Test of Strength [Nightwing]

[doe]

Kelsey Morrison walked into a questionable condo on the East Side. It was strange to see one of Gotham’s top ADA around this part of town (or what used to be one of Gotham’s top ADA). Recently, she has been offering settlements that put Gotham’s worst out on the street in the matter of months. It hadn’t garnered much news attention with the Jokers destruction in play, but that was what she had planned. Kelsey Morrison’s life barely drew any attention to Jane. Kelsey's moral ambition was almost boring, and she reminded her too much of that DA who had sentenced her to Blackgate not long ago. She didn’t particularly want to live this life. She preferred to destroy it.

Because of this feeling it was easy to separate herself from Kelsey Morrison. But since she was separating herself Jane also felt bare even with the skin on her body. She wanted her next target. It was her goal. Since Mayor Hill had ended in shambles she would go to the next most powerful person in Gotham: Sal Maroni. She had managed to set up a deal with the mafia family. She helped shorten the sentence of the Maroni clan and they gave her a briefcase of money each week. Of course, Jane had little appreciation for the amount of money. She wanted one thing. She wanted Sal, yet the man was smart. He wouldn’t introduce himself to her. Jane was frustrated. Kelsey was frustrated and guilty. No, Kelsey’s not here. Jane walked past the Maroni goons and up the stairs. She went into the open bedroom where Mark Lamberti, one of Maroni’s top men, stood waiting with two other goons and a briefcase on the chair in the center.

Five.

Five men. Hardly could be considered a problem for Jane who had two knives stashed under her skirt.

“As always Miss. Morrison, the Maroni family is thankful for your services,” Lamberti stated nodding to the briefcase.

Jane felt the tinge of disappointment. Sal still had yet to meet her in person. Jane studied the confidence yet obedience off of Lamberti. His life had some appeal and would get her one step closer to Sal. She inwardly smirked, but Kelsey did a nervous nod. “Yes, welcome,” she said in barely a whisper and slowly walked towards the brief case.

Mark Lamberti, she could easily fit into his shoes. Jane grabbed the briefcase as Kelsey would fearfully do, but once it was in her grip she whipped it around to hit one of the goons in the head as she high kicked the gun out of the second goon's hand. As Lamberti eyes opened in shock and stun, Jane used the moment to pull out a knife from under her skirt. She slit it across the first goons throat just as he was recovering from the briefcase. She then threw it into the chest of the second goon. Jane dropped the case and went over to the goon’s body to pull out the knife. Lamberti finally coming out of his stupor pulled out his gun and managed to cock it against Jane’s forehead just as her hand gripped the knife.

“Let go of it,” the man growled at her. Jane frown and did what he said. She would wait for the hesitation in his gun then knock it away.

“Stand up,” he ordered. She followed. “Now, who are you?” he asked, obviously noticing the intense personality shift.

Kelsey took over giving a fearful look. “I-I had…too,” Jane lied straight through her teeth. Of course, no one could tell because if Jane had any talent it was acting. The goon was about to let out another growl noise when the window broke open.

That is unfortunate. Maybe, I will be lucky and it will be the miniature green child who needs a grave.

Current Appearance- 3.bp.blogspot.com/-8mbmS8y97Pw/TVnIe3zTcCI/AAAAAAAAAMU/hZuq01_62sY/s1600/marion_en_blonde_reference.jpg

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Nightwing came shattering through the window and tumbled to recover for a perfect landing. He was left squatting hand using his let hand to support himself to keep his balance. He had quickly analysis the situation as he had entered through the window. He wasn't going to take his chances. A negotiation with a thug like this was pointless. He knew better, it took force for these guys to get the point.

Dick quickly whipped one of his wingdings, kind of like the old batarangs he had used to use as Robin. With precision, he threw the wingding at the man's hands to knock the gun out of his hands. Dick knew he was quick enough to prevent the man from having the chance to pull the trigger.

He took notice of the two bodies of some goons that seemed to have faced a struggle. But the only other person here that was in danger was the woman. It crossed his mind in wonder how this woman had been able to do what she much have. Dick didn't know the story. He would fight now and ask questions later.

