The Taking Of Gotham 123 [Open]

[Deleted]

The train was waiting. 17 muscle bound goons began to clamber down the ceramic stairs that lead to the underground. Each armour-clad henchmen had a duffle bag over their shoulder and an assault rifle in hand, checking every area of the small station that they were now currently flooding. Each man surveyed a position that could pose a possible threat; every goon was dressed in military grade body armour with a smiling face crudely spray-painted onto the back. On their heads they wore plastic face masks, each with a different clown on. The bulkiest of all was a black 7 foot giant of a man, who had his disguised tattooed onto his own. That man went by the name of Punch. He stepped from the stairs last of the group and barked into the darkness.

"Sound off!"

16 voices in unison sounded back to their superior. A variety of words and twisted phrases echoed through the tiled cavern.

"All clear, all good, I got nothin', negative, clear, spotless."

Punch gave a confirming grunt and turned back to the stairs, rifle raised so it pointed the roof as he held it in his enormous right arm. He called back up the stairs.

"Coast is clear boss"

Every man relaxed to their current post and waited the arrival of the boss. Footsteps began to clatter against the staircase, each one began to intensify in volume as the drew closer. The wooden heels of the shoes responsible for the noises then lowered into Punch's vision. White spats emerged covering black and purple two tone shoes. Purple pinstriped trousers could be seen decending the stairs and a pair of white gloved hands, one clutching a silver six-gun. The image grew larger until an faded orange shirt and matching purple tailcoat was the main focus. Finally, a green bowtie; pale white face with crimson red lips and emerald hair, piercing eyes that found their own way through the darkness and a smile that could kill a kitten from 500 yards.

"All aboard" The Joker sneered with a sickly grin as he established himself in the station.

"Your train's waiting boss" Punch commented as he let the rifle fall back into his left hand.

"Nicely done boys! I think this may be our new personal best! A successful heist, plenty of chaos and not one appearance by any of the super douches!" Joker exclaimed in pride to his guys. The men let out an exuberant cheer at their bosses compliments as praise was greatly appreciated, especially seeing as though it was rarely distributed. Suddenly, two groaning bodies that were supposed to be guarding the subway's entrance, plummeted down the stairs and rested on the foot, moaning in pain.

"Ooop! Spoke to soon!" Joker said as he let out a snigger that developed into a full blown roar as himself and the henchmen headed quickly to the parked train.

[jokerforever]

"Going somewhere?"

The clear voice bounced off the concrete walls, seemingly unworried about the armed thugs and of course, the infamous Joker. From the shadows stepped out a dark robed man, young and strong. Unlike his jet black, hooded robe, his gloves were pure white, and from his gloved fingers hung long, sharp, metal claws, gleaming in the low light as if freshly polished. His boots were marked red and steel tipped, and around his neck and waist were large, purple, steel spiked belts. His face was obscurred by shadows, however, making his facial features unrecognizable.

He didn't get to close to Joker and his men, as he had no reason to, he simply watched with his bright, intelligant eyes. After a few moments, a laugh rang out and the man pulled back his hood, revealing his features. Sapphire blue eyes, white hair with maroon tips, and black tattooed streaks just below his eyes. He looked quiet handsome, but at the same time, deadly.

"Forgive me if I stare, you are quite the figure. My name is Scourge, and you are obviously the Joker." His honey glazed voice rang out again in a devious tone. He moved towards the train, blocking their escape route, but made no move to halt their advance, he simply wanted to make his intent clear, and he bowed stiffly at the waist, face lit up with a smile.

[Deleted]

The Joker stopped dead. Someone was questioning him. Someone. Someone, young. Someone handsome. Someone, evil. He could sense it. He didn't know how and he didn't know why but he had a gift, his own little superpower. He could sense evil; and whoever this person was, they radiated it. 

"Yes as a matter of fact" The Joker responded. He was never to be bettered in a battle of witts. "South Escapeville just west of Scott-freeton. And if you don't mind..." Joker and his thugs continued to his train when whomever he sensed moved like a speeding bullet. They leapt through the shadows and landed square infront of him. 

"Who's this clown?" Joker whispered to  Punch as the being began to speak. It was a male voice. Smooth and subtle yet dark and devious, something old Joker liked. The man then removed his dark hood to reveal his head. He was was strange. He was new. He was weird. He was unusual. He was...beautiful. 

"Nice entrance by the way." Joker smiled as Scourge made his bow. He tapped the purple spikes around the kid's neck with the barrel of his revolver. "I can see your a fan"

"As much as I am flattered kid, I gotta ask. Why little old me?"

