5:20pm - Rush Hour

[lastchancetorun]

Today is not a good day to be taking the rail through Gotham. At least, not at this particular rail station.

Wayne Central. Great station. All done up nice and pretty since the 'incidents'.

Four lockers.

Four trash cans.

Two Benches.

Each of these items contains within it one of these lovely devices. They work on a timer, and when that

Comments

[goshdarnniteowl]

Daniel doesn't work 40 hours a week, or hold down a steady 9-5 job. He goes in whenever the asylum needs him, whenever they call.

He's possibly never been more thankful of this than right now, when he hears the reports on the radio of some kind of attack on Gotham Central Station. A bombing? Something else? No one's sure. Some of the stations are saying 'fear toxin.'

And the only thing Daniel's more grateful for, then, than his lack of steady work hours, is that he went out yesterday and bought two gas masks, from a military surplus store. He'd have preferred to have time to fit them to him and Rorschach's costumes, but they'd still do like this.

He doesn't know where Walter is right now (At work? At the library? Trying to find Jonathan Crane or Judah Stark?), but he knows his phone number -- mostly because he bought Walter he phone, and insisted he hold onto it in case they needed to get in quick contact. He calls him up.

[holyrorschach]

There's a moment or two where Walter just stares at the ringing plastic invasion of his privacy. Daniel wouldn't call him if it wasn't important, though, so he answers it, despite library policies.

He's glad he did. There's been an attack. They may be needed. He rushes back to the apartment to get his uniform and gas mask and join his partner in helping out at the train station.

[goshdarnniteowl]

It takes a little while to get to the apartment, and then to get down there. To park somewhere secluded, still near enough the rail station to try and see what's going on.

There's a faint, burning chemical smell in the air, enough to make his hears speed up and his head ache. The windows of the station have been blown out, and there's -- oh, man. "That's a lot of cops," Daniel (still out of costume but for gloves and boots and belt -- it would be difficult to explain the cowl and cape, after all, if they got stopped in traffic) mutters to his partner.

[holyrorschach]

"Hurm." There are, indeed, a great many police present. Rorschach looks over the area, scanning every angle of entry. They could move over rooftops, down fire escapes, use the old tunnels to come in a back way... That might take too long.

"Direct approach. Move through police; inform them we're here to help."
Which may not work. They still haven't met with their supposed police contact, so they don't know how welcome their help is.
"Only other option is to take the sewers to the closed train tunnels and the emergency doors through to station. Doors may be blocked."

Rorschach would need to be told not to be in costume. He will pull his mask off if they stop for any prolonged period or if it's called for, but otherwise he prefers to have it on.

[goshdarnniteowl]

Daniel frowns. "I don't like just walking in, if we don't know they won't let us." Getting shot, as slim as the possibility may or may not be, would sort of suck. "I'll email emptybelfry. We give them five minutes to see if they can do something." Or if they can, if they will. "If not, we go through the tunnels. Okay?"

He's already getting out his shiny, shiny phone.

@ GC statn. need in 2 help. assist? Vouch/distrac/backdoor all ok.

thnx.

[holyrorschach]

Rorschach makes a vague sound of annoyance at having to wait and at their continued reliance on technology, but his partner is probably right. He'll wait and see for a few minutes. Even if he isn't happy about it.

"Tunnels are very interesting. Need to show you some time. Many parts of the city can be accessed more freely that way."

Less than a minute passes.

"Replied yet?"

[parable_of]

It takes a minute but the response comes. Renee's uncertain about vouching for them; that kind of thing gets remembered, and might make passing information on in the future more difficult.

w entr in turmoil. mayb cn slip in? armed civ on loose

Certainly, nobody there right now will be looking out for people trying to get in.

[goshdarnniteowl]

He probably has to ward off a few more inquiries from Rorschach, before he's able to say -- "There."

Oh, boy. He starts pulling off his shirt, glad they're hidden away. He's going to need kevlar for this. "The west entrance is enough of a mess that we might be able to get in. There's an armed civilian over there." They can deal with him, and get in, at the same time. "We come around, each take a side, grab and disarm?" With one of them possibly having to be the target, while the other one takes care of the shooter.

It's not like there are many other options, after all.

[holyrorschach]

While Daniel gets into costume, Rorschach further studies the police presence on the scene. He has no kevlar of his own, preferring to remain as flexible and quiet as possible. He doesn't really fear being shot, though. If it happens, it will have been his own fault, and better him than an innocent bystander.

