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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 4, 2018 2:54:18 GMT -6
Part 2 of Slave In Wonderland Based on Arkham Origins and Alice In Wonderland Prequel to Arkham Knight and Sequel to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City
Chapter 1: Copperhead
It had been a week after The Mad Hatter was taken back to Arkham Asylum after failing to brainwash me into becoming his “Alice” during another twisted journey through Wonderland. A land that he nearly took over and made into his own world, forcing every creature there to go after me in order to make me believe that I belonged in Wonderland with him.
Following the experience, I couldn’t help but have exotic thoughts and flashbacks about my last encounter with one of the most intelligent and yet seductive creature in the land. The blue caterpillar. A being who had showed me ways about Wonderland with his recital skills while smoking his hookah pipe, creating images of my past, present, and future about where my life would lead me next.
I’ll never forget the smell of the colourful smoke that briefly mesmerised me into becoming his servant, performing exotic dances and poems for the creature, while receiving sensual foot and shoulder massages and slowly forgetting who I was. Despite The Mad Hatter’s failed attempt to make me his slave (something tells that he put the caterpillar up into doing this which, made me feel sympathy for the creature), I had to leave the lepidoptera without saying Goodbye to save Wonderland and apprehend the diminutive criminal.
On the other hand, that same exotic feeling was irresistible. Not just because I was mesmerised, but I deeply enjoyed the pleasurable feeling of being loved and treated like a princess while serving for the caterpillar on his mushroom in the middle of the enchanted forest of Wonderland. I recalled wearing a black strapless bikini top with silver trim that covered my ample-sized chest, a flowing black skirt with a triangular silver plate that stood just below my navel area, with each skirt being long enough to cover my womanhood and derrière, attached by silver hip fasteners that showed off my curves. I also wore 8 silver bracelets - 4 around both forearms, with 4 silver chokers around my neck. This was topped off with an ankle bracelet around my left ankle, my mask protecting my identity as CrowWoman.
Part of me wants to one day return to Wonderland, despite my vow to help my beloved Batman keep Gotham safe from the criminal underworld that lurks within Arkham Asylum, home to the most deranged and dangerous criminals. But tonight, I was about to get my deep wishful thinking…..
Until then, it was another typical quiet night in Gotham. I returned to the crime scene inside the storage room of the abandoned hat shop which served as the Hatter’s hideout. I returned as CrowWoman, investigating the area with my detective mode for any hidden clues that would reveal how Jervis made the grandfather clock hypnotise me and bring me to Wonderland. I scanned remnants of the broken grandfather clock on the floor and found a hidden green blanker light that was connected to the face of the clock, a hypnotic 10/6 card attached to it. It was placed there to make it hypnotise anyone just by staring at the green light, which was activated by Jervis’s top hat.
“Clever…..Jervis attached one of his hypnotic cards to activate the grandfather clock under his command.” I thought, scanning the hypnotic card and placing into my utility belt for evidence.
My investigation was interrupted by an emergency call from Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, Barbara Gordon, aka Oracle, through my communicator’s earpiece. I activated it to listen to the call.
“Oracle, what’s up?” I asked Oracle.
“CrowWoman, I just received another police report on Black Mask’s whereabouts. He has recently returned to Gotham and hired an dangerous assassin to put a bounty on your head for 50 grand.” Oracle warned me.
“So Roman Sionis is back. Great. Who is this assassin?” I asked, my index and middle finger resting on my earpiece,walking out of the hat shop.
“They couldn’t identify the suspect yet, but I assume you’ll go and find out for yourself.” Oracle smirked.
“You got that right. Reminds me of the time when Batman was nearly hunted down by Sionis and his group of hired assassins on Christmas Eve several years ago and that The Joker was behind the plan.” I recalled to Oracle, now outside of the hat shop, grappling up to the top of a nearby building with my grapnel hook gun..
“Fortunately, that’s not the case this time.” Oracle assured sarcastically.
“I’ve calibrated the radio signals of his henchmen that should lead me straight to Sionis.” I revealed, knowing my my Cryptographic Sequencer would come in useful to track down Sionis and his goons across Gotham.
"He’ll be expecting you to find him at the Sionis Steel Mill. You’ll be walking into a trap.” Oracle warned.
“That’s what he thanks. Don’t worry, Oracle, I’m on it. I’ll be in touch.” I informed Oracle before disconnecting the call. My mask’s built in scanner began to follow the radio signals of Black Mask and his henchmen across the Industrial District of Gotham.
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 4, 2018 9:33:51 GMT -6
Once Bella leapt off the building and spread her cloak to resemble wings of her avian namesake, she performed a small dive before soaring upwards to allow herself more height. Soon, she was gliding across the rooftops of the condemned facility that was Arkham City. Following the subsequent deaths of Professor Hugo Strange and liquidation of TYGER, the entire project was deemed a failure that cost taxpayers thousands. Shut down and left to rot, the governing body of Gotham enabled various criminals to try and use the area as hideout to avoid justice.
One such criminal was Roman Sionis AKA Black Mask. After he gained notoriety by being the only criminal to escape Arkham City, Sionis urged his followers, known as the False Facers, to help him take back the Sionis Steel Mill, his former base of operations. After an extensive clean up of garish Joker scenery and ensuring nobody could infiltrate or escape his hideout, Sionis revelled in his new found rule. His intense hatred for Batman still lingered, so instead of targeting the Dark Knight, he decided to target Bella to catch Batman’s attention. Word spread that a bounty of 5 grand was put on Bella’s head, but she was not afraid of the criminal’s tactics.
"Arkham City. This place is an eyesore." Bella muttered, continuing to follow the radio signals via her mask’s scanner. The frequency’s range was diminishing as she glided closer and closer to her target. She passed the dilapidated Wonder Tower, it’s towering presence rendered obsolete after previous years of neglect. Now within range of the Industrial District, she landed on the watchtower of the Tricorner Naval building.
"There’s the Steel Mill. Sionis must be inside." She thought, her mask’s built in scanner close to 75 per cent of her target. Seven thugs were patrolling the Steel Mill, two of them on the walkways with sniper rifles. They wore black suits and used masks to cover their faces.
"I’ll need to neutralise the snipers first before clearing the area." Bella decided, silently grappling up to support beam that ran parallel to the building itself. She listened in one such conversation between the two thugs that guarded the main entrance on this cold night.
"What do you think he’s doin’ in there?"
"Whatever they’re doin’, Black Mask’s got a plan."
"Feels good to have the boss back too. Gotham was gettin’ boring without him."
"I hear ya. But do you think we can trust the guy he’s hired?
"An assassin that’s dangerous? Hell no, but you can’t cross him neither."
"Ain’t that the story of our lives."
Bella observed the area, silently gliding herself behind the first sniper in an area at the back of the building and quickly subduing him with a sleeper hold, kicking his legs out from underneath him. Tightening her grip, he fell unconscious.
"So what’s the bounty on the Crow?"
"5 grand. An extra 5 if she’s brought in alive with the Bat."
