16326/Gotham's Night of Mayhem: Streets in Chaos

Gotham's Night of Mayhem: Streets in Chaos
Date of Scene:	31 May 2024
Location:	Columbia Point, Burnley
Synopsis:	Riots in Gotham. Gwen leaves the safety of Wayne Manor as Ghost-Spider and runs into Batgirl quelling the violence. But is it a distraction for something even more sinister?
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Spider, Batgirl (Cain)

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Ghost Spider has posed:
Damian's departure is bittersweet.

Gwen had only been planning to stay for the weekend, and it's the second night. On one hand, she hadn't been planning to sleep with Damian _either _ of the nights, so even getting one with him _far_ exceeded expectations. On the other, now that it happened, trying to sleep in his bed without him feels... wrong.

But Damian had work to attend to. He's a Wayne, after all, and presumably that work sometimes keeps him up at night. She wasn't so needy as to beg him to stay or ask to go with him -- at least she still had that much of her dignity left.

What she _needed_, she realized as she laid there, staring up at the ceiling, was to go bust the Bodega Bandit. Or fight Vulture (it's almost too bad he's in lockup after the run-in with Wonder Woman). Hell, she'd even take Bebop and Rocksteady as a villain of the week, at this point. Anything to remind herself that she's not just some star-struck, love-sick ninny. She's freaking SPIDER-WOMAN. Well... Ghost-Spider. But STILL.

So really, the timing couldn't be better when a text notification on her phone went off. With her web-spinners safely tucked away in her backpack, she actually had to get out of bed to check it, but it was Glory.

GLORY> Girl. Aren't you at Wayne Manor with Billionaire McHotness?

GWEN> Yeah. Why?

GLORY> You're gated off, right? Like... protected?

GLORY> <livestream link>

Gwen quickly pulls up a live stream, her eyes widening as the chaotic scene unfolds on her screen. Gotham is in turmoil, and the usually dark and brooding city is now alight with the chaos of a widespread street riot. The news anchor's voice is strained, barely keeping up with the flood of updates pouring in.

"Tonight, Gotham City is under siege as a series of coordinated crimes erupt across the city. Reports indicate that the chaos began shortly after sundown, with multiple gangs launching simultaneous attacks on key locations. The GCPD is stretched thin, struggling to contain the violence that has spilled into the streets."

The screen flickers to footage of looters smashing storefronts, cars ablaze in the background, and civilians running in terror. Police sirens wail in the distance, their flashing lights casting eerie shadows across the urban battlefield.

GWEN> OMG. Yeah. I'm safe. Thanks for checking.

GLORY> Stay safe. Check in, okay?

GWEN> I will. Thanks, Glory.

But Gwen was already out of bed, throwing off the sheets, and getting dressed with her Ghost-Spider suit under her clothes. Damian's motorcycle keys were still on his dresser, and she knew where he parked, so she scribbed out a quick note in case he came back from work earlier than expected.

"I needed some air, so I borrowed the bike. I hope you don't mind. I'll be back soon."

And then she was gone, riding out the front gates of Wayne Manor, with no idea if she could actually get back in without him.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
This was a Tuesday night in Gotham.

Not literally. But really, they dealt with a level of insanity the other cities didn't see. There must be something in the water because all the freaks seemed to center in Gotham City. From costumed clowns with chaotic tendencies to feline themed thieves with a heart of gold. Throw in a little bit of psychosis in the form of serial killers who marked their bodies with a line for every person they killed and a dash of the warmest heart using the coldest of weapons. All together it spelled G-O-T-H-A-M City.

The Bat crew were very good at what they did. And the average criminals in the city might be in their badass personas when facing off with the PD but when one of the Bats showed up? They tended to quickly settle down after a few of them fell to the skills of the vigilante protectors of this city. And they didn't have to gang up for normal street folks. Sometimes they might go in as a pair but they could also work individually.

This was likely why Damian had to disappear early that night. Not that Gwen would know it at this point. Hopefully.