"Mmm. Good plan. Will go around the North side." He casually unwraps a sugar cube from his pocket and pops it into his mouth before pulling his mask down completely. "You go South. See you soon."

And with that, he's out of the car. It won't take long to move through the confused crowd if he's careful and it will allow him to slip into the shadows. He'll move quietly and use the dark as cover. Hopefully, he'll be able to get behind the armed man and incapacitate him before anyone is hurt.

[goshdarnniteowl]

Daniel straps the gas mask on, then pulls the cowl down, regretting again that he didn't have time to alter the mas to go with his goggles. If there was anywhere infrared vision would be useful, it was here. But being able to keep his wits about him is more important.

He goes south.

Nite Owl is far less experienced in the art of stealth than Rorschach, but there's something to be said for toxic and armed distractions, and for just moving purposefully and too fast to be questioned.

It's a mess, when they get in the station. There's far, far too many people, everywhere, screaming and weeping and battling the external projections of their inner demons -- mostly projected upon the other gassing victims. Like that guy, there, with the semi-automatic pistol, screaming something near-incoherent about "-- coming -- I won't --" He sobs, streaming eyes squeezed shut,. as he shoots blindly toward the exit.

[holyrorschach]

He pulls the gas mask over his latex one and rounds the side of the station to head in the west entrance. Rorschach watches the panic, violence and fear with a detached sort of interest. He wonders, vaguely, if this is what humanity looks like stripped naked and left to their grotesque instincts. It also seems that those under the effects of the gas find his mask particularly distressing.

Rorschach runs, keeping low, and moves up behind the frightened and dangerous citizen. One arm goes around the man's midsection while the other takes a firm hold on the wrist of the gunman, squeezing and twisting until there's a small crack and the gun drops. Rorschach lets go and grabs the falling gun while the gassed man grabs his fractured wrist and screams.
"Should not be carrying such a powerful weapon. Wonder if it's licensed."

[goshdarnniteowl]

"Jesus --!" Oh, God.

He can't get sick, now. He can't lose it. He knows whathis partner is like, even if this guy was just -- some poor drugged sap who didn't deserve...

He can't do anything but keep it together, carefully zip-tying the screaming, crying man's hands together behind his back. "Does it matter right now? Come on." He stands. "We take care of the violent ones first -- and try not to hurt them -- then we get anyone else out. Okay?"

[holyrorschach]

"Agreed."

No apology in it at all, just vague agreement. Rorschach will try not to hurt any more of the gassed masses. He holds out an open, gloved hand.
"Ties, please."
He'll have to zip tie them if he isn't supposed to subdue them in other ways.

He'll restrain and ziptie anyone he sees acting violently. Only a few will be put into a sleeper hold and rendered unconscious. Only a few.

[goshdarnniteowl]

Nite Owl digs into his belt, and gives Rorschach a big handful of ties.

They're only, what, a dollar (a cup of coffee, half a loaf of bread, half a dozen eggs, a box of pasta) a piece, right? Plenty to spare. "I'm going to try and get people going toward the exits. Yell if you need me." Knowing full well that he won't, and intending to keep a close eye on him, just in case.

Fwoosh!

[holyrorschach]

The plan is solid and fit to their strengths. Rorschach nods and heads into the fray, watching Nite Owl only subtly from the periphery of his vision. There is a sort of strength and presence to Nite Owl that is much harder to see in Daniel Dreiberg when the costume is off. It interests Rorschach. Just a casual curiosity; the noting of an odd phenomenon.

Strong, powerful men respond to fear with violence in too many cases. Rorschach has to use a few different methods of overpowering those who are larger and stronger than him, but he refrains from inflicting any lasting damage.
He pauses, losing focus, when he ses a woman screaming and trying to bat her own child away. The tiny boy struggles to cling to his mother in the midst of blinding fear and the woman claws and smacks and pushes at her son as if he were an attacking animal of some kind.
"Stop it! Stop it!!He moves towards the woman with such single-minded rage that he never sees the man coming to 'slay the monster'. Rorschach only barely manages to dodge the attack, his side

[goshdarnniteowl]

He glances back over Rorschach's way, after ushering a wide-eyed couple of teenage girls, desperately clinging to each other, toward the nearest exit.

And he sees the dark stains on his partner's uniform, the brown-red seeping through his trenchcoat, and feels his own blood go cold. "Rorschach!"

You'd better believe there's running over there. Oh, God.