Bad Morning [Open!]

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    Stephanie took a deep breath in and rolled onto her back. She brushed the bright, blonde, curly hair out of her eyes. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling fan above her. The wind blew onto her face. She sat up, muscles aching from the night before. Stephanie felt the title vigilante didn't really apply to what she was, more like Person Who Goes Out Every Night and Gets Her Butt Kicked. That was more like it. But, in Steph's head, she wasn't dead, so she could be doing alot worse. Stephanie pulled the blankets off of her and stepped out of bed. She stretched her arms up to the sky, only to be greeted by a sharp pain in her side. Stephanie looked down at the origin of the pain, and discovered a large stain of blood on the small, athletic cut, eggplant-colored shirt she was wearing.

    Dammit. One of her sitches had ripped open. Stephanie walked over to her dresser, and pulled out a green vneck, a bra, a pair of underwear, and a pair of skinny jeans. She walked to her bedroom door, and peeked out, looking out for her mom. Seeing that the coast was clear, she dashed to the bathroom, so that her mom wouldn't see the injury. Stephanie reached into the shower, and turned on the water. Letting the water warm up, Stephanie pulled off her clothes, revealing her curvy, muscular body. She stepped into the shower and began to clean herself, especially the wound. When she had finished, she turned off the water and stepped out. Stephanie reached into the medical cabinet, and pulled out a first aid kit. She began to stitch herself back up, and placed a bandage over the area  for good measure. The teen applied deodorant and perfume, before slowly pulling on her clothes. She quickly applied some makeup and walked out of the room.

    Stephanie walked down the stairs to the first floor. As she reached the landing of the stairs, she looked around. Her Mother was nowhere to be found.

"Mom? Where are you?" Stephanie called as she continued to search the area. Her mother never let Stephanie be awake that long without a good morning. Stephanie walked into the kitchen. There was a pan lying on the ground, and the stove top was still on. She became even more distressed. Something was wrong. Stephanie sprinted through the rest of the house. No sign of her mom. Stephanie reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. She quickly called her mom. It rang for a few seconds, until someone finally answered.
    
    "Mom, where ar-" Stephanie was cut off.

    "Hello. You're probably wondering where your mother is." A voice said.

    "Who are you? What have you done?" Stephanie said, her voice faltering. This was going to be a bad morning.

(OOC: Open! Please join! If you are filling the villain role, you can decide the reason for kidnapping her mother. Also, if need be, the antagonist can know Stephanie's identity, for plot reasons.)

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"Hello. You're probably wondering where your mother is?"

The voice was a male one with a slight hit of a Northeast coast accent to it.  Stephanie asked for the identify of the caller in addition to what has happened to her mother.  This was going to be more simply more then a ransom for some money.  

"Good questions.  You must be Stephanie.  Your mother is safe for now.  Her name is Crystal Brown, and there are rumors that she was once affiliated with the Cluemaster.  If you would like to see your mother again, here is what you have to do.  Because of her relationship with the Cluemaster, the police or even Batman are watching you and your family very closely.  I would like for you to bring ONE or TWO members of the police or ONE to TWO members of the Bat-family to the old Ventrilquist club in Eastern Gotham.  You may bring them in any combination as you see fit.  Meaning one can be a police officer and one member of the Bat-Family.  NO more then that!  Tell them to come alone, otherwise your mother gets it.  There can also be only one of either party, and that would be good enough."

There was a slight pause.

"You may ask two questions before I hang up.  Make them good."

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The mook known as Mugsy was on the other side of the phone.  (Mugsy).  The phone in use was one of those rotary phone from the 1980s.  

Behind him the Ventriloquist minus Scarface was sitting at a table with a cruel smile on It's face.  The room they were in was the main performance area of the Ventriloquist club.  Standing next to the Ventriloquist was the large man, Rhino.  They were sitting at a round table that had a white cloth over it.  Behind them was the wooden stage.

Rhino looked at the Ventriloquist/Wesker with a stoic expression.  

Ventriloquis looked up at the big man and addressed him. "Heeeee. If you to speak to Mister Scarface again, you'll do as I say! Otherwise the boss will never come back!"

Rhino, simply nodded.  Without a doubt, Scarface was the brains behind this group and the main reason they had been successful in the past.  Mugsy had explained to the big man that Scarface existed within the Ventriloquist and that they were two different people.  Rhino was a a bit angry at the whole situiation of having to work for the loon, known as Arnold Wesker.  Wesker's cowardice had already cost them Ratso who was out of commission. (See "Jeppers Creepers" in the Outskirts of Gotham).  

Wesker continued to smile as Mugsy continued his conversation with the Stephanie. On the table was the fire-axe. Little did they know, something else was in charge other then Scarface.

"Heeeeeeee!"  Ventriloquist squealed as it fingered the fire axe.

Very good Arnold.  Chipper will help you where Scraface could not......Heeee.