[jokerforever]

Scourge could tell Joker liked him, just by his expression, and when he tapped the spikes of his purple belt, he didn't even flinch, only chuckled. He was delighted to meet the clown and immediately had an answer to his question, despite being flooded with pride at his praise. Of course it was a nice entrance! He wasn't the type to be sloppy.

"Why you? Because your the most...inspirational criminal in Gotham! Footpads bow to you! Lunatics worship you! Heck, why haven't you won any awards yet? I should build you a shrine." He answered in an enthusiastic tone. He raised a hand and placed it on Joker's shoulder, his smile deepening.

"Your an idol...and my hero. Better then any Batman, in my opinion."

[Deleted]

If Joker's superpower is the ability to sense evil, then Hawkgirl's superpower is the ability to sense trouble. Well, that plus the ability to fly, super strength, super speed, more years of combat experience than most of these people she ends up fighting have been alive, and a strong enough tactical instinct to beat Batman at chess. But trouble is something she can spot a mile away. Literally, actually, because she also has the eyes of a hawk.

Of course, the problem with spotting trouble literally a mile away, is that it takes her a bit to get there. She's not Superman, after all - her movements can't defy the laws of physics. So it isn't until after she sees the group of oddly dressed men and then one more going down into the train station that she arrives on the scene. She's always been one to have to psych herself up before willingly going into a confined space like that, but as much as she hates being underground, she hates criminals even more.

With her path conveniently cleared by the last guy to go down the tunnel, she runs down the stairs unimpeded. Unlike Batman, she doesn't attempt to hide the sound of her footsteps - sneaking around is not her thing. Punching people in the face before they know what hit them is much more her style. She does, however, slow to a stop just before she reaches the point where she'd come out into the open. She knows it's the Joker she's following, she knows that he's a big fan of guns, and while she's less vulnerable to the weapon than humans are they're still better avoided. Again, she's not Superman and is hardly bulletproof. It's just that it'd definitely take more than one.

As she pauses she can clearly hear their conversation. Even from a distance in this echo chamber, her ears are keen enough not to fail her. So, even though the last guy in conveniently took care of the guards by the entrance, she can consider him to be on their side? No problem. Actually, it's probably funner that way...

[Deleted]

"I like you kid. Scourge, you say?" 

As the were talking, Joker's eyes snapped to the mysterious shadow now projected on the stairs. The silhouette grew larger as the figure that was coming down neared them. Joker immediately grabbed Scourge by the hood and through him towards the stairs.

"Be a lamb and kill whatever comes through that gap. Rocko, Biggles, Wheezy; give the kid a hand. The rest of you to work!" 

The three henchmen that Joker had stated ran immediately to Scourge's side, weapons raised. They didn't really know who the new guy was but if the boss trusted him, so did they. And even if he didn't Joker had given him the perfect test of loyalty. The Clown Prince and his remaining guys began throwing the duffle bags into the carriages of the train. Not bothering himself with the events taking place outside, Joker heard talking and the beginnings of a scuffle. He lent his head out of the open doors of the subway train to see Scourge locked in combat with what appeared to be Hawkgirl. He placed his fingers in his mouth and whistled. The goons came running back to him as he called to Scourge, who remained.

"Hey kid, you coming?"

[Deleted]

She can hear several sets of footsteps approaching the stairwell together. Honestly, do these people know nothing about strategy? She's feeling a bit cramped in the confined space, but she lifts her wings up as high as she's able to and the moment the group comes into her view she downthrusts sharply. The air coming off of her powerful wings gets channeled by the narrow passage of the stairwell and straight at the four that were sent after her.

Four? Did he really only send four after her? Like that will work! The powerful gust of wind is strong enough to knock over anyone who can't get their feet firmly planted to the ground quickly enough, and she rushes the rest of the way down the staircase to take care of them before they can fully recover. She has her mace in her hand, but she's fortunately not aiming for them with it. No, she uses it to quickly strike at their weapons since the Nth metal combined with her natural strength can bust through steel like butter. If she were to actually hit them with it, chances are they'd end up in the morgue instead of the hospital, and while she doesn't have a solid no-kill policy like Batman she's not a fan of it.

Instead she uses her other fist to punch them when she gets an opening, though just because her fist is gentler doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt and severely injure - it's just much likely to accidentally kill. And she's every bit as fast and efficient about it as Batman would be, if not more so. That's Thanagarian military training for you. But she keeps a wary eye on the men Joker kept with them, prepared for them to open fire and thus require her to take more evasive action. But in her vast experience it tends to take people a moment to realize they're being attacked, remember that they're holding a gun, and then actually aim and fire the thing. And there's a lot that can be accomplished in those few moments.