Then there was Cassandra. She was out on patrol, doing what she always did. She was able to take down two of the groups that were close to each other. The first group had basically given up as soon as she landed in their midst in her costume, the cape falling around her as she prepared to take care of business. The costume and the myth worked wonders for intimidation. She left them all cuffed and sent for Oracle to have the PD pic them up at their convenience.

The second group about five blocks away? They chose to give fighting a shot. Which was a bad choice, in truth. Batgirl barely broke a sweat as most of them were common thugs. They couldn't cope with her skillset. She was working on getting the flexicuffed thugs into a group and securing them when the call came in to go to another location. It seemed there was another vigilante helping out? Not one of the regular crew. Batgirl was being sent to investigate as well as assist in taking down that next gang if needed.

Her path there was straight, rushing across rooftops, flying across openings, using the grappling gun for gaps that were too far for a single leap. Until she reached her destination.

Ghost Spider has posed:
It's an odd sight.

The closer Cassandra got to her destination, the more people she found webbed to things -- cars, windows, hanging from streetlamps. It's like a giant cave spider got loose and started wreaking havoc on their fair Gotham.

An even odder sight is that white-clad figure sliding, inverted, down a rope-like web to hang in mid-air behind a group of four thugs that are looking for something to throw through a store window.

One of them is just picking up a broken chunk of concrete and testing the weight when the upside down girl speaks up.

"Hey guys, can you not _throw_ the sidewalk? It has enough holes in it, and the maintenance department's _so_ under-funded..."

"WHAT THE HELL?" one of them chimes up as all four turn around to face her, but she just hangs there, hood slightly draping from her mask, her teal ballet flats keeping her steady on the web.

"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" One hand leaves the web-line to do the hole fingers-to-head-explodey-mime. "Government corruption. It's a whole thing. But we all have to do our part. So if you could just put that back where you found it..."

At first, it's like they don't know what to do. She's not a Bat. Bats don't talk that much. But after a few seconds, they raise their crude blunt instruments and charge her.

"Or... you could do that."

And what happens next is... well... it's just Gwen blowing off steam, really. It's not meant to be efficient. It's not even meant to be effective. It's _meant_ to be comical... and maybe even a little mean. But she's doing it to four men that charged a lone girl just 'hanging out' by herself. So, really, they have it coming.

She flips off the line, webs a club, flips over the group, jerks the club so it hits one of the other guys in the face, webs another guy's butt, jerks him backwards, flips again, yanks another guy so that he trips over that guy _and_ hits another one with his crowbar...

"Oh! Careful! You shouldn't run with sticks... OW! That looked like it hurt... Ooop, nope! Missed me. Sorry... hey... you guys aren't wearing masks like the other guys!" Gasp. "Maybe you should have worn a mask. I mean, it wouldn't have made you fight any better, but at least you'd have looked cooler..."

It's straight up slapstick, and she's taking her time.

But when she's done with them? They're all webbed up, back to back, around a light pole, and groaning from near-unconsciousness.

"I need to come to Gotham more often. You guys are great."

And then she walks over and picks up that chunk of sidewalk and carries it back to where it came out of, placing it back in its hole.

"There. See?" She points. "How hard is that? Every little bit helps."

Then she's looking around, trying to figure out where to go from here. _She_ didn't have an Oracle talking to her.

"Hey, any of you guys know if there was any kind of a plan to this mess? I sort of jumped into the middle, and now I'm not sure which way to go..."

Groans. All she gets are groans.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
What the hell?

While the words aren't something that Cassandra would use ever, the sentiment is very much what is going on in her head as she worked her way along. She'd spotted a few people, prepared to engage, only to find they were webbed to the lampposts and not going anywhere. The next group seemed to be bound to a heavy mailbox that was locked in place with bolts into the concrete so they weren't going anywhere. The next were on a telephone pole but in a stacked group. If she didn't know better, she'd think someone stacked them like a totem pole on purpose. But who would do that in a fight?!

