Sorrow comes to Gotham

[jla_villains]

Johnny Sorrow floats out of the old Chinese theatre in downtown Gotham City with a big smile on his face. Or rather, he would have, if he could smile. As it happens, his mask maintains the standard blank expression that it always has, but inside, Johnny feels a good sense of pride at the act that he just perpetrated

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[femme_du_chat]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the museum, Catwoman has already deduced exactly what the former villain is here for.

If he finds his way to it, he will find the place it occupied until recently rather vacant.

[jla_villains]

"What irritating fellows..." Johnny Sorrow sinks through the cellar ceiling, and into the secure storage warehouse. "Still, by the time they have opened the locked door to get here... Hm." The mask stays rigid in his hand, but the horror where his face should be would smile if it were able.

"Now, I would imagine these are stored alphabetically... But, if I were the rarest piece of occult film, I would store myself somewhere less... obvious." He turns, and scans the room. "Hmm..." Gliding an inch or so off the floor, he comes to a Police Academy poster hanging on the wall. "Very out of place." He reaches through the poster, and finds the predicted alcove... And nothing. "What!? Where!?"

[azure_avenger]

Blue Beetle opens the locked door expediently - which is to say, forcefully. He didn't want to punch a hole through the floor, but a door? A door is easy to replace, so he kicks it right off the hinges.

"Stop right there, Sorrow."

[jla_villains]

Sorrow turns in mid-air, and places his mask back where his face should be. "Or what, Blue Beetle?" He floats slowly closer to the robotic avatar. "Just give me my film, and I shan't hurt anyone."

[_darkknight_]

Nearby, Batman hastens to where he knows Beetle and Sorrow are conversing, a swift, silent approach to ensure Ted does not have to face that nightmare alone.

Where is Zatanna or Fate when you really need a mystic? Hell, he'd even take Constantine right now.

[azure_avenger]

"For an actor, with no face, you're a pretty lousy liar, Sorrow. If you want to see a movie, you can buy a ticket like everyone else.."

[jla_villains]

"Not this film. This film is one of a kind." He floats so that his mask is practically an inch from the robotic avatar's. "Tell me where it is."

[_darkknight_]

An excellent question, as it's one the Bat is likewise pondering.

The film? Gone.

"Blue Beetle," rumbles Batman into his communicator, "you got a way to take him down solo? Otherwise we'll have to get him corporeal and do it the hard way."

[azure_avenger]

One of the advantages of crimefighting by proxy is that Ted can answer Batman without ever cluing in Sorrow that he's doing so. The robot does not echo Ted's reply, which comes through the comm device.

"I've got a tiny layer of Nth metal on my knuckles - I'm hoping that will let my put the guy's lights out, even if he's phased. If not - well, we can rub my mystical scarab and wish real hard."

He switches his vocal communication line to the robot back on.

"What makes you think we know, Sorrow?"

[jla_villains]

Sorrow doesn't answer for a long while, just hovering in place, gently floating up and down. His head is tilted slightly, as if listening to something, but it doesn't seem to be Batman and Blue Beetle's secret conversation, as he stays silent for some time afterwards.

"I no longer think you do... There is someone else here with us. Someone breathing in a controlled manner... A woman."

[_darkknight_]

The World's Greatest Detective doesn't have to flex his mental prowess overmuch to conclude what woman might have come into the Museum after hours and potentially absconded with the film in question. His jawline tightens, his fists clench, and he waits a moment for the anger and fear to ease before moving from his position. Selina, capable or not, isn't anyone he wants dealing with this guy. To one far corner he shoots a sonic grenade; that might at least rattle Sorrow's sense of sound and, therefore, sense of direction.

Then he leaps toward Sorrow's flank, taser charged to Croc-like levels.

[jla_villains]

Just as Sorrow tries to tune in to the breathing of Catwoman, thus homing in on her location, the sonic grenade explodes. "NO!" It's the first time he's genuinely seemed bothered. "You will impede my every attempt, won't-" and the taser is jammed into the only definitely solid part of him. His mask. "-aaarrrgh!"

Johnny Sorrow shimmers and falls backwards, knocking various cinereels to the ground. "That..." he becomes entirely solid and whips his mask free. "Will be your last mistake!!" The horror is unleashed, and he throws a blast of psionic energy at Batman, trying to paralyse the hero with fear.

[_darkknight_]

A pair of 'rangs flies upward at the lights with intent to darken the room, even the odds a bit. Because right now, the Batman is flying blind. And then the psionic blast hits him and backwards he is , suffused with the emotion and power of that strike. The madness and fear associated with Sorrow's features are deflected because of the shields over his cowl's optics; the physical blow from the psionic assault is not. Down he goes, perhaps not out, but down indeed, and with a grunt of pain.

[azure_avenger]

And Beetle there to take the heat off of Batman, swinging in with Nth metal-laced knuckles, intent on knocking the wind - or whatever passes for it - out of Johnny Sorrow.

[femme_du_chat]

Catwoman, for her part, has hidden the film elsewhere, away from her person. She's shifting while she can with the distraction that's helping. As soon as she can figure out how to do more than be a distraction, she'll be more helpful.

For now, she just changes her position while she can.

[jla_villains]

Distracted by aiming his psionic terror at Batman, the Nth metal fist of the Blue Beetle crunches into the face of Johnny Sorrow and he actually stumbles, falling into a shelf of videos and dropping the mask. Clearly he's not used to things hitting him.