Escape From Gotham City

[uncommon_sensei]

The trek out of hell takes longer than one might expect. All those twists and turns, and the natives aren't exactly reliable for directions. Shiva, Dragon, and Tim Drake have hauled themselves out of the infernal realms, though, with no further interference from Neron. Then back through Gotham Below - finally emerging from a dark alleyway in the

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[shiva_wusan]

Shiva's eyes narrow at this development.

This is not a good thing.

[jla_villains]

Zsasz screams in pain at the strike to his ankle, but it also registers in his mind where Dragon is. As he falls to his knee he makes a strike with both knives where he believes Dragon's leg to be.

[uncommon_sensei]

The leg's already gone, but as soon as the knives make contact with the pavement, it comes back again - with a vengeance - a powerful kick directed at the knives themselves, aiming to use the street and Zsasz's grip as reinforcement to break the weapons.

[jla_villains]

As Dragon's leg comes down, Zsasz suddenly pulls the knives away from the strike. His eyes open, pitch-black, soulless-looking eyes.

"Anti-life justifies my hate."

Zsasz moves with far greater speed than before, his leg injury seemingly forgotten, as he attempts two strikes: his left thigh and the right of his ribcage.

[uncommon_sensei]

"Yeah, but what justifies your haircut?"

The playing games phase seems to be over. Dragon's hands go to the pavement, allowing him to whirl around with a move that a casual onlooker might think he borrowed from breakdance, and they wouldn't be far off - Brazilian capoeira resembles dancing to a large degree.

He whirls around amidst the blows from the knives, avoiding major damage long enough to pull off a two-footed kick directed right at Zsasz's jaw.

[jla_villains]

The blow connects viciously as Zsasz is sure a tooth flew out. Some remnant of what's left of Victor Zsasz registers the pain, the exquisite pain, but that part of him is forced down as the Anti-Life equation bears down on him, compelling him to kill the unbeliever. Still, Victor regains enough himself to say one last thing to Dragon before he loses control again.

"Wish I'd met you under different circumstances Dragon. You've got more personality than Batman. I would have enjoyed freeing you of this meaningless existence."

Zsasz's eyes return to the souless-black color and charges again at Dragon. There's no skill in this charge, no technique, as whatever is driving him to kill does not have the killer's sense of "style".

[uncommon_sensei]

Dragon's ready, letting Zsasz get close with those knives before grabbing at the man's wrists and rolling back, aiming to throw the killer's form painfully into the side of a dumpster.

[jla_villains]

Zsasz is sent head first into the dumpster. His head is spinning, he raises himself up on his arms..and then falls back down, unconscious."

[uncommon_sensei]

The knives are confiscated, and the criminal bound with whatever he can find that will hold a knot - before he rejoins the others.

[jla_villains]

"I wouldn't do that, boy." Cicada said with a smile. "Don't look so surprised, I can sense life force energy. Besides, I didn't introduce you to our most mysterious member. He calls himself the Tally Man, and he's some distance from the rest of us. However, the red light of his sniper scope should be visible."

[shiva_wusan]

Shiva looks down at the red dot on her chest and arches a brow toward Dragon. The sniper rifle makes this a little more complicated than it otherwise would have been but she's dodged this sort of thing before.

[jla_randoms]

Sniper? Damn. That makes things harder, but not impossible.

"It's a good thing I know this city then."

Tim backflips from his position to a window sill on the other side of the alley. Gotham's architecture is a mix of old gothic and modern renewal. It offers all kinds of ornate and complicated structural features one can use as cover.

He palms a flash-bang from his belt.

[jla_blackgate]

About a block away, the mysterious hitman known as the Tally Man is positioned on the roof of what used to be a bakery.

"C'mon little birdie, can't hide forever."

He catches movement, the boy or his reflection, he doesn't know, but he fires anyway.

[jla_randoms]

Bullet clips the edge of his cape

[jla_blackgate]

"There you are..." The scope was lined with Robin's head before the flashbang capsule goes off. "..damn it!"

He knows Robin's moved by now as he rubs his eyes.

"Alright you little shit." Tally Man pulls out a pair of infrared goggles, doubling as protection in case of another flash. He sees a red blur swinging to the next building.

"Gotcha." He aims just ahead of Robin's trajectory, and fires.

[jla_randoms]

Tactical choices.
Like calculating when his window of exposure runs out and the Tally Man reacquires his target.

Robin lets go of the line in mid swing and drops suddenly. He can feel the bullet whiz over his head by an inch.

Grabbing the edges of his cape, the memory cloth it's made of stiffens and assumes the rigid shape of gliding wings. It's enough to let him make a fast declining glide to the side of the bakery and out of Tally's arc of fire.

Another grappling line lets him swing laterally to and around the building corner, reaching momentary cover.

Have to be fast.Pulling in the grappling line, Robin adjusts the gas pressure in the launcher and fires the line again. The line hooks the ledge of the building and he lets the automated recoil pull him right up. Using the momentum of the ascent to carry him up above the level of the ledge, Robin throws a brace of Batarangs in Tally's predicted position the moment he comes into view. Rather than landing or catching the edge of the ledge, he let himself fall back out of sight and