[Deleted]

    Stephanie sprinted up to her room as the man began to talk. Opened a secret drawer in her bedside table, revealing her purple Spoiler suit. She quickly pulled out her utility belt, sticking her fingers into one of the front pockets and grabbing a small recorder. She stuck it onto the speaker of her phone, recording what the man had to say.

    "You must be Stephanie. Your mother is safe for now. Her name is Crystal Brown, and there are rumors that she was once affiliated with the Cluemaster. If you would like to see your mother again, here is what you have to do. Because of her relationship with the Cluemaster, the police or even Batman are watching you and your family very closely. I would like for you to bring ONE or TWO members of the police or ONE to TWO members of the Bat-family to the old Ventrilquist club in Eastern Gotham. You may bring them in any combination as you see fit. Meaning one can be a police officer and one member of the Bat-Family. NO more then that! Tell them to come alone, otherwise your mother gets it. There can also be only one of either party, and that would be good enough."
The man said.

    Stephanie was trying to focus, but she couldn't. This was her mother. How could she be calm? Stephanie began to hyperventilate, but tried to keep focusing on what the man was saying. The Ventriloquist Club? Could Wesker be behind this? She had to call Tim. Who else could she go to? Canary was gone, and she didn't have a good way to contact or present herself to Batman or Nightwing. Sure, Steph had taken some training from Oracle, but she couldn't be that much of a help physically going to the club. Stephanie thought  before speaking.

    "When do they have to be there by. And, do I come with them, or send them by themselves?" If Stephanie could get away with sending the heroes "by themselves", she could go with Tim as Spoiler. "And one last, third question. are you ready to get your ass kicked?" Stephanie taunted, before the phone call ended.

[Deleted]

Mugsy nodded with respect. This kid has spunk, and her voice was relatively calm for someone who's mother was being kidnapped.  The gangster assumed that this was being the product of having a father who was known as the Clue Master.  She asked some good questions, and it took him a few moments to think about what the boss told him to say.  

"Tell the cape to come alone," Mugsy began to reply in a calm voice.  "They have until 11PM tonight otherwise the dame gets it,"

Her third question made Mugsy nod again as he thought about the times they tangled with the Bat, mostly on the losing end.  Rhino was usually able to hold his own, but the Bat eventually wore the big man out.  

"We'll see kid.  We'll see.  Remember, its the Ventriloquist club at 11PM, and tell the cape to come alone!  If there are two of them, I can't promise that no harm will come to your mother."  

With that Mugsy hung up the telephone.  Wesker and Scarface nodded in approval, and Rhino cracked his knuckles.  Mugsy shot the big man a look.  If the Ventriloquist failed here, they already had a contingency plan to move onto bigger and better things...

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The Club is a old three story building in Gotham City East.  The windows and the front door were boarded shut.  There are two fire escapes that run up the east and west side of the building, starting at the second floor.  Most of the windows there have iron bars around of them.  There is one window that is not attatched to a fire escape that is not boarded or protected by iron bars.  There is also a door on the roof that has a simple pad-lock.  The door on the roof leads to a storage room on the third floor.  

[Deleted]

     Stephanie had the urge to slam down the phone, and get over to save her mother as soon as she could. But, she held herself back, and listened to the man. She needed to make sure she had all the information she could get. Steph couldn't risk it, her mother's life was at stake.

     "We'll see kid. We'll see. Remember, its the Ventriloquist club at 11PM, and tell the cape to come alone! If there are two of them, I can't promise that no harm will come to your mother."

     Stephanie listened, and her heart dropped. Only one of them could go. She couldn't put this pressure on Tim, and if he failed, he would never forgive himself. Stephanie had to go save her mother.  She took a deep breath, and prepared to respond, but the line clicked, and suddenly she was left in silence. Stephanie walked into the kitchen, preparing herself. She had until 11, she really didn't want to wait to save her poor mother, but she had to keep her tactical advantage. Going in the dark would be better. Stephanie walked to the kitchen and ate a protein bar. And then she began the long, long wait to 9 PM.

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     Stephanie looked down at her watch 8:55. It was time. She walked up to her room, and opened the trap door in her closet, revealing her Spoiler suit. She pulled it out, and slipped it on. She opened her window, stood on the fire escape, and made her way onto the roof tops, starting her trip to the Ventriloquist Club.

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     It was 9:20 when Stephanie landed on the roof across from the Ventriloquist club. She jumped down to the street, and dodged through the shadows over to the club. She lept up and grabbed onto the fire escape, climbing up to the roof. She looked at the padlocked roof access, and crept over to it. She pulled out her lockpit kit and went to work on the lock. After about 30 seconds of working, the lock clicked open. She walked down the stairs into some sort of storage room. She picked up a metal pipe, and crept her way down the stairs. She landed on the first floor, and peeked around a corner. There she saw them. The villains. She threw the metal pipe, and it landed with a loud clank on the other side of the room. Stephanie hoped to distract them, so that she could sneak up behind them. For an intimidation factor, if nothing.