"I hear Batman’s layin’ low after what happened with Joker a year ago."
"The clown deserved to die. Let’s just worry about making sure we do our job and guard this d**n place."
Bella detected the next sniper on the walkway below. Silently, she made her move....
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 5, 2018 23:57:42 GMT -6
It was like taking a trip down to memory lane to the night when Batman investigated Black Mask’s Steel Mill for the first time on Christmas Eve several years ago during his first year as the world’s greatest detective. It was the same place that Joker temporary took control of during the war in Arkham City, turning it into his own twisted funhouse, or as I referred to it, the madhouse. Joker nearly killed Batman with his own poisoned blood. An act that eventually ended the Clown’s life.
As I leapt off and glided onto the next walkway below, I silently crept behind the second sniper and quickly subdued him, my hands muffling his screams for help before I silently took him down to the ground and knelt on top of his body until he fell unconscious.
Next, I crept across the edge of the walkwaym observing two trucks below me. I jumped down onto the floor at the back of the building where I spotted the third sniper guarding the stairway near the back gate of the building. Soundlessly, I snuck up behind him, quickly silenced his cries with my arm wrapped around his neck, bending him backwards until he was unconscious from the pressure of my ambush.
“4 down, 4 to go.” I whispered to myself, reactivating my detective mode to relocate the final 3 of Black Mask’s henchmen behind me. I knelt down and remained hidden behind one of the warehouse containers until it was safe to make my next move.
I peeked my head out of from behind my cover to spot the forth sniper on the second walkway above me. With my stealth experience coming into play, I silently climbed up the ladder and stopped to make sure that he didn’t spotted me before I used my telekinesis to make the rifle slip out of his hands. Before he could react, he turned around only to find me pouncing on top of him, knocking him down to the ground. I muffled his screams with my hands until he was out cold.
The final 3 thugs were guarding the front door. “Time for breaking and entering.” I thought, launching myself into a glide kick, my boots slamming into the back of the 5th lone sniper on the far left side of the courtyard. As he was knocked to to the ground, I pounced and quickly knocked him out with a loud punch. This caused a small racket, loud enough for the last two thugs to turn around and spot me.
“It’s CrowWoman! Shoot her!” The first thug ordered.
Before they could react with their weapons, I tossed two smoke pellets towards them, releasing a shroud of foggy gray smoke, thick enough for them to lose sight of me.
“Where she go?!” Freaked the second thug, shooting in the air wildly.
“Find her and shoot her dead!” The first thug yelled.
They both felt a tight grip on the back of their heads as I slammed their heads together, knocking them both out. They crumpled to the floor. Unconscious.
“Almost too easy.” I sighed, cracking my knuckles, briefly recharging myself for another possible battle against Black Mask’s goons. Knowing that more were potentially lurking inside, protecting Sionis.
“CrowWoman? I’ve isolated the signal Black Mask was broadcasting. You can track him down with your scanner now.” Oracle informed me through my communicator.
“A bit late, Oracle. I’m about to get my hands on Black Mask. And maybe the assassin too.” I reported back in a determined voice, walking towards the front door that was snow unguarded.
“Right. Well, it’s ready to go when you need it.” Oracle said.
“Thanks, Oracle.” I thanked, disconnecting the call.
“I wish Batman was here." I thought, sighing deeply, wishing that Batman was here with me right now. He could use a night of crimefighting to take his mind off of Joker’s death. It wasn’t his fault that Joker foolishly and selfishly took his own life on the night that we could never forget, no matter how much we wanted to. Even Joker’s last laugh and the disturbing image of his dying grin still haunted my dreams every night. Ever since that fateful night, I’ve been deeply concerned for Bruce and it hurts me to see him this depressed. Which is why after tonight’s investigation, I may pay him a visit at Wayne Manor. As the old saying goes, misery loves company.
Until then, I took a deep breath and bravely opened the font door, entering the Loading Bay.
Whatever Black Mask’s planning, it was obvious that Batman’s not the only vigilante in Gotham he wanted dead……
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 6, 2018 5:10:26 GMT -6
Once Bella entered the loading bay of the Steel Mill, her blue eyes saw that most of the garish bunting and colour that Joker used for his own twisted agenda had been stripped away. Sionis had ordered his False Facers to extensively renovate to the building to make feel like its old self again. This was all done without the roaming eye of the law watching them. Wooden crates lined the room, some empty.
She heard voices ahead of her. 6 thugs were busy chattering. Before she could make her move and take them all out, her eyes snapped shut as she placed her hand to her right temple.
A vision flashed across her mind. A vision of her hourglass figure, still clad in her crimefighting suit, being dipped by six pairs of hands, her pale cheeks blushing beet red. Her blue eyes appeared to be staring into the eyes of a being that had showed her the wonders of sensuality before. Their lips met....
The vision dissipated and Bella’s eyes snapped open. Can’t let this happen now. Need to strike fast and hard. She thought, silently disappearing into the vents that ran along the loading bay’s floor. Up ahead, she could hear the thugs engaged in a conversation, creeping closer until she was right below them. They were all armed with knives and a shield.
"The boss will be glad that this place is back to normal. You shoulda seen it before."
"Joker thought it was some kinda funhouse. How long do you think the boss was thinkin’ of redecoratin'?"
"Days, weeks maybe. Who cares. What I care about is what in the hell Rocco and the guys are still doin’ down there? It’s after midnight."
"They’re changing the security codes - and briefing the assassin on the bounty. That’s what I heard."
"Ah, great. Sounds like we’ll be here all night."
Bella pounced, leaping out of grate and landing a sickening double foot stomp to the back, knocking the first goon completely out.
"Stick together!" One thug called out.
Before the other two could act, Bella leapt into a backflip kick, bringing her left boot crashing down on the second goon’s skull to stun him briefly. The thug with the shield readied himself, but Bella stunned him with her cape, then ran up the shield and brought herself downwards in another double foot stomp, quickly knocking him out.
"Gonna beat you like a dog!" One thug hissed, the one she had stunned earlier. Bella blocked his punch, then delivered a knee to the ribs and punched him on the jaw, stunning him again.
One thug, clad in black body armour, wielded a semi-automatic rifle. Bella quickly took care of him by knocking off his aim, slamming the butt of the rifle into his ribcage, and rolling him into a cross armbreaker. Her long legs had superior strength and she snapped the limb, forcing him to pass out. She had learned this tactic while playfully sparring with her good friend, Ryan Knight aka Nightwolf.
Another masked goon grabbed a red propane tank, lifting it over his head. "Catch this, b**ch!" He hissed, launching it forwards.
"You first." Bella hissed back, quickly tossing a crowarang, the tank exploding in a cloud of gas and sending the thug collapsing into a dazed and incapacitated heap.
She took down the fifth goon with a roundhouse kick, her boot shattering his jaw. The sixth and final goon took a relentless onslaught of punches to the ribcage until the Dark Guardian Angel landed an uppercut that ended his resistance.