"That's no way to treat a lady," Nightwing commented as he stood. He was ready for any return attacks from the thug leader. He was slightly shorter than the thug before him, but he was still a threat. The name Nightwing had probably yet to fully get out there on the streets of Gotham. But with an entrance like that, who could ignore some vigilante barging in.

[doe]

"What? Another costume freak!" the thug shouted as he coddled his hand.

Strangely enough, Jane had been thinking the same thing. She inwardly smirked. It would be an easy transition into his life, but the tansition couldn't occur if Lamberti was locked up in Blackgate. Her eyes traveled to the man in blue. She had analyzed his movements when he came through the window. They were precise and train. He must have years of experience, but they seemed familiar. Very familiar. She looked over the visible part of his face. Her precise memory traveled through the many faces of lives she had seen. The chin, lips, and nose, she had seen them before. She couldn't remember ever running into a hero dressed in bright blue and black spandex. He must have been wearing something different.

Robin.

The boy wonder had finally decided to change the bright and showy outfit, but that meant the Batman wouldn't be far behind. She almost wanted to growl in frustration. The Batman. She hated that man. He had been the only one to accurately deduce her locations and capture her many times. It was something to idolize, but Jane had given up on that life. That life wasn't really a life, it was a creature. The only part she wanted of it was to help kill it.

She heard the movement behind her and could have easily elbowed Lamberti in the stomach, but at this point it was better to act innocent. She felt a grip pull her hair. Luckily not hard enough to pull off her skin. She then felt a small blade against her throat. Though it wasn't near a dangerous area of her throat. He would have to dig in deep if he actually wanted to kill her. She doubted he ever put that much thought into knife play before.

She was Lamberti. He only wanted to be effective. He wanted to trick the hero away. Jane shook the thought of Lamberti away. She was Kelsey. A trapped poor woman who made a mistake. Why did she do this? It was so stupid. The tears started to form naturally in Jane's eyes and they slipped down her cheek.

Jane heard the two men from the bottom running up the stairs and coming through the doorway guns ready to fire.

"I-I'm so so sorry. Why?" Jane choked out as her one hand went to the slit in her business skirt. Her face looked pain and hurt.

"Shut up!" Lamberti yelled, pulling on her hair a bit harder. Jane almost felt a stretch in her skin, but it hadn't torn yet. "I don't have a freakin clue who you are, but you messed with the wrong family! Boys, shot him!"

Jane heard the shots as the two men went on open gunfire. She would wait it out. Either the goons would take down Robin or Robin would take down the goons. It didn't matter. Who ever was left standing, she would kill and then she would get Lamberti. She would make it slow and painful. It was what he deserved her messing up her hair.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick could heard the sound of more footsteps coming toward their location. Of course this guy had back up. There wasn't a thug in this town that didn't have more people under them or around them to work for them. Dick recognized this guys face from some old criminal records a while back he had looked at. But now wasn't the time. The woman's life was in danger.

And by the sounds of the others coming their way, his life was in danger now as well. "It's always the same," Dick said as the two men came into the room ready and firing at him. All he was concerned about was not letting them harm the woman and to keep out of the way himself.

The men firing would not aim toward the woman at the moment. Their boss was near by and had her under control for now with a knife at her neck. He'd do everything he could to try and keep them from harming her. What was with the goons and always picking on someone weaker than them. Even the other weirdos in town seemed to have a bit more class at time than this. It was always the same thing with criminals. But if it wasn't for this kind of crime, there wouldn't need to be the vigilantes in the towns.

As soon as the men started firing, Dick took off running for cover at the moment. There was a desk in the far corner at an angle to the men firing. He jumped and tumbled to the side to avoid any hits. He pulled two more wingdings and threw them at the thugs' hands to knock the guns out of them, even if it would through them off from firing at the moment.

When there was a break in the continuous firing, Nightwing made his move to strike the two men. Charging forward toward the two men. He only had a few seconds to act before the men would take up to trying to fire at him again. "They always attack with the guns," he mumbled under his breathe.