[jokerforever]

"I like you kid. Scourge you say?"

He nodded, sapphire eyes gleaming with evident delight. He loved Joker's unique company even though that, friend or foe, one wrong word could get a gun aimed at his head. Joker didn't play as much as people might suspect. But once he was dead, it wouldn't matter anymore. Just another excuse to live life to the fullest.

Suddenly, he found himself in Joker's firm grip, being slung toward the stairs. That's when he noticed the shadow, wraith like and menacing. He frowned, who could it be? Oh well, he was happy enough to do as told. His first job, how delightful! He was going to have fun. Quickly gaining his balance, he braced himself for whoever, or whatever, would soon emerged.

A sudden gust nearly sent him flying backwards, but he managed to keep his balance as th others staggered and tumbled. It whipped at his hair, tangling it into a mess, and that infuriated him. Didn't anyone know how much he loved his hair? He could see his opponent now, the one and only, Hawkgirl. Unlike the other fools, however, he didnt have a weapon at the moment. His hands were tucked casually at his side. But that was just the first attack.

Hawkgirl struck again, delivering an agonized punch to his cheek, sending him rolling to the ground, but he quickly regained his feet and threw up his hands with joy, laughing aloud.

"Pain is a message, Hawkgirl." He said, eyes shining. "Message denied." A loud whistle pierced his ears and he turned. His backup fled toward the train and Scourge got the feeling he should to. He could see Joker looking at him, head out the door, with questioning eyes. Now he understood. Just as Joker began asking his question, Scourge was bolting toward the train, laughing. Closer, closer, safe! He lept for it, turning just as his feet touched the metal of the floor and whipping something out of his robe, throwing.g it at Hawkgirl.

It was a flashbang, modified to go off on impact with greater force. Any normal person to close would likely be deaf for an entire week. Before it hit, he ducked inside the train, grasping Joker by the wrist and pulling him back to, sending them both staggering to the floor. He quickly pulled up his hood before shielding the clown's ears with both hands, hoping he was smart enough to close his eyes. Then it went off.

A bright flash obscurred his vision, and he squeezed his eyes shut, ears ringing as he had chosen to shield Joker rather then himself. He almost felt bad for Hawkgirl, who he knew got the worst of it. He hoped one of Joker's men got the train moving before Hawkgirl recovered, because he was to disoriented to do it himself. Atleast Joker would be fine.

[Deleted]

I think Joker found his answer when Scourge came bounding towards him. The robed assassin came charging down the station and into the train, throwing what looked like some kind of grenade towards the winged wonder that stood in the underground. Joker found himself applauding and praising Scourge as he returned. 

"Nice one kid!" 
The sheer momentum of the young man sent them both careering to the floor with Scourge pressing tightly over his ears. Joker immediately realised the danger and rammed shut his eyelids.

 Joker pushed with his hands to lift himself off the steel floor he lay face first on. Bodies of the goons he had with him lay scattered around the train, dazed and confused, blinded by the incredible yet passing light. Staggering to his feet and coughing like a 50 year old smoker, he headed for the cab. Clambering over the duffle bags, his foot caught one and he fell sidewards into one of the large handrails, still disorientated by the flashbang. He reached the drivers box and pushed hard on the throttle lever. 

The train lurched from the station knocking everyone over with the sheer momentum. Everyone apart from Joker, who stood proud and tall as the vehicle began to pick up speed and raced along the tunnels. After a full ten minutes and a good recovery time, Eggbert, who was now in charge of the train's movement began to slow it down. Ahead was another group of around 12 goons complete with a subway of their own. The train carrying Joker and Scourge buckled gently into the back of the subway infront, creating a train that was 14 cars long. The goons from the second train had with them two duffle bags each that were scattered through the carriages. After another section of driving, a third train was coupled, this time with a more precious cargo; hostages. A now 20 carriage long subway train continued to race through the tunnels of Gotham's underground.

[Deleted]

With so many opponents to grapple with, it isn't until the last second that she sees one of the men getting away and throwing a flash bang grenade behind him. This is no her first experience with such a device, and she immediately shuts her eyes, turns her head away, covers her ears as best she can, and covers her body with her wings.

When it goes off she flinches - not because of the pain of the impact. She's made of far sturdier stuff than humans and has been trained to ignore pain on top of that. Nor is the problem her eyes, which she can better protect. No, the problem is her ears - even with her hands over them that only muffles the sound and she has an extremely sensitive set of them. The loud sound is enough to set them ringing and is somewhat disorienting. Once again, she's not about to let a little thing like pain stop her, but it does take her a few moments to shake off the worst of it and by that time the train is pulling away.