"I needed that." She smiled, enjoying the feeling of cracking skulls again. Her blue eyes spotted several discarded dollar bills, knowing that Black Mask would no doubt stash the money that he put on her head from the authorities.
She looked up to the main office, which was devoid of bunting and flashing lights. Now it had been extensively redone. Through her detective mode, she detected five more thugs guarding Sionis’s office. They were panicking.
"You see what happened down there?"
"What are you going on about now?"
"All our guys - gone. It’s like they vanished. Vinnie, Paul, Frank... You don’t think it was the Crow, do you?"
"The Crow? Here?"
"She’s probably out for revenge after the boss tried to off her!"
Bella glanced over at a door on her left. A door that she couldn’t access during Arkham City. Her hands grasped the handle and she opened it, emerging in a small stairwell that lead up to the main office. The thugs were still voicing their concerns above her.
"Listen. Anyone - including the Crow - opens that door - they’re full of holes. That things fully automated. Never misses."
"How do you know it works?"
Trust me. It works."
Bella used her detective mode to see into the room. It was guarded by a fully automated machine gun turret, so she couldn’t enter.
"Can’t just knock on the door and ask them to let me in. Need to find a way past." She decided, looking up to find a vent on the wall above her. With one shot from her crowclaw, she pulled the vent cover off the wall and climbed inside. Ahead of her was the office, along with the thug’s nervy chatter.
"This is like that scene in a horror movie where you know the monster is just outside the house. And we’re the dumbasses stuck in the house."
"No, man. We’re the monster."
Bella had heard enough. It was time to act.
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 8, 2018 4:36:16 GMT -6
I silently walked across the wooden platform of the ceiling until I was right behind the thugs. Two of them were activating the machine gun that was connected to the entrance door.
I dropped another handful of smoke pellets that created a large and disorienting cloud of thick grey smoke that blinded the first three goons before I made my entrance. First, I landed a drop attack on top of the first thug that briefly stunned him, freaking out the other two thugs staggering within the smoke.
“Knock, knock, boys!” I snarled, ready for round two. Springing into action, I quickly punched the first thug in the face and kneed him in the jaw, knocking him out.
“Here we go!” warned the second thug. I leaped up into the air and my hands began to emit blue energy as I slammed my fists onto the floor and delivered a telekinetic blast, sending shock waves of energy that vibrated across the room, knocking all four thugs down, briefly dazingthem.
Dollar bills were flying everywhere in the room like falling leaves from autumn trees. I attacked the thug in body armour by punching him in the face and flipping him over my shoulder onto the floor before twisting and snapping his arm, forcing him to pass out. I then ran and leapt on top of the third thug and knocked him out with another punch to the face. I then pulled out my crowclaw and fired it onto the forth thug, the cables and hooks forcibly pulling him towards me before I flattened him with a clothesline that transitioned into an elbow to the ribcage that knocked him out. The last thug failed to attack me from behind me as I ducked down from his attempted punch and kicked him in the manhood, causing him to scream I agony. I then leapt on top of him and silenced his screams with a pointblank punch to the face.
“I need to hack into that computer so I can find the security code for the door.” I said, investigating the room for any other clues that could tell me more about Black Mask and his next plan.
“I still have nightmares about this place.” I said, recalling how this room used to be re-designed as Joker’s office back when he took over this place in Arkham City. He briefly held us captive, poisoned Batman and taunted us about samples of his poisoned blood being distributed across Gotham before kicking Batman, Nightwolf, and myself out of the widow.
“Looks like Black Mask’s been busy trying to put this place back together again.” I said, detecting a nearby working desk filled with paperwork. A captive photo posted on the wall appeared to the show the assassin that Black Mask that recently hired to kill me.
“Hang on…..” I mused, looking up and placing my hands on my hips, raising my one eyebrow up out of suspicion after getting a closer look at the image of the female assassin. She could almost pass off as a half snake,half human criminal because of her short blonde hair and inhumanly serpentine yellow eyes. Her face was covered in scales while her eyes were covered in black smudge. She appeared to have a massive symbol tattooed across her upper chest.
“Copperhead?” I questioned, reading the name below the photograph of the assassin. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, feeing deeply annoyed at the fact that I’ve already dealt with reptilians during my career as a crime.fighter. Namely those that have either tried to squeeze me, eat me, or play with me.
“She doesn’t look that dangerous.” I assumed, confident that I can take her down. I passed the first desk and detected another nearby working desk that had two big screen monitors connected to the computer and a suit case fill of cold hard cash.
“Oracle, I’m uploading data from one of Black Mask’s severs. I need codes to bypass the security door in the loading dock.” I warned Oracle, activating my Cryptographic Sequencer to revealed holographic info on Black Mask’s recent criminal files.
“”Receiving it now, CrowWoman.” Oracle responded.
“Interesting…..Sionis had a pacemaker implanted.” I realised, “It says here he had Prolonged Q-T syndrome. Anything that raises his heart rate could trigger cardiac arrest. Sionis was having difficulties getting his business back to order after the Arkham City incident last year. These photos show him obtaining chemicals used in making explosives. If I find Sionis, I’ll know what he’s planning.”
“CrowWoman. I’ve found the security codes you were looking for. You have access to the building now.” Oracle informed me.
“Thanks, Oracle.” I thanked, disconnecting the call after downloading the security codes into my Cryptographic Sequencer.
I fired my grappling hook onto the wooden platform on the ceiling before guiding myself back into the loading bay.
“CrowWoman, Looking through Sionis’s files, I found a reference to a chemical similar to the compound you need for your glue grenade. I’m going to try to synthesize it. If it works, I’ll have a prototype for you as soon as the resin cures.” Oracle informed.
“Good I’ll need it. The more I learn about Black Mask, the more I realise. There’s something very different about him ever since Arkham City.” I admitted.
“Tell me about it, we all haven’t really been the same since that night, especially…..Bruce. He hasn’t said a word in two weeks. I’m worried about him.” Oracle sighed.
“So am I….I’ll try to talk to him after tonight. I’ll be in touch.” I promised, disconnecting the call again.
To my left was the security lock for a nearbylocked door. I pulled out my Cryptographic Sequencer again and uploaded the code “CHEMICAL” to deactivate the security lock.
As I opened the door and walked into the Loading Bay Depot, I heard a loud racket coming from the other side of the building
“What was that?” I asked, thinking I saw a shadow fall over the corridor. I ran up the two sets of stairs on the walkway until I opened another doors, revealing the warehouse where Black Mask’s goons were moving a box filled of explosives into another hidden room disguised as a brick wall.
“I”ll need to find way inside that room.” I thought, realising that this mission was going to be more differecult than I thought…..
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 8, 2018 12:44:10 GMT -6
The explosives were wheeled into the hidden room via a forklift truck, with 4 thugs, including one hulking brute, escorting it inside as the hidden wall closed. Seven goons were guarding the depot. Bella noticed a large crane being retracted back into position across the ceiling. It was holding 12 steel girders in place.