[doe]

Jane watched with interest as the man in blue dodged behind the table and then knocked the goons' guns out. It was obvious who was going to be winning this fight. It look like she would have to handle the hero herself. All heroes were predictable so it shouldn't be that difficult. With the amount of practice she now had with Manhunter, green child, and Hawkgirl it was almost becoming too easy. If only she had successfully ended one of their pitiable lives. They were wasted away on their nightly outings to save the innocent. If anyone was saving the innocent it was her. She was giving these people a chance to really live. They had such interesting lives, and she only made them more interesting. Besides she looked better with new skin. She felt better with another life. She was an empty shell. She was someone.

She heard Lamberti growl behind her in frustration. The frustration he felt seemed to feel her own anger. Yes, my men should be handling this better and their not. It was very frustrating. Jane felt Lamberti's thoughts almost automatically. She was Lamberti, or she would be soon enough. She just would take care of the Robin upgrade. She should make it slow. Yes very slow that was what all the heroes deserved.

"KILL HIM!" Lamberti yelled.

The two thugs had angry faces as well and ran towards the man in blue. They started throwing punches actually expecting it to work. Pathetic. One of the goons got smart and pulled out a small knife.

"Don't think I'm through with you," Lamberti said in a gruff whisper as he pulled Jane's hair harder.

You make a girl feel special, she thought sarcastically, but let out a whimper that would match Kelsey's.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

This will be fun, he thought as the men charged at him. Dick continued running forward towards them. All the thugs seem to play it the same. Thinking that they could easily over power by throwing their fists and charging back. As they got closer, Nightwing stopped to dodge out on each throw they threw, even if they were driving him back a bit.

He avoided every blow with easy. This was just something he did every day. It had become second nature to avoid these kinds of attacks. You could almost say it was a daily routine. Then one of the men pulled out a knife. Did they really think he wouldn't have noticed? As he continued to dodge the throws, he quickly pulled out his Escrima sticks and used the one to whack the man's hand with the knife. This is why he carried them with him.

As he managed to knock it out of the man's hands, he used the two sticks to start defending himself. This was dragging out for too long. Dick decided it was time to try and end this, but knowing these types of goons, they will keep getting up and fighting back. So, he would try as any times as it took to try and keep them down or knock them out.

So, this time while blocking them, he knew it would do not good to try and strike back while the two were going after him. It would only leave an opening for the goons to get him. Finally ducking down and swinging out his leg he hoped to knock the one off their feet. And quickly, jumping back up and striking out with his right leg, to nail the other in the face.

When he landed, he hoped this would be his chance to attack the ring leader at this time. So he stood and turned to face the man who was threatening the woman. He started to walk toward the two slowly, seeing that the man had the woman by her hair. Still having some weapon on him. "Alright, we can either continued doing this the easy way or we can do it the hard way," he said.

[doe]

Jane watched the fight thoughtfully. The boy was graceful in his movements. He easily used his opponents attacks against them. She would keep that in mind when she would be forced to take him out. She would have to attack him when he was distracted.

When the big goons groaned in pain and fell back, Lamberti growled, "Morons!" The man in blue turned to Lamberti, and Jane kept Kelsey's fearful expression and added in a sniffle. The blue man's words caused the Lamberti to pull harder on her and press the knife closer to her jugular. She inwardly frowned. Losing her face would be quite a set back. She felt her knife attached to her thigh. It would be too easy to pull out and slide it into Lamberti's temple, but what a horrible cut to her outfit.

Lamberti's grip loosened and in that quick moment she knew she was going to be pushed aside. Instead of stopping her movement she acted surprised and stumbled when she was thrown to the ground. She was still Kelsey. Oh poor Kelsey. Why did she get herself into this mess? She didn't need the money that badly.

"Costume Freaks don't stand a chance up against Maroni. You freaks should go play dress up in some oth' city," he growled and swung his knife at the man while preparing to duck from whatever attack the guy threw back at him.

Jane watched curiously. Lamberti had a bit more control over his fighting. Though it wasn't much better then the other goons. No, Jane was Lamberti. His fighting was the best out there. He watched as the movement caused their bodies to turn away from her. Robin's back now faced her. She inwardly smirked. This was her chance. She could take out him then Lamberti would be hers.