She runs over to the tracks as her first instinct is to simply chase the thing down. It's possible that she'd be able to catch up with it actually - she's not the Flash, but she's a very fast runner by human standards. However, the train is heading down a long, dark tunnel and she can feel herself shudder at the very thought of trying to run down it. Dark tunnels are... just not her favorite thing in the world. They're almost as bad as small closets. Besides, she has another option and knows that she could use some help with this guy. Because even though she's completely confident that she could do it herself, it would be a lot easier with some help.

Tugging her communicator off of her belt, she runs back up the staircase and immediately takes off when she reaches the open air. Just because she hates the subway system more than almost anything doesn't mean that she doesn't know where the tunnels are, and she quickly flies in the direction she knows it's going. "This is Hawkgirl, requesting backup. The Joker is in the subway," she says into her communicator as she flies, going on to describe where the train seemed to be headed as her eyes scour the city in that direction. The Joker will not be able to do anything visible from the surface without her spotting it, or her name isn't Hawkgirl.

[jokerforever]

It took a while for Scourge to recover, but when he had, he realized the train was moving forward through the tunnels at a steady pace. He stood, blinking. He had closed his eyes, but they still burned, and both ears rang stubbornly, refusing to stop no matter how many times he shook his head. It was annoying, but he was starting to recover. He must have been sitting there for atleast ten minuets, his legs cramped. Seems he had been caught in a not so comfortable position. Where was Hawkgirl? Did they loose her, or was the train soon to be under siege again? The flashbang would not have permenatly put her out of the chase, he knew, but it obviously bought them some time.

After a few moments of trying to catch his breath, he searched through the train for the infamous Joker, his smile quickly returning and the irritating ringing fading. Soon, he caught sight of the clown, and his smile widened.

"So, how did I do?" He asked, coming up behind the crowned prince of crime and placing a hand on his shoulder, eager for his praise. Each time Joker praised him, it felt as if he had been filled with the very essance of golden, warm sunlight. Oh how joyful! "Am I part of the family now?"

[Deleted]

"Personally, I would have maybe tried a live grenade but a nice touch all the same" 

Joker strolled through the carriages and to the rear of the train. He glanced out of the window and took a long hard stare at the gloom around them. After a thorough inspection, Joker spoke:

"Looks like bird brain doesn't like tunnels." 

He gave a small titter that would eventually evolve into a laugh. Laughter rang through the train and in the subway, illuminating the whole area with a feeling of joy. The train continued to raw through the tunnels until daylight began to emerge from an opening ahead. The destination was Metropolis and the cargo very precious; each dufflebag containing shards of Kyrptonite ready to be delivered to Joker's latest client, Lex Luthor. Luthor would be waiting for them on the other side of the Gotham Rail Bridge, all they had to do now was cross it.

"A few more tests yet son" Joker said to Scourge as he clambered by him. "You think these guy's got in straight away just by throwing a piece of plastic at a hero?" Joker laughed and raised his foot to the control console, so that the soul of his shoe rested upon the throttle lever. He bellowed in laughter.

"Where she stops, nobody knows!" 

The train surged into speed as it ascended the incline from the subway. Joker threw Scourge an assault rifle and picked himself up a shotgun. He slid open the side carriage door and shimmied out.

"C'mon kid, we got some wings to clip"

[jokerforever]

Scourge frowned, he didn't think an actual grenade would have helped at all.

"You know, I did a lot more then throw a flashbang. While you guys were fleeing to the subway tunnels and onto the safety of this wonderful train, I took the liberty of placing a few explosives." Scourge smiled. By few, he meant many. Sure that the accelerating train was far enough away, he pulled out a small device from beneath his robes and glared at the button with a cruel smile. After a moment, he pressed it, and the entire tunnel shook as they explosion obliterated the station they were in. He wondered if the tunnel would collapse for a moment, the sound of the bombs going off was so loud, after all, but they were plenty far from the devestating blasts.

Joker tossed him something that Scourge should never get a hold of, a rifle. Only Joker would allow him such a weapon, he must have no clue as to how quickly little Scourge got trigger happy. The train continued to accelerate and Joker was soon laughing. It was starnge, because Scourge was also laughing, though not as histerically. He was trying to stifle it.

Of course, he was somewhat dissapointed he wasn't accepted, but it was only to be expected. He knew that, in time, he would gain the clown's cavorted. Perhaps that time was now. Still smiling from his recent achievement, and still feeling the tunnel shake as the station long behind them collapsed, englulfed in flame, he hedged his new weapong and followed Joker, determined to prove himself.