Of course, she had heard of Spider-Man. Even some of the others that ran around in NYC. But they didn't have any spider themed heroes in Gotham. Not normally. She didn't even think they had any spider themed anything. Which was odd, as creepy and gothic as Gotham City could be. With all the bats and black cats and craziness, it would've fit right in. Wait, had there been one before? She sort of remembered a Tarantula? Maybe?

Then she came upon the perhaps that strangest thing she had ever seen. And in this city? That was saying something. She watched the fight--if one could call it that--with amusement. While the woman didn't have a martial arts background, it was obvious she knew how to use her skills in a formidable way. And a hilarious one. Cassandra found herself smiling and actually brought up a hand at one point to stifle a giggle. In that moment, she looked around just to make sure no one saw her slip of character. What would Batman think?!

When the fight was completed, she fired her grapple and swung out into nothingness, allowing the line to release rapidly so she was approaching the ground. A quick stop of the line and release, a push on the retract, while she was ten feet up. By the time she landed in a crouch, the grapple was back to standard and stowed at the back of her belt. The motion of that was hidden by the cape flowing around her, spread out on the ground with the creepy tattered edges. Then she rose to full height, strong stance, shoulders back and cowled head looking at the men she'd captured then to the Ghost Spider in white.

No words spoken. Just that inhuman mask with the ragged lower portion attached with ragged, obvious stitches, as she stared at the stranger to Gotham.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"Gonna go ahead and take that as a big nope on the plans..."

Gwen's already reaching into her suit-pocket-hammerspace and pulling out her phone from somewhere. Then she's standing in the middle of the street, white mask lit up by the faint glow of the screen (obviously not at ALL threatened by anything she's seen thus far.. and _seriously_ trusting that Spider-sense).

And if one needed any more evidence that she had _no_ formal military or soldier-adjacent training, they need look no further than the fact that she just stands there, head buried in her freaking device like a Gen-Z.

"I'm gonna guess..."

Now she's turning herself around, pointing the phone so she can see the map rotate to know which way she's going.

And then that black cape flutters down, jerks to a stop, drops, crouches, and stands.

And when Cassandra stands? She's looking into Spider-mask-eyes that are twice the size of normal.

"OH MY GOD! BATMAN!" Total fangirl.

Pause. Eyes narrow a little.

"...You're a _lot_ smaller than I expected you to be."

Pause.

"And scarier." Hands go up. "Not in a bad way."

Blink.

"Wait! Batwoman? Batgirl? Is there more than one? Am I screwing this up?"

Hand to chest.

"I'm Ghost-Spider, so I get it. Everybody thinks I'm Spider-Woman. But I'm not. I mean.. like.. _technically_ I am, but she was Spider-Woman first.. and so I had to kind of... come up with something else."

Beat.

"I hope you're not mad."

She thumbs back to the bad guys. Or maybe the webbing. The webbing was everywhere.

"It dissolves."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Good to know the whole thing worked. For that was part of the mystique of the Batman. It seemed like he was everywhere at once. And at one time, that was true. It was him alone trying to stem the tide of crime in the city. But then came his ward, Dick Grayson. The first Robin. After him came the first Batgirl, the woman who would become Oracle. Though Barbara Gordon still got out in her Batgirl uniform at times, which led to a bit of a fun time on the comms until they figured it all out. Then as Dick grew up, there was Jason Todd. Then he was killed--but he got better later--though Batman hadn't known he survived. Second Robin gone, here came Tim Drake to pick up the cowl as the third. It gave the illusion there was one Batman, one Robin. At all times. Then as each boy had grown into a man, they had taken on their own names. Nightwing, Red Hood. Red Robin (not the burger place!). And now there was a new Robin in the form of Damian. Though he was really aging out too so who knew what would happen.

Cassandra came into the picture while Tim was Robin. Her skills were undeniable. Her dedication to the cause and with the clear line that killing was never going to happen, she fit the crew. Thus she was accepted as Batgirl. And there was a Batwoman as well these days though she was more peripheral. Not really part of the 'family' but someone that was trusted to do what she did in Batman's city. It all combined to make it seem there was one mythic, terrifying figure. When there was really a whole lot of them sharing the responsibilities.