She analysised the perfect point that would be the most effective. She should go for the heel then slowly kill him. It was the fair option after the amount of torture the Batman had put her through. Yes, the heel would be perfect. She was about to move when one of the other goons that had been knocked down started moving behind her. The fool was about to grab her hair, and based on his anger, it would be with enough force to pull off her face. No not today. She pulled out her knife and threw it behind her. She didn't need to see the attack to hear it. There was a loud thump and the spandex man turned to look at the sound. She only started crying innocently unsure of what had just occurred. Kelsey was innocent. Kelsey wouldn't kill.

She was Kelsey. She was confused and alone. She was Lamberti. She was pissed and aggressive. She was Jane...worthless. No, she was not Jane. She was Kelsey and she cried.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick saw that he was upsetting the leader. Good, just what he wanted. He knew he would work on the guy's nerve sooner or later. Now he would be able to try and take him down. "If we did that, we would miss out on all the fun around in this town," he said smugly in reply to this Maroni fella.

Dick dodged back, avoiding the swinging of the knife at him. This wasn't much compared to other criminals he had taken on before. This guy didn't look like the athletic type. Nightwing would bet that his guy would even be able to give a decent chance if he had to run from the scene of a crime.

As soon as he avoided the knife, the struck back with his right hand holding the escrima stick. Sure they guy had been able to avoid that, but it wouldn't do him much good from any of Nightwing's other attacks. Dick knew the woman was back in the corner behind him, at least this goon didn't have her in his hands any more.

Nightwing attack again, quickly, not giving the man a chance to recover from dodging the first strike. This time, Nightwing ducked down and swung his leg out to trip the man. It was after that that he heard a loud thud behind him where the woman had been.

Dick's attention turned away from the goon he was fighting for a second to see what had happened. There was another thug laying on the ground now near the woman. Dick wondered just what had happened. The woman was left crying. Was she really as innocent as she was playing at the moment? There was only one person other than him that would have tried to take that guy down. She must have some weapon on her to be able to take care of herself when she was in true danger. Who else could have taken down the first two goons before he had shown up.

Dick wasn't sure exactly what to expect from her. She seemed like she was doing good protecting herself from some thug that might come up behind her again. Though, Nightwing wasn't going to take that chance. He was there to protect her. He returned his attention back the the lead goon again.

[doe]

When all she received from the Robin was a quick glance before he went back to the fight, Jane knew this was her opportunity. He might have suspected something from her, but he was too busy fighting Lamberti. She kept up the whimpering sobs of Kelsey, but looked back to the goon who now laid dead on the floor behind her. The knife jutted out of his chest and blood was seeping into his clothes. His eyes had no life, and she found herself drawn to the emptiness. No life. The reminded her of her eyes. They reminded her of the eyes she saw each morning the mirror. No life.

Her face turned into her usual expressionless features. She had to change that. She pulled out the knife from the chest then with a swift movement on the ground she swiped the knife deep into Robin's right achilles. As expected it caused him to fall and luckily missing Lamberti's punch. As he fell she pushed herself off the ground. She let out a tired sigh as she glanced around the room.

"Get the f*ck back you crazy b*tch!" Lamberti shouted, finally realizing something was different about her. She did manage to wound the vigilante in one movement. She glanced uncaringly between Robin and Lamberti before turning all her focus on the boy.

"Robin, I have no need to kill you. You may leave," she stated then stepped towards Lamberti. But she still kept her peripherals on the boy, just in case he decided to try something.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick attention was more on trying to avoid any fists from coming at time as well as the knife in the man's hand. But what happened next threw him into an entirely different situation. One minute he had been about to duck out on a swing from the larger man and the next, all he could feel was something cutting deep into the back of his right leg. "Ahh," Nightwing cried out in pain as he felt his right leg give way.

Nightwing tumbled to the floor, instinctively grabbing at the leg that had gotten cut. He lay on his right side, pulling his right leg in a bit closer to him. He had missed getting hit by the man that he would have been able to dodge, no thanks to this strange lady. Whenever type of knife she had used, had been strong enough to cut through the usually protective boots he was wearing. She was definitely skilled and knew exactly what she was doing with that blade. It would take someone with knowledge on just how hard you would have to strike have pulled this off.