"Seven thugs. Shouldn’t be a problem. She thought, crouching into position while the thugs chattered.
"C’mon. Why you messing with the crane? We’re supposed to be locking this place down."
"Whatever, man."
"I’m serious. Knock it off."
"Okay. Okay. Let me shut it down."
Ignoring the angry exchange, Bella used the shadows to step onto a nearby shipping container. More chatter could be heard.
"Why we gotta lock this place down anyway? Black Mask expecting the cops?"
"I heard it ain’t the cops he’s worried about. It’s the Crow."
"The Crow? That chick for real?"
"Well, the boss seems to think so."
"Yeah, well the boss seems to think that his plan’s gonna work."
"What are you tryin' to say?"
"All I’m sayin’ is that it’s just one of the Bat’s little helpers, that’s all."
"That’s where you’re wrong, man. We snag the Crow, then that draws the Bat out of hidin’. We bag ‘em both, and the boss will give us the bounty."
"You forgettin’ about that assassin?"
"Screw that b**ch. We’ll kill her and make the boss forget all about her."
A black shadow landed on the thug standing next to the crane control panel, stunning him briefly. It was Bella.
"Time to make a withdrawal." She smirked.
With unerring speed and accuracy, she launched attack after attack. A kick to one thug. A double axehandle strike to another thug. After a twisting elbow strike to thug #4, she targeted a duo that carried weapons. One thug with a shield met a cape stun, before she ran up the shield’s frame and propelled herself upwards into the air, bringing both her feet crashing down to his midsection to stun him.
Next, she targeted the thug in body armour. With swift reflexes, she stunned him with a quick punch, jammed the end of his wooden baseball bat into his ribcage, then took him down via his left leg, snapping it with her bare hands. The pain made him pass out.
With six thugs remaining, Bella somersaulted clear and sprayed a quick burst of explosive gel. Clicking the trigger, the small explosion stunned at least two of them. Thug #3 met a straight kick to the face. Thee speed and precision of her strikes left them wide open, with thug #4 taking a swift beatdown that took him out.
Five goons left. Next she performed a telekinetic blast that stunned the quintet. One thug took an uppercut, before Bella launched another aerial stomp attack on a thug that grabbed a discarded shield. They didn’t know what hit them. Next, her crowclaw latched onto thug #2, bringing him in for a wicked lariat/elbow to the rib attack, putting him down.
With a quartet remaining, Bella easily dealt with all of them. A beatdown with a knee strike to finish, another uppercut, a roundhouse kick, and a vicious elbow strike put them all down. But the contest was not over yet.
"The Crow’s here, people. Get ready." Came a gruff voice.
The brick wall opened, revealing ten thugs. 5 of them carried lead pipes. They were all backed up an enforcer, one of Sionis’s most trusted lieutenants. He was taller than the rest, clad in intimidating black body armour. All of them responded to their order with affirmative confirmations.
"I want her dead, you understand me? Deader than dead. She gets past us and any of you that survive will wish that you were deader than dead too." The enforcer ordered.
All eleven thugs surrounded Bella. She showed no fear. To her, they were in for the biggest surprise of their lives. Underestimating her was their biggest mistake......
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 9, 2018 4:05:38 GMT -6
As 11 more thugs circled me, including the enforcer, I stood on my guard with my fists beginning to glow pure blue energy again, ready for round 2.
“You asked for it……” I snarled darkly, leaped in mid air and releasing another telekinetic blast, sending another shock waves across the room, knocking 5 of the eleven strong gang down, dazing them for a brief moment.
I somersaulted over the first thing holding onto a makeshift shield, jumping on top of him and knocking him down to the floor.
“I’m gonna put you on the ground, Crow!” Yelled the second thug, charging at me with a knife in his hand. I dodged his repeated slashing attacks, somersaulted behind him and kneed him in the spine, knocking him out.
The third goon with the baseball bat failed to hit me in the back of the head as I reached my arm out and gripped tightly on the weapon, breifly hitting him in the face, then slammed it into his ribcage and flipped him over my shoulder onto the floor, twisting and snapping his arm, watching him pass out.
“Help yourself!” Yelled the 4th thug behind me. I turned around to see him holding a red crate above his head. He tossed it towards me, but I quickly caught it.
“I don’t think so.” I smirked, throwing back at him, striking him in the head as it smashed into pieces, briefly dazing him. I attacked the 5th thug with the metal pipe in his hand, slammed his head onto the weapon before used it to trip him onto the floor and snap his leg.
“I’ll rip you apart! Piece by piece, little birdie!” The enforcer warmed. He was the last one to go down.
“Knock yourself out, big boy.” I smirked, standing across from him. He charged in an attempt to knock me down like a bowling pin, but I rolled out of harms way as he barrelled past..
I tossed several crowarangs at the enforcer to briefly stun. I kicked him in the back. knocking him down to his knees. With my superior gymnastic skills, I leapt onto his back and into the air, slammed my fists down onto the head, knocking that beast out cold.
“I’m gotta feel that one in the morning.” I grunted in slight pain on my knuckles. I shook it off and quickly laid waste to the final six thugs, snapping limbs, breaking jaws, and knocking them all out. I felt deeply satisfied with my crime fighting skills.
“Now to find a way into that secret room.” I said, activating my detective mode looking up and realising that there was a weak spot on the wall above the secret passageway.
My eyes noticed the panel that supposedly activates the crane on the other side of the room.
“I wonder…..” I asked myself curiously. Cautiously, I pressed the red button to activate the crane. It began to move forward the 12 steel metal girders still in place as it slowly slammed halfway in the brick wall. It wasn’t wide enough for me to pass through.
“Wait a minute…..” I realised, seeing that a handle was attached to one of the steel girders. I pulled out my crowclaw and fired, the hook and cable attachingitself onto the handle. Using my strength reserves I pulled hard enough to allow the girders perpetual motion. They swung themselves one more time, hard enough to hit all the way, creating a huge hole through the brick wall above me.
“That’s more like it.” I smirked, using my grappling hook gun to launch me onto the edge of the broken wall, revealing the hidden room.
But before I could go any further, I gasped as the same shadow of an unknown figure moved, unseen by my eyes. A sinister female chuckle rose, then disappeared.
“What was that?” I asked, leaping off the broken brick wall and entering the room..
“Get them out of me! Help! No! Oh, God! Please! NO! Get out! Get out! Get AH!” Came a frantic series of criesand screams from the elevator. Knowing that one of Black Mask’s men was in distress. I entered the elevator that took me down to the first floor, accompanied by another sinister laugh.
“Who did this?” I asked.
The Black Mask’s thug was laying helplessly on the floor inside the elevator.
“What happened? Who did this to you?” I asked the thug.
It was too late. He choked on his last breath, his body laying lifelessly on the floor. I kneeled down to check his pulse. He was dead.
“I can use my evidence scanner to examine the body for clues.” I thought, beginning to scan the dead body for clues. I discovered that he was somehow poisoned by a lethal neurotoxin.