So when she was mistaken for Batman at first, it meant it was perfect. Most fights finished before the bad guys ever knew the difference. They just knew they were beaten up by Batman. Though, there seemed to be no beatings required here. Except Ghost Spider didn't seem to be getting answers. Which would never do in Gotham.

She sure talked a lot. Babbled really. And the way she moved. Batgirl's lenses narrowed the tiniest bit then she put things together. And realized that she was going to be forced to talk. Because if she signed, it was screaming who she was. Normally it was more punching and a question then off she went but with another vigilante here, there was a wrench in the works as the saying went.

"Batgirl." Simple, succinct. She didn't address the webbing though she was glad to hear it would dissolve. They'd have to send people out with here dusters or brooms to try to get rid of it otherwise. That'd be a lot of work.

Then she walked over to one of the thugs, grabbing him by the hair to lift his head up. Gwen had asked for answers but gotten groans. Batgirl was going to be certain they got what the woman wanted. She jiggled the guy's head from her grip in his hair then turned his head toward Ghost Spider. "Answer her questions."

The 'or else' hung in the air unspoken.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Gosh.

It's _really_ hard to read Bat expressions -- Batspressions?

Their eyes don't really move. Compare that to Gwen's mask, which is in a near constant state of little adjustments... widening eyes (both or sometimes just one for an eyebrow-lift), narrowing, blinking... to say nothing of her casual body language, often with one hand on her hip and the other gesturing like two friends waiting on a subway.

But Batgirl doesn't even have a mouth.

Well, obviously she has a _mouth_. She said 'Batgirl.' But Gwen can't _see_ her mouth. Which means no smile. No frown. No tongue-sticking-out.

So... body-language cues and Spider-sense it is. Luckily, she didn't _seem_ angry. At least, not until she walked over and started going all Dirty Harry on one of the webbed guys.

"Oh! Hey! You don't..." Gwen was cringing, but the guy's already talking.

"We... we were all told... when... riot..."

Ghost-Spider's eyes blink, blink. "That's... surprisingly effective. Okay... by who?"

"...Text.."

"What did you do? Sign up for a street-crimes distribution list? Are there like coupons or something?"

More groans.

"Fine. That one was rhetorical. Why here? Why are you at _this_ store? Did you just pick it?"

"...Text.."

"The text told you where to be?"

The guy nods.

"Hey... Batgirl? Just curious... um... is there anything this could be a distraction for? Cause, I don't know how _your_ rogue gallery operates, but ours is _pretty_ freaking predictable..."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
That was easy. She didn't even have to hit him. But it was still early in the conversation. She'd see how well he cooperated as he answered the first question. Batgirl's eyes were focused on the group of webbed up perps. Why? Because she would know if they were lying. She would be able to pick up on anything from them that might give away details they were not sharing. All the little things that had to do with body language that many people would never pick up on.

Until Ghost Spider mentioned coupons. Suddenly that dark cowl was turned fully to her and she learned that the Bat lenses did move. So apparently the lack of expression earlier was the lack of movement on the part of the woman beneath the cowl. For right now, the eyes were wide in surprise as Batgirl was stunned by that question. Probably moreso than the thugs that it was aimed at. She blinked once, very slowly, staring at the Ghost Spider. Then she had to force her attention back to the man she was holding by the hair so she didn't miss anything as he was talking again.

The most helpful part is Batgirl was in contact with Oracle. Who was getting a video feed from her mask as well as all the audio. It was also being recorded for posterity. Thus, she was able to get help as that voice in her air said words she just echoed, like a parrot. "Lots. Coordination by gangs implies gang leadership cooperating with one another. Best guess is one of the crime bosses with multiple gangs answering to them. There are at least fifteen in Gotham City alone. Many possible targets. All cctv and airwaves are being monitored for anything that might give it away." If anyone knew Cassandra, they would never guess this was her after that information drop. Not that it was her drop. She was literally just speaking for Oracle since Ghost Spider didn't have an earpiece.

