stray light in the alleyway, admiring Dick's handiwork.

"Impressive." she purred. Then her eyes gave off that reflective glare seen in cats as she remembered her mission. "This isn't a social call. I'm in town on business, and I got wind of an exotic animal trafficking ring that isn't far from here." Mari settled her hands onto her hips, pressing her lips together tightly. "What I want to know, is why this ring is still functioning--and why you and your bat-crew haven't put a stop to it yet?" Animal rights was a particular sore spot with Mari. She was a vegan, eating no animal byproducts (she had protein shots given to her regularly to keep up her strength), because she had been inside the mind of several different animals. She refused to model fur garments, and her bone jewelry that held her totem was taken from an already dead mammal.

"And since you're clearly done here..." Mari gestured to the tied up thugs. "...there's no time like the present to break up the exotic animal party." Animals deserved to be in their own, natural habitat. Undomestic animals could turn vicious, and would never unlearn their habits acquired in the wild, no matter how pretty they would look behind a cage. This was Batman's jurisdiction, so she would defer to his judgement on this--but she sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to go after the criminals alone. It was always nice to have back-up.

[Batman]

“Yes. A good night’s sleep.” Why was that so hard to believe? Dick needed his sleep like everyone else. Contrary to popular belief even Bruce Wayne slept. The man just wasn’t willing to admit it. Alfred had often spiked their coffee and tea enough times until the dynamic duo had realized that rest was an integral part of fighting crime. It was a lesson they hadn’t wanted to learn but had eventually learned well. The subtle change in Vixen’s eyes along with her conversational tone made Dick sigh in frustration. “Wonderful.” He muttered under his breath. This was a testament to the fact that Batman was someone who was approached by everyone. Did Bruce go through all this trouble? He wasn’t sure; he was guessing that Bruce was just better at blowing people off. It was a skill Dick didn’t have. While Dick knew who Vixen was they had very limited interactions. Which meant that she felt she was entitled to recruit him whether they were friends or not. It was either a testimony to how Vixen thought the world worked or how the world thought Batman worked.

It was most likely both.
“An animal traffic ring?” Dick questioned skeptically. He knew exactly what she was talking about but it wouldn’t hurt to pretend he didn’t. Dick was a busy man and Gotham City literally never slept. He was going to put all of his energy into handling the animal traffic ring once he reduced the number of missing persons in Gotham City in half. He knew that most of them were probably kidnapped in some type of child slavery scheme. To him that was more important than an animal traffic ring. Yet after saying that he quickly realized that Batman wasn’t supposed to be the one out of the loop. Better to make sure Vixen knew he was in the loop and be honest as to why he wasn’t getting involved in that particular business…yet. “We haven’t put a stop to it because actual human beings are being kidnapped. White Shark has decided that his little venture is profitable but he’ll soon drop it once he realizes it’s not worth the trouble. If he doesn’t we’ll stop him but for now I’m focusing on saving the lives of sentient young children.”

Dick sighed and glanced at Vixen and then at the men and then at Vixen again. “She’s got you whipped man.” One of the conscious thugs. Another laughed. This was not the reputation that Batman needed. “Fine.” He wasn’t happy about this at all. He lifted up his grapple gun and fired it at the roof that Vixen was standing on. He pulled himself through the air and landed next to her. “Do you know anything about this case or did you hear it through the grapevine? If I wind up having to convince Oracle to pull up all the hard data on this case then I’m going home.” Dick knew that White Shark was in charge and that the trafficking was near the East End docks. Yet since it was a priority case he didn’t no anymore than that.

[vixen]

Vixen smirked, her light brown eyes flashing with audacity.

"Of course I do. They're near the pier. Easier to transport the animals by water, than by airplane." This, she could only assume. She had heard it through the grapevine, but it was a solid case. Models might be spoiled, angular angst machines, but when they bragged, they told the truth. "I'm more concerned as to why this particular case has been overlooked, by both you and the Oracle, and shoved to the back of the pile. Animals share this Earth, and deserve justice too." This wasn't the time for a lecture, and Mari had no right to tell Dick how to run his city. He didn't tell her how she should operate in Africa, did he?