“No signs of assault……Hmmm…..His system shut down by acute toxicity. He’s been poisoned.” I discovered, the elevator stopping at the next floor. I could hear a conversation in the next room.
“He just lost it. Started clawin’ at his skin and than he ran into the elevator.”
“We should call for backup."
“So the boss can shot us dead cuz we can’t handle our jobs? Hell, no.”
I silently opened the door, entering a maintenance corridor, spotting 5 more thugs guarding the next entrance ahead of me.
“I swear it was some kind of witchcraft or something.”
“We’re ain’t gotta make it out of here alive. None of us are.”
“Hey yo, something doesn’t feel right here. Its like we’re being watched.” Warned one thug, who was in possession of a knife ins hand.
I snuck up behind behind the first thug and delivered a combat takedown, kicking his leg out from underneath him and caused him to fall backwards before I elbowed him in the ribcage to send him crashing downwards.
“Can we talk about this for a second?” Asked the second thug.
I fired mycrowclaw onto him and pulled him towards me before I flattened him with another lariat/elbow takedown, knocking him out.
“No.” I responded coldly.
I then attacked the 3rd thug with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, then somersaulted myself into midair and landed on top of the 4th thug and knocked him out with a pointblank punch to the face.
I lastly attacked the last thing with a pipe in his hands, gripping onto it’s metal frame and slamming it into his face, dazing him. I slammed his body against the wall with my telekinesis and held him up a few feet in the air for interrogation.
“Where’s Black Mask?” I asked the thug, gripping my hand tightly around his throat.
“He’s……He’s somewhere inside the Drug Lab. But he’s got others waiting for you in there.” The thug choked.
“Who else is with him?” I asked, enquiring about an unknown assassin that Black Mask hired.
“I……I don’t know……I didn’t see…..I swear……But she’s dangerous, man……She’s everywhere……” The thug pleaded, begging for mercy.
“Was that a threat?” I asked.
“Please…..Let me go…..I just wanna live…..” The thug pleaded.
“Consider yourself lucky.” I hissed, used my telekinesis to slam his body down onto the floor. Insult to injury followed as I knocked out the thug with a punch to the head.
I walked up the set of stairs and saw another security lock that needed to be deactivated with another code. I pulled out my Cryptographic Sequencer again and found the code - “NARCOTIC” - before the door was unlocked. I cautiously opened the it, entering the Drug Lab.
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 9, 2018 10:17:27 GMT -6
The drug lab was where the components and chemicals for the explosives were stored. The main mixing vat had sinister black paint spray painted on it’s silver surface, shaped like the symbol of Sionis’s alter ego. Conveyor belts snaked through the entire room, no doubt used to ferry various drugs for prospective deliveries for greedy consumers, all influenced by the value of money.
"Sionis must be in here somewhere." She thought to herself.
Bella switched on her detective mode, only to find the field of vision was being jammed by an unknown source, leaving her partially blind.
"Something’s jamming my detective mode. I’ll need to neutralise that threat first before I clear the room." She thought, silently grappling up to a nearby vantage point.
At least 8 thugs were patrolling the chamber, 3 of them armed with sniper rifles. They took up position on the various walkways that lined the walls of the room. But Bella knew they had to wait. She had to take down whoever was jamming her detective move first. Her blue eyes zeroed in on a lone thug patrolling to the right of the mixing vat.
"Room is secure, boss. No one’s gettin’ in here."
"You schmoe’s better be ready. If CrowWoman sticks her pretty little head through the door, blow her brains out so I can see for myself."
"No problem, boss. We’ll string her up like a salami after we’re done with her."
"There’s an extra 5 grand for whoever brings me her corpse. Don’t disappoint."
Ignoring the idle threats, Bella zeroed in on the thug with the jammer patrolling at the back of the room. Landing behind him, she quickly muffled his screams until he was put to sleep. She then snapped the antenna off of his jamming backpack, shutting down the jamming signal, and giving her full vision of the room again.
"Now I can see again. Time to do a little spring cleaning." Bella thought, returning to a vantage point with her grapnel hook gun to plan her next method of attack. Her blue eyes spotted a lone sniper to her left.
Silently, she glided down behind him and kicked him in the knee. Before he could cry for help, Bella took him down and stifled his cries until he passed out.
Returning to the safety of the skies, Bella swung to another vantage point. She saw that one sniper wore body armour, and he was standing right next to a gas tank. With a quick burst of telekinetic energy, she brought the small tank crashing into him, effectively knocking him out.
"Three down, four to go." She whispered.
As the remaining goons began to panic, she dropped a smoke pellet onto the duo below her, who were guarding Black Mask’s office. With the thick clouds acting as a useful distraction, she leapt down and executed a double takedown, slamming both their heads together to knock them out.
Her telekinesis came into play, using a small wave of energy to bring a trio of fire extinguishers crashing into the last trio. The impact from the objects once they exploded from hitting the goons, effectively put them to sleep.
"Now for Sionis." Bella thought, turning her head towards the office behind her....
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 10, 2018 2:07:54 GMT -6
Without hesitation, I opened the door and entered Sionis’s private office. The left side of the office had several security monitors and an opened suitcase filled with 50 grand in cash, presumably for the unknown assassin whom was hired to kill me.
The right side of the office housed a torture area with a glass cabinet filled with the skulls of Sionis’s past victims and a stretcher attached to chains on the ceilin, a tray of tools sat nearby, tools that were used to torture his victims with. It looked like it was saved for me when Black Mask attempt to break me down before killing me himself.
According to Batman, Black Mask was well known to be one of Gotham’s most powerful crime bosses while also known for being a master torturer at the same time, terrorising anyone who betrays him or gets in his way.
I’ once read his criminal records in the GCPD. In his personal profile, Sionis was born into a wealthy family, but was nonetheless raised by abusive, selfish, and neglectful parents. After he finally reached his breaking point, Roman set fire to his family mansion, which completely burned it to the ground and murdered his parents at the same time. Left with their massive fortune, Sionis embezzled his inheritance money and started numerous lucrative business ventures, which he eventually used as a front for illegal operations.
Unfortunately for Black Mask, his days were numbered. His first encounter with the Joker occurred. The clown tortured him before stealing from him, taking his men, and murdering his girlfriend. Batman eventually arrested him on Christmas Eve years ago. Years later, during the Arkham City incident, he discovered that Joker briefly used hIs Steel Mill as his own property, turning into his own twisted funhouse.
After the Joker's death, I went to investigate as CrowWoman, hoping to find Sionis. He became a new gang leader in the abandoned Arkham City. I tracked him to his hideout, an old meat packing facility, where I found out that some of Penguin's thugs joined him, and that the Riddler was also helping him. Lastly, I intercepted a Freight Train leaving the city, fighting my way through some of the Joker's thugs that had also joined Black Mask. After getting through three cars, I came to the end to find Mr. Hammer and Black Mask blocking the control box. After i beat the thugs and Mr. Hammer, I left Sionis for last, apprehending him, destroying the control box that was moving the freight train, and sent him, the thugs, and Mr. Hammer back into custody..