She gripped the hair tighter. "Phone." Back to monosyllable. She was speaking for herself again. "Now." She would just search him but with all the webbing, she didn't want to get stuck there /with/ the bad guys.

Ghost Spider has posed:
ohmygodtheydomove.

Masked-eye-to-masked-eye, the two women stare at each other, each more shocked than the other for entirely different reasons.

See? This is why there should be superhero conventions.

Not _those_ kinds of conventions.

_Actual_ conventions, where superheroes shared tech and skills and traded business cards and Gwen got to play with all the _really cool stuff_ LIKE THAT MASK.

Hands lift... slowwwwwllly... as she fails to resist the urge to make grabby-fingers...

And then they're back to being serious again.

"Oooookay.. that's a lot of gangs."

The guy stiffened when she pulled his hair, wiggling and straining against the webbing. "POCKET! BACK... BACK POCKET!"

"Ew." Gwen's _immediate_ reaction. "Dude, can you twist... a little more..."

*thwip*

Like summoning it to her hand with the Force, Gwen snags the phone and then hands it to Batgirl using just two fingers on the corner, as if she wasn't wearing gloves.

"Here, but I recommend sanitizing it with rubbing alcohol. Or fire."

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
The phone was taken with less care than it was offered. She did take a moment to tap the screen, being sure to have it in focus for the camera. Once Oracle confirmed the basics including that she should be able to breach the security on it with ease, Batgirl brought the phone over to the man's face. There she let his own features unlock the screen before she moved to the text messages. They wre scanned through for Barbara. Then she tappedin a number onto the phone. A moment later, the phone was in a baggy and disappeared into a compartment on her utility belt. Her next task would be a delivery to Oracle so that she could get into there and find out what she could about the source of the texts. But for now, she had full access to it and everything on it so Oracle was already working her magic. They would know if there were any more targets soon as she traced back to the source then followed the texts sent out from it and what they contained.

But this left Batgirl looking back at Ghost Spider once more as she didn't bother with the men again. It was a waiting game. It shouldn't be more than a minute or two but it was enough that Batgirl felt that awkwardness.

Though she was thinking back to the hands lifting like Ghost Spider had wanted to grab something a moment ago. Only, she had no idea what she had wanted to grab. It wasn't the phone. It had nothing to do with the thugs. Which lead to those lenses narrowing and the brow furrowing in the center as she tried to parse things out while staring at the spider vigilante anew.

She really was strange. Was this what other heroes were like outside Gotham? All chatter and movement and train of thought given form? Or were they more like Batman and the crew, serious and spreading that mystery about themselves? She knew some heroes were open. That confused her even more than anything else. How did they protect those around them if everyone knew who they were? Or did they just isolate entirely?

Random thoughts in her head even as she waited. Because waiting she was used to. Only, she found herself counting the seconds because she suspected her arachnid companion wouldn't be able to deal with the silence for long.

Ghost Spider has posed:
Silence.

The sound of silence.

And sirens. And horns. And all the rest of the city noises.

But, between them?

Silence.

Batgirl had some some things with the phone. And bagged it. And then stashed it.

Aaaaand now she was just staring. At her. Without saying anything.

"...Do you like pizza?"

Seven seconds.

Which, in this exact situation, is honestly pretty good.

"Is there a place to get _good_ pizza in Gotham?"

Damian had picked hot dogs for their first 'date' (even though she didn't know it was a date). So, she was going to take him to get pizza before she left town. Well, before he took her home, anyway. He brought her to Gotham on his motorcycle...

"OH MY GOD. I have to check something..."

Without much warning, Ghost-Spider is a blur of motion. With a quick *thwip*, she's gone from the ground to a ledge faster than Batman could get his grappling hook off his belt (probably.. she kinda hoped she wouldn't have to figure that out the hard way).

"I'll be right back... or you can come..."

She's walking backwards as she's talking, all ballet flats and grace, balancing on the edge of the ledge and taking a step up onto the architecture without even looking.

"I just have to make sure I'm not going to be murdered tomorrow..."

