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Post by WildKnight on Jan 25, 2021 18:08:33 GMT -5
The man turned back with a smile. "Of course. Just tryin' to entertain a pretty lady on a lonely day." An innocent wink followed. "I've got to check in on my wife... her water could break at any time, you know. Good time for that. Breaking things I mean."
He pulled away and nodded his head... directly in the direction of the gallery where the stone she was here to steal was being held... "Must go. Good luck with the rest of your day."
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 25, 2021 18:31:11 GMT -5
The man turned back with a smile. "Of course. Just tryin' to entertain a pretty lady on a lonely day." An innocent wink followed. "I've got to check in on my wife... her water could break at any time, you know. Good time for that. Breaking things I mean."
Her grip tightened around his sleeve, white-knuckled. "Sure."
He pulled away and nodded his head... directly in the direction of the gallery where the stone she was here to steal was being held... "Must go. Good luck with the rest of your day."
She let his sleeve slip through her fingers and stepped back herself. Selina was rooted to her spot until he had gone around some corner or down some hall. A small chuckle found her, riddled with nerves, and turned into a laugh as she shook her head. "A copycat. Has to be..." There were tons of copycats in Gotham, criminal fans. Even as she told herself that and continued to get the lay of the land with Penguin's notes in tow, she knew she was kidding herself. Selina's gut never lied, especially when it was somersaulting at that very moment.
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 27, 2021 10:08:44 GMT -5
The Gallery where the Eye of Nanda Parbat was kept was dedicated to natural treasures brought to the western world in the wake of the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. How the Bertinellis obtained it was anyone's guess, but Selina knew better than anyone that the world was full of stolen treasures. Pretty much anything old had been stolen by someone at some point, with only the number of "legitimate" sales between then and now being taken into consideration by the blue bloods... and sometimes not even that.
The Eye wasn't even the centerpiece of the exhibit. That honor belonged to a curved sword labeled The Bronze Tiger. The Eye was a large and rather ugly uncut diamond... but on seeing it in person,there was something more. Selina had seen a lot of diamonds, there was something different about the Eye. Something in the shape, the way it refracted light... there was more to this stone than just monetary value. Perhaps that was the reason it had been left uncut. There it sat in its case, she could probably pluck it right now and get away with it, but that wouldn't help her with the other piece she needed...
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 27, 2021 11:52:01 GMT -5
As far as Selina was concerned, everything new was at one point stolen. Something from the blackmarket, a patent that was copied, leaving the inventor in the dust. Nothing was sacred to her, even the precious things lie the uncut diamond nested in its display case. The picture in the paper did not do the unique Eye justice. Now that she was so close to her personal prize, her fingers itched to hold it as the light soaked and caressed perfect, imperfect edges. "Just look at you," she clasped the map to her chest to keep herself from handling the glass. Now that she had a lay of the land, it was time to do some of Oswald's homework.
Navigating the museum's storeroom would take a little more finesse than some well-chosen words and postures. She knew her next item would be guarded. The packing number would help, but she would know if she was getting warm if there were more guards about. She already had her ploy ready in case she was caught. For now, she relied on bulky exhibit pieces getting ready for the floor, such as statues or canvases, as well as large shipping crates to cover her tracks. Surely there had to be some sort of inventory she could review before she caught or before she had to leave, in any case.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 12
Action 1 Thieving 6 (Agility Bonus 3) Split between Move Silently (3) and Hide (3) to snoop around.
Action 2 Intelligence 2 Keeping her eyes peeled for an inventory log.
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge 3 Targeting 2
Equipment Thief's Kit
Health 4 Energy 4
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 27, 2021 16:15:07 GMT -5
The warehouse workers probably worked nights, since moving things around in the museum was done away from the eyes of the public, but security was tricky, perhaps more so than it really should have been all things considered. There was a guard at the desk and two separate staggered patrols. Nothing she hadn't dealt with before, but the timing was tricky. The documents she needed were no doubt on the clerk's desk, right next to the security desk, but since work only happened at night, there was no clerk available currently.
She recognized a few of the guards; former members of Major Crimes when it was Gordon's unit, now fired or given other duties since Flass had taken control. It was hard to tell who was worse. Gordon was all business and no gray areas, but he didn't demand "protection money" and he didn't allow criminals to prey on other criminals. Contrarily, Flass' "street tax" was as bad as the Black Mask's (the latter, of course, Selina did not pay), and Flass readily turned criminal on criminal if it suited him. These guards, Gordon boys, were probably pretty straight laced, so bribery was probably out of the question.