After Arkham City, Sionis was released with a compensation package. He likely returned to being one of the crime bosses in the underworld, taking the place of the Falcone and Maroni crime families, now back in the crime business in his restored Steel Mill in the Industrial District.
In the center of the office was a fireplace, it’s warm embers brightening the shadows. A vintage record player sat nearby. I noticed someone sitting on a large red armchair at the fireplace.
“Expecting someone, Sionis?” I asked, standing across from the office with my arms folded, waiting for Black Mask to reveal himself. He eventually rose himself up from the armchair and turned himself around to face me, wearing his skull-shaped mask that covered his face and head. He also wore a flawless white business suit and black gloves. He was carrying a gun in one gloved hand, pointing it directly at me. I showed no fear, staring grimly back at him with my fists up, heavily on my guard for any possible attack.
“CrowWoman…..You think you can just walk into my office, huh?” He asked.
“I don’t get it, Sionis…..You have your place back…..Why start trouble now?” I asked, wondering why Black Mask had the nerve to try to take over Gotham again.
“Nothing personal, babe. Just business. This city always has problems. Some more freaks like you who thinks she's a hero just like The Bat. Fortunately, there isn't a problem in the world that can't be solved with a little bit of money.” Black Mask smirked.
“Don’t you mean, your “daddy’s” money?” I snarled, reminding him that he was the one who murdered his family so he could take over his family’s fortune and business.
That insult enraged Black Mask, his finger primed and firmly placed on the gun’s trigger of the gun.
“After those bast**ds locked me in that hellhole they called Arkham City, I knew I had the right to take back what is MINE! You should’ve just minded your own business!” Black Mask snarled, recalling when he briefly took over Joker’s gang as his own after the latter’s death before I stopped him back in Arkham City. All of this plot was to get his revenge on me for taking him down.
“I understand why you were upset......The Joker had put all of us through a lot of pain and misery over the years. But now’s the time to start a new beginning.” I urged, trying to convince Black Mask to shut down this operation before things get worse.
“You’re d*** right it’s a new beginning. Because now that the clown’s dead for good, I’ll have this city again!” Sionis vowed, promising to rule Gotham’s criminal underworld once again.
“Don’t make me hurt you, Sionis.” I warned Black Mask.
“You won’t hurt me because I’ll be the one taking you out!” Black Mask threatened.
He pulled the trigger of his gun, firing a bullet straight towards me…..
I used a powerful telekinetic force field to block the bullet, rolling out of harms way as Sionis continued to fire more bullets at me. I kept my force field active with my mind, my hands up like an invisible shield. I knew that the more I kept blocking the bullets, my force field would use up a lot of my energy and concentration.
I quickly somersaulted and took cover behind the armchair, my telekinetic force field fading, cautiously readying a crowarang, Black Mask’s waiting for me to come out of hiding.
“You can’t hide from me, Crow! I’ll enjoy clippin’ your wings myself and leave you for dead. Even Batman will see that nobody messes with Black Mask!” Sionis warned.
I acted fast and threw the crowarang at his hand, which struck him and caused him to drop the gun.
“Ah! You’re dead, b**ch!” Black Mask growled through his teeth, grunting in agony.
“Not today!” I yelled leaping out from behind the archer and punching him in the face, knocking him to the floor. I handcuffed his hands behind his back while he was slightly dazed.
“Where’s the assassin?” I asked, beginning to interrogate with the crime boss about the unknown assassin’s whereabouts
“Go to hell!” Black Mask spat, refusing to cooperate.
“Wrong answer!” I snarled, kicking in the ribcage while he was handcuffed.
During the interrogation, I was too busy kicking Sionis when he was down to even realise that I was in danger. Someone was watching us from above the office, unseen, slithering through the narrowest of taps and spaces with her extremely talented reflexes and scary agility. She was close enough to observe us…..
“By my count, there are still nine more ribs I can break.” I warned Black Mask, kicking him in the ribcage again. “Now that’s eight.”
“You think that’ll make me talk? You don’t scare me! You’re not Batman!” Sionis insulted.
With my hand gripped tightly on the collar of his suit, I punched him in the face again. He was forcing me to take extreme measures.
The assassin slithered out of the ceiling. She was now right behind me
“I can control your pacemaker remotely. You want to see what two hundred and fifty beats per minute feels like?” I threatened, reactivating my Cryptographic Sequencer in my utility belt, ready to use it to increase his heart rate.
"You wouldn’t!” Black Mask spat, calling my bluff.
“Try me!” I warned.
Things were about to take a turn for the worse.....
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 10, 2018 7:06:42 GMT -6
Before Bella could really cross the lines of interrogation, the shadow behind her lunged forward with unerring speed and delivered a spinning headscissors hold, launching the intrepid crimefighter halfway across the room. It all happened so fast that she barley had anytime to react.
Copperhead hissed. Her short blonde and serpentine glare belied her horrifying look. Her human anatomy was covered in brown and black snake scales, from her head to her feet. Each of her three fingers had a sharp blade on each hand, her eyes smeared in black smudge. Jutting out the back of her tight fitting clothes was mutated snake tail, long enough to immobilise and grab unsuspecting victims. A pair of snake fangs protruded from her top jaw.
"Copperhead." Bella scowled, getting a good look at the assassin.
The assassin lunged forward, Bella grabbing her wrist and bending her forward. Copperhead hissed and brought her left foot upwards, kicking Bella in the jaw to stun her. With her frightening speed and reflexes, the serpentine contortionist leapt onto Bella’s right shoulder, attempting to slash her across her face. Bella quickly blocked and twisted her arm, spurred on by the absolute determination to fight.
Sionis saw this opportunity and hobbled to the door, still handcuffed. "Kill her and I’ll pay you whatever you want. Make her suffer and I’ll double it!" He yelled.
Copperhead, slippery as an eel, countered again by pressing her long legs to into Bella’s throat while hanging upside down in front of the young detective. Bella grimaced, still refusing to give in.
"Hmmph. An empty promise from fallen king. I know the rules." Copperhead sneered.
Bella drove her knee into Copperhead’s ribs, finally managing to get the dangerous assassin off of her. Her blue eyes burned with an intense hatred as they squared off, leaving Sionis to make his escape.
"Couple a’freaks. You two deserve each other." Sionis sneered, stumbling out of the office.
Bella stood her ground, not showing intimidation, but rage. "I don’t know who you are or what you want, Copperhead. But your little game ends now." She promised, hands sparking with blue telekinetic energy.
Copperhead lunged forward as Bella ducked. But before she could counter, the assassin spiralled and twisted around her body until her strong legs and arms latched themselves onto Bella’s torso and shoulders respectively. Caught off guard, Bella was completely wide open to attack.
"It’s just starting, chica!” Copperhead hissed in Latin American accent.