Turning away, she jumped clear off the building, extending her long arms.

Hawk.

The wind seemed to carry her as she glided through the air effortlessly, using the impeccable flight of one of Nature's finest aerial hunters. She knew Batman would be close behind. Towards the Gotham Pier she flew, landing nearby, the abandoned warehouse pitch black.

[Batman]

Dick was more than a little annoyed that Vixen was attempting to tell him how to run his city. Dick was against all crime in this city but things had to be prioritized. He had been raised in Gotham and had been exposed to the evil that men were capable of committing. After spending his nights being forced to choose saving a snitch’s life rather than putting an end to a sexual assault or the other hard decisions he had to make he wasn’t about to be lectured by Vixen. He respected her but he was already forced to choose which human lives deserved to be saved every night. He wasn’t about to factor animals into the equation. If Vixen wanted him to help he would. He just wasn’t in the mood to be lectured about it. He’d ask Oracle to keep an eye on animal trafficking and to filter those cases through to Oxyn. He was sure she wouldn’t mind handling those cases. The woman was a fierce fighter and was satisfied as long as she got to throw a few punches. He would help Vixen tonight but this was the last time he’d work with someone to put an end to something as mundane as this.

He knew Bruce wouldn’t.

“It’s been overlooked because I have better things to do with my time than try and save animals when people’s lives are threatened in Gotham City ever night..” Dick replied coolly. “I don’t have the luxury of focusing on exotic animal trade when I already have to choose between saving rape victims and crippled war veterans. Don’t tell me how to run my city.” He couldn’t help but feel surprised with what he had just said. It seemed like something Bruce would say except harsher. Yet Dick wasn’t taking it back. He just knew that had sounded unlike him. Dick watched as Vixen glided off though he had to admit he felt more than a little guilty about what he said. He watched her leave before he patched in a call through Alfred. He would need a favor.

----

Dick had been forced to dangle Tony off of a clocktower to convince him to spill the beans about White Shark. Eventually the man had talked and while Dick was a little late to the docks he had everything he needed to know. This situation seemed to be a bit more disastrous than he had first assumed. Apparently White Shark had been experimenting with genetic manipulation as well. Dick was probably going to run into purple tigers and green lions tonight. It’d be an interesting experience to say the least. A pointless one but it would still be interesting. Dick was still on the fence about dealing with exotic animal trading when he knew his help could be needed elsewhere. Yet he had to admit that if they put an end to this tonight they could cripple White Shark’s empire. People rarely made a profit in the animal trade distance. It got worse before it got better and you had to be an expert before you truly turned a large profit in the business. If Dick managed to put a massive dent in this than it was likely not to happen again.

“They’ll be here any minute.” Dick reported as he approached Vixen. ”The plan is to drop the animals off in the warehouse and leave them in their cages overnight. The next day some of White Shark’s men will help move the animals to the local zoo where they’ll be kept until they’re auctioned off a week from now.” The corruption of Gotham City even spread to the local zoos apparently.

[vixen]

Vixen shuddered as Batman relayed to her White Shark's motive. "What these...idiots don't realize..." she spat, venomously, reaching unconsciously into the Red, her teeth elongating into the fangs of the cobra."...is that these animals can't ever be tamed. If they were ever accidentally released, they could kill someone." There were plenty of those stories every day. The expensive leopard cub you purchased grew up, and took a big chunk out of your face, trying to play with you. You can't tame the animal instinct to kill, to be free just by waving your credit card. Her fangs quickly retracted when she remembered herself. Sometimes, having this power meant accessing too much animal instinct.

There was something else that Dick had said, which had angered her. "So, the Gotham Zoo has a hand in this...isn't that a municipal department? If the Zoo is involved, then so is the Mayor, and your city council." she concluded, probably jumping to conclusions. "Lack of funding...and some outside intimidation on White Shark's part would also do the trick."