Then she's walking _up_ the wall, which doesn't seem to phase her at all. In fact, neither gravity or the orientation of travel seemed to matter to her. She was as comfortable walking _up_, even backwards, as most people would walk across the street.

"I'm sorry... if you stay, I promise I'll be back.. I want to help. I just..."

She points over her shoulder, then she web-lines to the top edge of the building and flips over onto the roof.

If Batgirl does decide to follow, she's not that hard to keep up with, especially since Ghost-Spider isn't _really_ positive where she's going. She's re-tracing some steps.

"No.. no... no... there!"

Another web-line. Another flip. She scurries up a gargoyle and looks over the street below, and then flops down against it, sighing dramatically with relief.

"Thank goodness."

Below? Not much. Just a row of parked cars that were far enough away that they hadn't been affected by the riots.

Among them, Damian's motorcycle.

Still safe and sound.

Batgirl (Cain) has posed:
Seven seconds was longer than she expected. Perhaps there was hope for the chatterbox that was Ghost Spider. They'd have to see if she might stretch it to ten sometime.

The question of pizza did get a lowering of the chin, the tilt of the head, an almost affirmative nod though not fully because suddenly the woman was freaking out of over something. Which put Batgirl immediately on edge when Gwen tensed, before the even expressed that she needed to check on something. Then she was gone. Just gone. Like a tarantula seemingly having the ability to teleport from one location to the place where its prey rested, that seemed like what Ghost Spider did. She didn't actually teleport, she just moved that fast. She was backwards walking and it was so familiar. No misstep. No fumbles. Perfect placements each time, even when she shifted to up. If there was any doubt who was under the mask, it was gone now. Though perhaps it was just coincidence? Cassandra wasn't even sure she believed in coincidence anymore.

She did follow. Firing a line, coming over the edge of the roof a moment after Ghost Spider. Keeping pace with her across the rooftops though no webbing for her but instead grapple lines. Then suddenly they were stopping. Ghost Spider was looking down at something.

Batgirl moved to the edge of the roof, resting a hand on the wing of the gargoyle as she looked down. At Damian's bike. If there was any doubt it was coincidence, that was gone now.

Yet, she couldn't really say anything. To do so would be to admit they knew each other in some way. That could give away not just Cassandra but everyone around her due to association. It couldn't be chanced. She had suspected as much from the original chattering when she met Ghost Spider and the way she moved but it was all verified now. And it was a secret that Cassandra wouldn't be sharing. Although, she probably should tell Batman. But did the rest need to know? Did Damian? Considering he seemed interested in the woman. Though how interested was he? He was worried about Cassandra being nice. Did that mean he had hopes for Gwen to be more than bed warmer? Yet, it wasn't something Cassandra could ask either because that wasn't the relationship she had with Damian. To be discussing his lovelife. Or any other part of his life really.

Ghost Spider has posed:
"You don't say very much, huh?"

Gwen's leaning against the gargoyle, her hand going to her neck. Another familiar gesture.

"Seems to be a Gotham thing." She pauses, those big eyes shift down and to the side. "Or maybe it's just a _me_ thing," she mutters. "Seems to be happening a lot, lately."

Time with Damian was helping, but the hole in her heart Peter had filled still ached with his absence. Even if she could just... talk to him, it would help. It had been months, and he was one of the few people she knew that knew her whole story. She could be _herself_ around him. Now it was just Angelica and Kevin. Even her dad didn't know.

It's not like things would go back to the way they were with Peter. She slept with Damian, after all. Plus, she... kind of... maybe... possibly... really likes Damian. Like... a lot.

Which feels ridiculous, because he's Damian Wayne. And she's... just Gwen.

"Um."

Her eyes snap back up, and she thumbs over her shoulder, that moment of -- what was it? Ennui? -- over as quickly as it came. She was _supposed_ to be out here clearing her head, not dwelling.

"Shouldn't we be... looking for the rest of the trouble?"

She's already standing, glancing back over her shoulder, that hood shifting a bit to show off her profile as her eyes smile.

"Nice moves, by the way."