Her sharp fangs plunged downwards, right into Bella’s neck. As if spurred on by adrenaline, the raven-haired crimefighter snapped her head back in the shape of a headbutt, stunning Copperhead briefly before throwing her off.
Bella staggered back, the momentary flash of adrenaline fading. Her gloved hand reached up to touch her cheek, specks of crimson clearly showing. Her whole field of vision was starting to spin.
"What did you do to me?" She asked, feeling woozier and woozier with each passing second. She staggered forward, falling to one knee, desperately trying to fight off this deadly influence.
"I killed you. And in a few more hours, your body will realise it." Copperhead taunted, dangling from the ceiling, watching Bella begin to fade. The powerful neurotoxin in her fangs was extremely potent. Most victims usually died within second, but this compound was slow acting.
"Heh.... That’s it. Use your strength. With every effort, you hasten your end." Copperhead hissed, disappearing up into the ceiling, knowing that her prize of 5 grand would mean nothing to her. The title of the assassin that killed one of Gotham’s dark defenders would no doubt inflate an already confident ego.
Bella staggered up to her feet, still feeling the effects of the poison that flowed through her veins. "Must scan the room for...... Copperhead’s poison." She said in between breaths, her voice weak.
She detected a drop of DNA on the floor near the torture area. It belonged to the serpentine criminal.
"Female perspiration.... Copperhead came this way." She coughed.
Another drop of perspiration was scanned, allowing Bella to reconstruct the moment from when Copperhead got the drop on her seconds ago. It played a holographical image of the assassin slinking out of the ceiling and lunging forward.
"All I need is one drop of poison....." Bella rasped, her voice getting weaker. She played back the moment when Copperhead struck, viewing her movements as she was somehow able to fit herself through the narrowest of gap’s with ease. She detected a small drop of the poison that was effecting her, quickly scanning it.
"There - It’s a powerful neurotoxin....." She realised, her scanner relaying the information to Oracle, hoping she’d realise the gravity of the situation.
"Oracle...... Uploading analysis of a neurotoxin. Need you to synthesise an antidote." Bella spoke, pressing her weak fingers to her communicator earpiece.
Your vitals are off the charts. What happened?" Oracle asked, her voice tinged with small levels of shock upon receiving the information from Bella. "Nevermind. Just get up to ground level so I can send in an airdrop. And after this, I’m calling Bruce so he can have a look at you.
Bella disconnected the call, staggering out of Sionis’s office. Her body was weak, on the verge of shutting down from acute toxicity. Every step she took seemed to speed up the affects of the neurotoxin, her walk becoming more ungainly and slow. Several taunting shadows of Copperhead flashed across the room, accompanied by her disturbing laughter.
"I need to get back..... to ground level." Bella stammered, coughing as she staggered up a nearby staircase to the door that she entered earlier. A blood red shadow and another taunting laugh greeted her. She opened it and staggered through, falling to her knees.
Her vital signs were on the verge of flatlining.
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 13, 2018 4:39:32 GMT -6
“What would your mother say if she could see you now?” Came a familiar voice from across the corridor, an image of a tall dark figure appearing in front of me.
I coughed, trying to catch my breathe with every strength I have left within me the poison slowly sapping my lifeforce. My half opened eyes witnessed everything around me spinning and blurry, slowly losing touch of reality.
“Bruce…..?” I gasped weakly at hallucination. It was my beloved Bruce Wayne in his Dark Knight persona. He gazed down upon me and shook his head in deep disappointment.
“Recklessly risking your own life in attempt to keep Gotham safe. And for what? You’re not a saviour. You’re just a Raven. And a predictable, useless waste of Raven at that. Why would you ever think I would love someone like you? Look at you……You’re nothing but a Witch and a curse to my city.” Bruce’s hurtful voice spoke, echoing in my head.
“Bruce……Please……” I coughed and begged, on the verge of tears.
“You disappoint me, Isabella…..You disappoint me…..” Bruce lastly said! disappearing in a cloud of black smoke.
“No……” I weakly coughed, staggered back up to my feet again. I limped through the corridor, green smoke making reality flash before my eyes. Copperhead stood across from me with a satisfying smirk on her face, sinisterly laughing again before she vanished.
“Yoo-hoo! Guess whooooo?” A disturbing and taunting voice called out. A voice I knew all too well, causing me to collapse to my knees again. I could barely stand up straight.
“It can’t be……!” I gasped, my eyes widening in horror as I turned myself around and flinched back in absolute fear at the sight of the deceased image before me. It was the Joker. He was standing across the metal bars that separated us on the right side of the room. He still looked like the way I remembered him before, the skin around his face now fully affected from the TITAN formula that killed him. Swollen lumps and abscesses covered his chalk white skin.
“Miss me?” Joker grinned, his infamous smile spreading wide across his diseased face, revealing his rotten and yellow stained teeth.
“No…..You’re dead……” I gasped, backing away from the Joker, on the verge of death.
“Me? Oh no, no, no. I’m still alive, Bells. In here.” Joker chuckled evilly, pointing to his head, referring to my mind. “It’s the memories of all the fun times we had together. You can never get a rid of me. And don’t tell me that you don’t miss me, Bells. After all, why would you still have all those dreams about me every night?"
Those disgusting taunts drove me close to the brink.
“I don’t believe you!” I yelled, clutching my hands into my head, refusing to listen to the dead clown. “You’re dead and you will stay that way!”
“Oh, lighten up, Bells. Deep down, in whatever is left of your twisted little mind, you’re too afraid to face reality. And after all you’ve been through over the years, helping The Dork Knight protect this city, no matter what you do, nothing will ever change the fact that you’re just a freak. Like. Me.” Joker taunted again.
Bella grimaced, her mind on the verge of shutdown.
“When are you going to learn that you’re not a hero? Because you could’ve saved me. But you and Bats left me to die, remember? So who’s the real murderer here? Hmmm?” Joker asked in a creepy and mocking tone, waiting for me to snap. I kept clutching my head with my hands, desperately trying to ignore this nightmarish illusion.
“You don’t look so good, Bells…..But don’t worry, it won’t be long before you’ll be reunited with your dear old Uncle J!” Joker laughed.
“NO!” I screamed, throwing a crowarang at the Joker hallucination. It went right through him, hitting steel piping on the wall. Joker just manically laughed, the sound piercing my eardrums.
“Toodles!” Joker laughed, eventually disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. I weakly staggered out of the corridor and closed the door behind me, breathing heavily, leaning against the door to catch my weak breath. My face was covered in sweat from the poison and the hallucinations happening all at once. My weak heart couldn’t take it.
“Stay calm……That wasn’t real……You need to focus……You’re almost there……” I muttered to myself, trying to remain confident, despite the worse that was yet to come for me. I slowly staggered towards the elevator, the same dead body of the Black Mask’s thug still slumped inside. Everything looked normal until…..
“I’m dead because of you!” A female voice hissed.
The dead body sat up, showing a hallucination of my deceased mother, Anna Raven. She wore her hospital gown that was covered in his own blood. She was killed by the Joker after I was born.