All Dick knew was, he was now in a very vulnerable position in this situation now. He could feel that part of the ligament had been hit, even with the protective boots. He felt like it wasn't totally severed, otherwise the muscle wouldn't still feel like it was in the right place, somewhat. There was now a large gash in the back of the boot that was over top of it and there was blood from the fresh cut.

Nightwing was left on the floor, grabbing at the now injured leg and wincing in pain. Out of all the injuries, he would have rather had a bullet had hit it at least the muscle would have still been in tacked. Dick saw the woman walk pass him and toward the large man. And when she turned and spoke to him. He thought recognized that tone. It couldn't been, if this woman before him was the criminal Jane Doe, Dick was in huge trouble as well as the man before them.

Just by the way she spoke and handled that knife of her's he had a feeling he knew who this woman really was now. He hadn't thought of it before. Dick was really in a bind now. It was either his life or that of some low life criminal. But Dick couldn't just leave her to kill this man, even if he had done wrong. She was a murder and doing what seemed far worse than what he could have been doing. This woman only made Dick feel sick to his stomach thinking about what she was about to try.

Dick stopped and struggled to sit up. He wasn't far from the windowsill at this point. So, he managed to drag himself to the window to help bring himself to his feet. The slice she had taken at him had rendered him unable to properly be able to walk at this point. Dick was leaning on the windowsill, pulling himself up and support hit weight.

He knew running and jumping her would only run the risk of a possible stab and wouldn't do anyone any good. So, with supporting his weight on the windowsill with his right arm and trying to keep most of the weight on his left leg, Dick decided to try something. Using his left hand, he quickly grabbed a cable line, almost most making look like he was going to take her offer to leave. But instead he pulled it out and swung his arm and realist the line to try and wrap the woman in it.

[doe]

Good, the boy was leaving. She focused back on her true goal of the evening. She was Lamberti. She was confident. She was obnoxious, but she had all right to be so. She was Maroni's second man. He had power over the loser below him. He was powerful. He saw his mirror image across from him, or what would be a mirror image of him once he had his outfit.

Jane rolled the knife in her hand to get a better grip. "Lamberti, I promise I'll live your life in a more valuable way," she said glancing at the knife then back at him with a straight face.

"I'll kill ya b*tch before you lay a hand on me," he growled, ready to fight her just as he fought Robin.

She felt that confidence, but only smirked at how foolish it truly was. No, she would be him. There was nothing that would stop that. She was about to gracefully cut his throat when something wrapped around her arms and chest. Her eyes shot to the source to see the boy idiot getting involved in an affair that wasn't his own. She should have assumed such an action from a hero. Even though she was angry the only evidence was a small frown. "I do wish people would learn to mind their own business," she stated coldly. She noticed the smirk on Lamberti's face and his movement coming towards her. He was going to use her current situation in his favor. Her frown deepen. It looked like her outfit would have a whole in it.

She rolled the knife in her hand then with the amount of movement she had in the cable she threw the knife into Lamberti's jugular. The man's face turned into shock as his throat started to explode out with blood. His hands reached for his throat trying to stop it, but there was no preventing his death.

"No need to be frightened, Lamberti, You will still be alive," she said to his eyes that were starting to gloss over as he fell to his knees on the ground. She would have loved to watch the full light in his eyes die so she could feel it immerse in her, but she had a bird problem to handle.

She yanked her body hard back causing the cable line he was holding to pull him to the floor. As he feel to the floor, probably because of the lost of balance of his achilles, she aimed her foot towards his jaw to hopefully break it....or better yet knock him out. But heroes had a talent of dodging so she had to be prepared.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick was surprised at how quickly she had managed to take the man's life. He started to second guess himself. Maybe he should have just lunged at her to begin with. But he would have run the risk of coming up short with how little power he was left now that his one leg was pretty much finished for the night. How could he have let this happen?

Even if this was some gang leader that deserved it he had failed in trying to stop the situation. Even with getting the cable at her, he had been too late. And she was definitely turning the tables on him now. With his leg now being lame, there wasn't much of a chance for him to stand and dodge her attacks. Talk about an unfair fight.