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 27, 2021 23:00:07 GMT -5
Selina pressed her back against one of the large crates and slid to the floor. Gordon's men would recognize Selina if they put eyes on her. If the Eye and the tablet went missing at the hands of the Cat that night, there was a good chance one of the good boys would remember seeing Selina there earlier that day. So, charm, bribery, and blackmail were all off the table. Some old fashioned distraction was in order.
Her green eyes cast about before lighting on a fire alarm box against the wall. That lever was just as tempting as her prize back in the museum exhibit. Staying low and patiently navigating her cover, Selina slinked a path through the gathered inventory and bolted crates. Let's give these boys some air...
She pulled the fire alarm lever.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 8
Action 1 Thieving 6 (Agility Bonus 3) Split between Move Silently (3) and Hide (3).
Action 2 No Action
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge 3 Targeting 2
Equipment Thief's Kit
Health 4 Energy 2
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Post by WildKnight on Jan 28, 2021 15:59:39 GMT -5
The alarm went off and for the most part, the expected happened. The desk clerk and three of the security guards immediately made their way to the exits, but Selina noticed one of them looking around, making sure he was alone, and then heading back into the rows and rows of shelves. He was moving at a frantic pace, as a man who knew he might only have one shot at something but had to act quickly... Selina could relate...
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Post by OurLadyWar on Jan 28, 2021 16:40:05 GMT -5
"Cheeky," she thought to herself. Selina chewed her lower lip, torn between checking the inventory and tailing the frantic straggler. If he was after what Penguin had charged her to find, he certainly would save her some time and steps to get what she wanted. Selina left her cover when she was sure the guards and clerks were gone, but still kept her path obscured and silent to tail the other. If it was a dead end, she could backtrack and snag the information she needed from the inventory log before the rest came back.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 6
Action 1 Thieving 5 (Agility Bonus 3) Split between Move Silently (2) and Hide (3).
Action 2 No Action
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge 3 Targeting 2
Equipment Thief's Kit
Health 4 Energy 1
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Post by dorkknight23 on Jan 28, 2021 17:05:27 GMT -5
Looking down at them, the Batman appraised them as serviceable enough, but unprepared for her; then again, how could anyone be prepared for that felonious feline's catalogue of catastrophic chaos? For men so focused on finding an intruder they did little to look above them. Moving through the warehouse rafters The Bat crept steadily after his quarry, remaining aware of the guard's movements as he did.
======== Health 3/3 Energy 12/12 (i) Regen 6
3 in Ninja to move unseen 3 in Private Investigation to track Catwoman
Def +7 (+2 Toughness, +2 RD, +3 Armor [no 2x damage from firearms/projectiles])
Health 3/3 Energy 6/12 (i) Regen 6
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Post by WildKnight on Feb 1, 2021 8:21:12 GMT -5
The alarm went off, and three guards and a clerk made their way past the Batman's hidden position. They didn't seem to be in a panic, but they weren't hanging around for any heroics either. Moving through a door, he found that from atop the metal walkway he could see much of the warehouse floor, but of course Catwoman wasn't visible from his vantage point. Always the expert sneak, that one. There was someone taking much less care not to be seen, though, a singular guard making his way toward the locked area of the archives. Looking around (but not seeing either Bat or Cat), he withdrew a key that, oddly, wasn't attached to his keyring, and unlocked a smaller caged area, then slipped in.
For Catwoman, it was a moment of choice; to enter the cage she'd have to risk visibility. There was simply no way to get into the cage without exposing herself to a dozen feet of open floorspace.
For Batman, there was no obvious reason for the guard to be entering that cage, and no reason that he could think of that wasn't nefarious
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Post by OurLadyWar on Feb 1, 2021 22:51:15 GMT -5
Staying low and quiet, relying on the shadows and the crates for obstruction, Selina continued tailing this renegade guard. He stopped at a locked cage, but seemed to have his own key. She dropped against one of the large boxes at the end of an inventory shelf and pressed close, rolling slowly on her shoulder to peek around the corner. She wondered if they were both after the same thing. It was beginning to look like Selina would need to tail him. For now, she waited to see what he would leave the cage with, and follow from there.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 5
Action 1 Thieving 5 (Agility Bonus 3) Split between Move Silently (2) and Hide (3).