She folded her arms, adopting a look that was fury and sadness combined. Circuses and Zoos rarely treated their animals fairly. She wouldn't even start on animal testing labs. They trained them, agonized them, starved them until they complied, then forced them to do cheap tricks while feeding them tainted feed or meat they got on the cheap. If America wasn't so deeply invested in human freedom and blatantly ignorant of animal rights, she would have destroyed them all long ago. As it was, she was a hero. She enjoyed the satisfaction of thwarting the best laid plans of crooks and criminals, for humans and animals alike.

"I want to thank you for helping me with this." she said finally, after she concluded her thoughts.

Bat (She thought it was appropriate)

Harnessing the echolocation of the flighty nocturnal beast, she easily located the animals in their cages. Most of them were asleep, but the men that were guarding them had guns...not filled with bullets, but with tranquilizers. They didn't mean to kill any possible intruders. They meant to keep them fresh enough to feed to the animals. The thought repulsed Mari, and her concentration with the morphogenetic field was broken.

There are animals everywhere," she said. "There seems to be some sort of laboratory in the basement, though. They don't have bullets in those guns, Dick. Tranquilizers, for the animals, and for any people who try and stop them."

The quicker they moved, the quicker those animals would be back on their way to their homes.

[Batman]

Dick hit a button on his belt and the lens in his cowl switched to eco-location. As he stood on the roof overlooking the warehouse he came to the same conclusion that Vixen had around the same time she did. It wasn’t difficult to figure out exactly what was going on here. The men here were armed with tranquilizers. This meant one of two things. Either they didn’t have the stomach to kill or they had gotten trigger happy with the animals before. The fact that all of them had tranquilizers also meant that the animals were prone to escape or untamed. Either way the men would be relatively easy to take down. It’d be the animals they’d have to worry about. Dick wasn’t too fond about grappling with tigers so he was assuming that Vixen’s own skills would come into account with that side of the equation.

At the end of the day this mission wouldn’t be too difficult. He was confident that he could handle these goons no problem. Vixen could handle all the paperwork. It was her mission after all. Dick would stick around long enough to find the man who was responsible for tugging the strings then he’d be gone. To him it was more important to find out the criminal masterminds and mobsters responsible for all of this. Once he took them out then he was confident that this whole animal slave trade business would come to a rapid end. Vixen could take care of the rest. It wasn’t as if she would have much to deal with once Dick was through with this situation anyway. He had coordinated with Gordon for so long that the man knew what to expect if Dick dropped him a call. Gordon could have the right men here in an hour or so once they were done with this. Vixen could stand guard until then.

If one thing could be said about the GPD and their respective departments is that they got as little sleep as Batman. As corrupt as the department was there were all kinds of crimes that required each department to have a few men ready to respond. Gordon could help get these animals out of the warehouse fast enough. “I see them too.” Dick said with a nod. He turned to Vixen and did something Bruce never did. He grinned. “See if you can keep up.” Dick turned and jumped off of the building. His cape flared into the wings of a bat and he was falling through the air. As he swung down towards the skylight of the warehouse he wrapped his cape around himself and slammed through the glass headfirst. His cowl protected his face from any cuts and he held his hand above his mouth to protect it from any shards of glass. The one thing about this outfit was that he was able to pull even more impressive feats that his relatively unprotected Nightwing armor would have prevented him from doing.

Dick landed on top of a man arms first. The sheer force of his weight and momentum pushed the man to the ground. He had been lucky to make a hit like this. Flying through the air, crashing through glass and then hitting a man was a seamless move he had perfected over a decade. He allowed himself a proverbial pat on the back as he flipped off the man’s prone form and landed on the ground. A nearby thug spun around and wildly fired at Dick but by the time he did he was already gone. The second thug desperately searched for Grayson and just as his anxiety and fear reached its peak Dick stepped behind him and put him in a sleeper hold. The man fell to the ground and Dick dodged into the shadows yet again as the men quickly gathered to the center of the warehouse near the fallen glass.