As soon her she had jilted back on the line, Dick didn't stand a chance at trying to keep himself steady. His first reaction had been to try and balance himself, so he had brought his right foot forward to catch himself from falling. His knew he shouldn't have, but it was just a natural reaction tot he situation. He yelled out a bit as he leg gave way right away from under him. His ankle rolling him off to he right side.

He had no time to worry about the pain at the moment. His focus was on the woman who had just killed the man he had been up against trying to protect her. There was no doubt he was realizing who he was dealing with. His had to be Jane Doe. Just by the way she had spoken to the man was enough to give her away fully.

As soon as he saw her foot coming his way he rolled off to the left side to avoid her. Stopping a few feet away from her. He got into a bit of a crouching position to try and get himself up. All his weight on his left leg as he attempted to stand once again. Right away he had taken the chance to threw three wingdings her way.

[doe]

He dodged, but she didn't have time to use her movement to use her other leg. He had already rolled away and threw three objects her way. Her leg was already in the air when he threw it so she didn't have time to fully dodge. When her foot was on the ground, two of the object lodged themselves into each shoulder. She managed to miss the third, just barely. Blood now soaked through her blouse, but she felt little pain. Knives were familiar to her. She felt the cold edge of a blade on many occasions, it was almost a comfort.

She looked down at the man in blue. He looked ready to attack her. "H-how could you hurt me?" she said with a whimper. "It hurts so much. I just wanted to protect myself. Why are you hurting me?" she continued in a sad voice. She made her posture weaken and she played the part of Kelsey again.

She was ready though. She was prepared for an attack as she loosened the cable around her body to free her hand in almost a pathetic struggle to match Kelsey's panic. Jane would always be the best actress. "There is something inside of me...I-I can't control it. Please get it out!" she shouted as she struggled in the cables. Jane wasn't certain if Robin knew her true identity. Maybe, she could make it appear like she was a different sociopath...there were so many in Gotham she doubt it was far from the truth. "Please, I can't do this. I just need help," she lied as tears ran down her face.

[Dick Grayson - Nightwing]

Dick looked up at her. It felt strange throwing weapons at a woman that seemed harmless. But this woman wasn't harmless. She was a cold blooded killer. He wasn't going to fall for it. He had already added two and two together. He knew this was not the woman that it may have been a while back. This was not your average person. She had no feeling for killing two men already in the room.

Half of him wanted to stay and fight and the other half really wanted to get out of there. Actually, it was probably best to try and get out of there. It was either die for these already dead men or try and live another day. There was no way he would be able to stop her. She was armed and dangerous.

"I'm not playing your sick game," Dick spoke up. "I know how you are. You can give up the act." There was no way he could find away to negotiate anything with her.

moved toward the window again. Sitting up and trying to pull himself up. He wasn't about to let himself fall in her hands. It never ended with this woman. It was one person after another. Nothing ever filled the emptiness that she felt within her. He knew all this. There was no hiding it. He was ready to try and make an escape if he could or attack. Tonight was a lost cause. He had already failed. There would always be another time. But it was a sad thought of who else might be harmed during that time. But the vigilantes could only go so far on their own. He wasn't about to admit defeat. He didn't want to, but what was he going to do.

[doe]

His lack of grip on the cable caused it to loosen enough for her to wiggle out of it. She noticed the blue man heading towards the window. He had realized he would lose. Good, she wouldn't have to waste more time playing with the bird. She needed to prep Lamberti's skin immediately, though the scar on the neck would be difficult to cover.

When he called her out on her act she merely smirked. Her arms now free from the cable she rolled her wrist causally. She then pulled out the blade thing he had thrown at her. It wasn't a knife, but it would be as effective as one if he tried anything. "Little Robin, you call it an act, but I see it as life. If anyone here is acting it would be you," she pointed to him with the blade. If she aimed it correctly she could blind him in one eye. Yes, that pretty eye would be quite useful in distracting Batman. A little trinket to remind the Batman not to bother her. "A robin should not pretend to be a hawk. He will only be killed by hunters."

She took a step closer. Her skin at shoulder loosening and falling out of her blouse. It dripped over her shirt revealing her muscles like a clothe. "Little robin I suggest you fly before the hunter gets you," she said with a creepy smirk. She wanted to kill him, but she also wanted him to leave. She couldn't let all the blood drain out of Lamberti.