Action 2 No Action
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge 3 Targeting 2
Equipment Thief's Kit
Health 4 Energy 0
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Post by dorkknight23 on Feb 3, 2021 18:25:16 GMT -5
The Bat watched them file past him, heard the leaden footsteps thundering on the catwalk past his eyes. No sign of her yet, but his focus turned to the guard opening the cage. He looked for a vantage point from above, ideally a dark one, where he could drop down to intercept either anyone leaving the cage or anyone coming to join them. His grapples were state-of-the-art pneumatics, the burst of steam had been reduced the barest hiss, the hooks chemically treated for reduced impact, he had thought of everything. Tried to think of everything.
Years ago, there was a boy falling into a dark cavern. Falling deeper into a darkness away further and further away from his parents' resting. Each memory, each fragment of each moment of the memory, hurt him, but that pain only fueled his determination further. He would become something criminals feared. Something he would find staring back at him at the bottom of the chasm: a silent hunter in the night, a creature feared by that superstitious and cowardly lot. I shall become a bat.
The Bat watched silently in darkness and waited.
======== Health 3/3 Energy 12/12 (i) Regen 6
2 into Acrobatics, +2 from Grapple, to cover the distance 4 into Ninja to do it completely silently
Def +7 (+2 Toughness, +2 RD, +3 Armor [no 2x damage from firearms/projectiles])
Health 3/3 Energy 6/12 (i) Regen 6
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Post by WildKnight on Feb 8, 2021 7:27:39 GMT -5
The man made his way into the cage, unlocking it with keys he definitely shouldn't have had, and stuffed something into a bag that he'd hidden inside his uniform, treating whatever the object was gingerly, as if he were afraid of damaging it. Whatever it was, it was about half an inch thick, six inches wide, and maybe twice as tall. Looking around and seeing nothing, the man made his exit from the cage, but rather than heading toward the stairs, he made his way deeper into the archive.
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Post by OurLadyWar on Feb 9, 2021 11:52:50 GMT -5
Bingo. Selina thought to herself. All she had to do was stay out of sight as she made tracks after him. It's not like there was anyone else in the storage and inventory wing that would see her. Still, she had to stay close to shadow and obstruction to avoid being caught by her current target. Selina had no intention of letting that little mouse scamper far. If he had what she was gunning for, he was actually doing her a favor. Whether she pinched it off him with a well-placed thrash to the head or picked it out of some hideaway he was smuggling it to, it sure beat shuffling around the museum any longer than she needed to. She was hoping to get what she needed from this lout sooner than later. The job was a lot easier as the Cat, when she had all her gear on her. Holding her heels in her hand and sneaking around in her day-to-day was proving cumbersome. The more she thought about it, the more she wondered what would happen on the off-chance she was brought face-to-face with him. If he got away, all ire would lead right back to the Cat's Meow eventually. Selina wondered if there were any antiquated masks in some of this inventory.
===*=== Health 4 Energy 4
Action 1 Thieving 2 (Agility Bonus 3) Split between Move Silently (1) to search the inventory and Hide (1) to duck for cover if she needs to.
Action 2 Intelligence 1 Carefully search the surrounding crates for a mask of some kind.
Modifiers Reflexive Dodge 3 Targeting 2
Equipment Thief's Kit
Health 4 Energy 1
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Post by dorkknight23 on Feb 13, 2021 9:08:28 GMT -5
The object he secreted away, the furtive glances, the Bat narrowed his eyes as he found his first target. He did not want the entire facility stirred into a panic, not yet; panic was just another tool in his utility belt, another weapon to turn against them. He had to do this as quickly and stealthily as his namesake plucking moths out of the night air, the kind of feat he had practiced again and again both in scenarios devised in the cave as well as in these sort of practical field exercises. He entangled the thief and pulled him back up with him to the rafters on his grapple, leaving no time for the full weight of his body to hit the ground or more than an exclamation of shock.
(OOC: If I can't tie him dangling off one of the support beams this panel I'll do it at the start of the next one.) ======== Health 3/3 Energy 12/12 (i) Regen 6
3 into Ninja, +1 from Bolas, +1 from Targeting, +5 entangling attack 3 into Strength, 2 to lift him, 1 for effect (a single "whoosh" pull upward)
Def +7 (+2 Toughness, +2 RD, +3 Armor [no 2x damage from firearms/projectiles])
Health 3/3 Energy 6/12 (i) Regen 6
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