[Deleted]

Hawkgirl easily catches the sound of the train station exploding behind her, but she can do nothing about that. If people got hurt because of it, someone else will have to help them - she can only be in one place at a time and stopping the Joker, who could just as easily be about to do even worse, is much more important. Though knowing about the mess behind her does tick her off. A lot.

She can fly much faster than a train, but since she doesn't expect the Joker to try and leave the city, as the FBI are blocking all the exits, she flies more slowly and instead tries to keep an eye out for signs that the train stopped sooner. So she's a bit behind when the train comes flying out of the tunnel as it approaches the bridge.

But when she sees the train come out into the open, she her heart sinks a little bit - which is a hard reaction to get from Hawkgirl. Not because she can't stop a train, but because she knows just how robust the FBI's barricade on the bridge is - that thing could stop a tank. Could it stop a speeding train? Likely, or at least she wouldn't expect it to survive completely intact, let alone keep the people inside unharmed. But knowing about the twisted genius of the Joker, she can only assume that he has a plan for solving that problem, and that the plan will be big, dramatic, dangerous, and quite likely more than she'd be able to handle alone if she wants to make sure nobody gets hurt. And though she's put in a call for backup, she knows that it will probably take anyone else a moment to catch up, and will they have that time?

For the moment, at least, she seems to be the only one who can act, so act she does. She grits her teeth and immediately puts on the speed to catch up, and is on them within a few moments after they appear at the surface. And she's angry, very angry. She easily spots the clown and that other guy headed out to face her armed with guns. But she can also see what kind of guns, and immediately puts them in the back of her mind.

While she may not be bulletproof, she is flying now and Thangarians in the air are some of the most agile beings in the universe, let alone this planet. She's more agile than Superman, even - one of only about two talents in which she can actually not only compete with Big Blue, but actually surpass him. Can she dodge bullets from an assault rifle? Usually, and she'd probably have to take several hits before it would slow her down anyway. A shotgun is harder to dodge because of the way the pellets spread, but at the same time each one packs less of a punch - painful, but unlikely to badly harm her.

So seeing two men preparing to face her with guns does nothing to discourage her. Actually, even if she was more worried about the guns seeing them is unlikely to stop her - while she may be able to feel fear and pain, neither have much effect on her when she's trying to stop a criminal as long as she's physically able to keep fighting. Instead she holds her mace ready and keeps an eye on them in order to be ready to dodge their fire, keeping a bit of height and distance to make it more difficult for them to aim at her, but she turns her focus to flying ahead of the train so that she can land on the bridge there and stop the train before it reaches the barricade on the other side.

She's not sure what she'll do when she gets there at this point, as she's not physically strong enough to stop a moving train. And all of her initial ideas are likely to kill everyone onboard, and she'd prefer not to do that. But unlike Batman she doesn't have a strict 'no kill' policy, and she knows that stopping this train by any means necessary would probably save many more lives than it would end.

[Deleted]

Wrenching the door open, the sheer power of the wind hit him like a punch to face. The shotgun in his hand began to waver and wriggle uncontrollably, forcing Joker to throw it to the ground. He swivelled around the door frame and out onto the tiniest pertruding ledge running along the carriage, his long shoes balancing neatly upon it. Shuffling across to a climbing spot, Joker clambered onto the carriage roof and stabilised himself due to the sheer force of the wind. Drawing the sixgun from his jacket, he whipped the pistol to his eyeline and aimed directly at Hawkgirl's left wing. He fired a rally of shots until the gun needed to be reloaded and Scourge joined him atop the speeding locomotive.
Joker beckoned to Scourge to follow him along the train carriages, jumping the gaps between each one. He fired six more shots at the flying hero who was racing ahead of them. 

"C'mon kid, she's getting away!" 

He grabbed Scourge and pointed to the vigilante, intending for him to begin firing at her. After Scourge emptied his first clip, Joker raced towards the front of the train. He needed to keep Hawkgirl distracted so he needed and idea; a wacky, crazy and completely bonkers idea. He began to build momentum in the run, careering towards the front edge as the train neared the bridge and Hawk began her decent. The speed increased as his lungs roared, his legs burned and his blood pumped as grew closer to the drop. 

"If you won't come to me, I'll come to you!" 

Joker's feet flew off the front of the train as he leapt into the air, towards Hawkgirl. His scrawny, gangly limbs flayed as he reached out to grab the hero's boot. His gloved hands pawed at the air as they finally came crashing into the hero's leg. He used all of his almost insignificant body weight to pull at the flying wonder, bringing her down to the train. He took the strain in his arms as he pulled and pulled, roaring with laughter as he did it.