Bat Judgement

[screw_subtlety]

It's raining. Of course it'd be raining when the weather didn't say so. Probably one of the superpowered clowns in the city trying to put out a dragon or something. It was a little late for most of them to be out, and none of them seemed to be around Gotham

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[dark_knightress]

She'd been scouring the rooftops, trying to get a lay of the land. It was easier to do this than it was to go around town on her motorcycle. Not a lot had changed in this sector of town, it seemed.

Judging by the three young men following what seemed to be an older gentleman, she sighed. No, things hadn't changed very much at all. She kept a close eye on what was going on down there. It wasn't Religion of Crime related, that much was clear. A nice, simple mugging, most likely.

Has to be about three times as much of that going around now.

She slid her baton out of it's sheath and quietly snapped it open. The bat-shaped attachments at either end glinted darkly in the light.

As one of the punks - a fourth one, she noticed - slashed at him, she leaped off the rooftop and went plummeting down into the alley.

[screw_subtlety]

Frank reaches into his pocket, going for his ballistic knife. However, his hand freezes when he spots something glinting, even in the rain, and his head snaps towards the alley when he hears something land. And in this part of town, he can only think of one man it'd be.

"Yo man, whachoo lookin at?" One of the punks, now in a circle around him, shoves him in the shoulder, or tries. He barely budges. "Hey old man!" This time it's a punch.

It might have even hurt, had it connected. Frank's not about to give up a potential distraction for Batman, however. Instead of gutting him, his hand snaps up, snatching at the thug's wrist, his other grabbing the elbow. It's a simple throw, one that any beginning martial arts user would know. However, with the speed that the thug hits the ground with, it's easy to guess that Frank wasn't your normal old man.

[dark_knightress]

Batwoman sidesteps the flying thug and tilts her head to the side. The man doing the fighting. It's not Batman, unless he's wearing a disguise. It's not Nightwing - she already knows his fighting style. Not Commissioner Gordon.

Huh.

No time to analyze any further, though. A grim smile playing across her dark red lips, Batwoman comes in, her baton twirling above her head, and she whacks one of the thugs on his knees, from behind. It'll only unbalance him, but its enough for her to pivot and throw a couple of batarangs at the other guy before returning her attention back to him.

[screw_subtlety]

Well. That's not Batman. A sidekick, maybe. Either way, she's not making a move towards him and he's not about to risk getting brought in by a superhero. So he's sticking to purely non-lethal moves, turning to hammer a fist into the final guy standing.

She's fast, he'd give her that. If she hadn't been there, they'd all be dead, but as it was, she'd taken one down, was working on another, and he still had two woozy thugs on his hand. "I thought there was only one Bat in this city." He knees his current target in the gut, leaving the younger man wheezing.

[dark_knightress]

Of course it's not Batman. It's not even Batgirl.

It's a Batwoman.

"He probably wishes there was," Batwoman said tersely as she slams an open palm into the face of her current opponent. "But no." She liked the way this person moved. This person who didn't sound old. "Batwoman," she added as she brained the thug with the blunt end of her baton.

[screw_subtlety]

He's old enough to call her girl if he likes.

"Hng." Distracted by her chatter, he takes a punch to the jaw, and returns it with two more heavy blows, dropping the street hood before moving to the one he'd thrown earlier. He blocks a hook and delivers a quick shot to the breadbasket.

Frank may be over sixty years old now, but he's still in better shape than many of the people in this new world. "Frank." That was probably a stupid move, but if she knew who he was, she wouldn't be so friendly. He figures it's safe.

[dark_knightress]

"Pleasure," she grunted as she swiped the blades of her gauntlet at the first guy she'd taken down. He had three deep lines going across his left cheek. It'd probably scar very well once it was healed, she noted. He brought out a switchblade and swiped at Batwoman. She blocked his arm between the blades of her gauntlet and twisted his arm enough to get him to drop the blade. She kicked it away before yanking him forward and headbutting him.

He went down like a sack of potatoes.

"You do this a lot? Pretend to be helpless to draw the thugs out?" It was clear that he could handle himself, but he had to ask. It's not like she hadn't tried similar stunts before her father had helped her create Batwoman.

[screw_subtlety]

A kick to the side of the knee and a final knee to the chin ends Frank's half of the fight. He stops and wipes at his lip, rubbing to see if he was bleeding.

Nope.

After a moment, he glances over to her. "No, not really. I was just trying to avoid trouble." Frank looks around at the former muggers. "I'm still lucky you came along when you did. I'm not as young as I used to be and it's been a good while since I've actually had to fight someone." That at least sounds truthful, especially with the way he's rubbing his knuckles. Then again, Frank could give theater actors a run for their money.

[dark_knightress]

Batwoman studied him as he took down the last one. On closer inspection, he did seem to be someone in his sixties, but there was something about the way he moved...

He was in very good shape, and he could clearly handle himself in a fight. "Something tells me it hasn't been quite as long as you let on."

[screw_subtlety]

He chuckles a little, holding his hands apart. "Not in the way you're thinking." He gestures back, where a subway entrance was a few blocks away. "I work at a gym in Old New York. I help train up and coming boxers." Frank rolls his shoulders lightly. "You're right, I've been fighting recently. But it's been a long time since I've actually fought."

He should've been a lawyer.

"Besides, I used to be Special Forces back in Vietnam. Never quite fell out of the exercise habit." That was understandable, right? Right?

[dark_knightress]

That, she had to admit, was. After she'd been an army brat growing up, and she'd attended West Point herself until all of the unpleasantness had reared its ugly head. "I see." That's all she says. No agreement, but also no disbelief. Just two simple words, said neutrally.

[screw_subtlety]

He nudges one of the hoods with the toe of his boot, then rubs the back of his head as he looks Batwoman over. "I'm not used to dealing with this kind of thing and I'm guessing you're not officially with the police. What do we do now? Just... Handcuff these guys and leave them or what?"

He already knows his answer. But if she's half as good as Batman in a fight, it wouldn't be a good idea to get started in on that.

[dark_knightress]

"I'm not as friendly with them as the other Bats are," Batwoman agreed. She'd heard stories of how Batman had an in with the Commissioner and the like, and while she might have had that sort of thing with Renee...Renee was no longer a cop, and Kate wasn't even sure if her ex-girlfriend existed here yet or not. "But handcuffing them and the like seems to be a smart idea." She reached into the back of her belt and pulled out a few cuffs. She tossed a couple to Frank before she started handcuffing the others. "We could leave a cheeky note, if you like." It wasn't Batwoman's usual style, but maybe it was time to get the word out that Batwoman was in town.

[screw_subtlety]

Frank nods and catches the cuffs, dragging a few thugs closer so he could handcuff them together. "You'd have to supply the paper, all I have are some coupons and a card from a chiropractor." He stands, dusting his hands off. "Might just be easier to cut your little bat into their clothes. Moon Knight was doing that for a little while, I think."

[dark_knightress]

"No idea who that is," Batwoman says. "Besides, I was killing about the calling card thing," she adds. "I doubt the police would take too kindly to something like that." She stands up and brushes back a wayward fold of her cape. "Well. This was something."

[screw_subtlety]

"Hero from my world." Frank waves his hand dismissively. "Used to carve a crescent moon into the foreheads of criminals. Apparently saw a therapist and just started cutting moons into their clothes."

He crosses his arms. "Either way, I'm sure that they'll talk about getting beaten up by Batwoman and Oldman to the police when someone asks." Not that he plans on letting them get to the police.