“Mom?!” I gasped, my hand covering my mouth, backing away until my back was leaning against the other side of the elevator that was still going upwards.
“How many more lives must perish before you reali$$ you’re no savior. You’re a curse upon this city and everyone around you! A plague on all Gotham! Leave us alone! We were better off without you. I would still be alive without you. What is wrong with you? Why can’t you just be normal? I wish you were never born!” Anna cried, pain etched on her face.
The elevator finally reached the upper floor level. I weakly limped out, refusing to listen to anymore taunts from that horrific hallucination.
“Keep it together…..” I choked, wiping the tears off my face, weakly staggering up to the drop off point so Oracle could drop the antidote.
The more I staggered, the weaker I became. My breath started to feel raspy and slow, my throat burning and my heart barely beating, causing my chest to hurt.
I looked up with my half-opened eyes, witnessing Copperhead striding towards me again. This time, she somehow duplicated herself into three versions of herself and they charged at me.
Realizing that it was another hallucination. I dodged the 1st Copperhead’s attack with her claws before gripped her arm and twisting it. Following up with a roundhouse kick to the 2rd Copperhead in the face, I somersaulted over the 3rd Copperhead and elbowed her down to the floor.
“It’s that the best you can do?” Copperhead’s voice chuckled across the room, realising that the real version of the criminalwas still hiding somewhere nearby. I staggered forwards until I’ve reached the warehouse section of the Steel Mill. I eventually collapsed onto my knees again to catch my breath.
“I…..Don’t feel…..So good……” I coughed. still on my knees, my hands gripping onto the floor, being watched by the real Copperhead. She was dangling on the crane above me.
The battle for my life had just begun….
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 13, 2018 14:11:05 GMT -6
Knowing she still had some fight left, Bella weakly saw that more duplicates of Copperhead were emerging from the darkness. They circled her, contorting, hissing and licking their lips like a pack of wild dogs, anticipating an easy contest. The poison was still coursing through her veins. It had been roughly 5 minutes since she had been bitten by the assassin. Any prolonged exposure would surely result in her death.
Bella’s weak hands reached into her utility belt, fingers grasping for anything she could use to counteract the neurotoxin’s effect. There was nothing she had to help herself with.
Copperhead, still dangling from the crane above, smirked at what appeared to be a one-sided attempt at combat. Her duplicates surrounded Bella, accompanied by a venomous green glow.
"You are not gonna like what comes next." She smirked. "Your strength, your skill, means nothing."
Copperhead sauntered over to Bella, who was still very weak.
Bella ignored these taunts and exploded into action, attacking the assassin’s duplicates with a renewed vigour and aggression. Each attack saw them dissipate in clouds of black smoke. Every punch, kick, knee, elbow, and forearm eliminated each fake Copperhead until the real one remained. More emerged from the darkness, further stacking the odds.
"Tell me, CrowWoman. How will you defeat the phantoms of your mind?” Copperhead taunted, waiting for another chance to strike.
Bella easily dealt with the duplicates, then attacked Copperhead. She took the sinuous criminal down with a judo throw before lifting her into the air and slamming her back down to the floor in a showing of scary strength.
"Like this!" Bella snarled, grabbing Copperhead’s arm and snapping it with ease after dodging an attempted slash attack. The poison was strengthening, and she could feel it.
"No!" Copperhead hissed, her arm clicking back into place as she disappeared into the shadows.
Bella, still groggy, turned and saw 11 more duplicates emerge from the shadows. She couldn’t tell which one was the real Copperhead.
"The poison grows stronger! I expected no less from a mere bird." The assassin taunted, her duplicates all charging at Bella.
Still finding reserves of energy and resolve she never knew she had deep within her soul, Bella seamlessly countered and took out each duplicate, thinning the herd with her gymnastic skills and agility. Some of them dodged her attacks, but she always caught them the second time. Even without her telekinesis, she was still a formidable opponent.
"The body cannot survive with the brain. Necroptosis, CrowWoman. Look it up." Copperhead taunted again.
Blocking out the assassin’s vanity and biting comments, Bella still took down more and more duplicates that seemed to be appearing each time she appeared to be winning. With an intensity never seen before, the dark haired detective still managed to lower the odds in her favour.
"You talk too much." Bella hissed, focusing her attacks on the real Copperhead. Despite missing a few strikes, she once again wrenched the assassin’s arm into a judo style takedown before lifting her up and slamming her down again, this time with more anger in her movements.
Copperhead lunged again, but Bella grabbed her arm and snapped it again. Unfortunately, the poison was getting stronger and she dropped to a knee.
"I see you falter." Copperhead sneered, contorting her arm back into her socket and disappearing.
Bella got back to her feet, squinting her eyes to try and find her attacker. She spotted the reptilian rogue lunging at her from the darkness.
"I’ll tear your throat out!" She hissed, her attack missing Bella by inches.
Another trio of duplicates appeared, but Bella easily dealt with them. She was running on adrenaline, and it appeared to increase her senses.
"Come out and fight me, scalebreath. Unless you’re fine with being Black Mask’s b**ch." Bella yelled, hoping her savage insults would call her opponent out.
"Pendejo!" Copperhead yelled, her attack missing Bella again, who was now smirking and getting under the assassin’s skin. More duplicates were easily defeated. Her senses were operating at peak efficiency, hoping she could keep this momentum up.
"I guess Sionis must regret hiring you. Call yourself an assassin? I’ve seen worse in the Narrows. Come out and face me!" Bella yelled.
"Right here, cabron!" The assassin hissed, her prehensile tail lunging out and looping around Bella’s neck, digging into her throat and tightening.
"ACK!" The crimefighter choked, blue eyes widening in horror as Copperhead shot forward, claws outstretched to slash into human skin. Bella countered, grabbing the assassin by her hands and using her momentum to flip her backwards in a mid-air takedown. This caused the tail to loosen from her neck.
"You want to fight dirty? Then have your fill!" Bella snapped, punching her opponent in the face. Copperhead slinked clear to avoid another point blank punch, sending more duplicates into battle.
Bella once again defeated the three apparitions. "I can do this all night, Copperhead." She vowed, showing no fear as adrenaline pumped through her bloodstream.
"You should be dead!" Copperhead yelled, lunging again as Bella countered again, this time dodging the attack, grabbing one arm, and headbutting her with enough velocity to crack a nut. Copperhead staggered backwards.
"And you’re finished!" Bella snarled in retaliation, landing a step up knee lift that effectively stunned the assassin. No more duplicates, no more mindgames. This time, Bella was now effectively outmanoeuvring the assassin.
"You think you can win?! My poison is still in your veins and it will remain their as long as you live. Which won’t be very long." Copperhead warned, adopting a crouching pose as she sized Bella up.
Bella smirked and gestured with her hand, challenging the assassin to hit her best shot. Copperhead lunged again, but Bella grabbed her left arm and left leg, lifting her high above her head and slamming her to the ground again.
The battle was over.
"You lose." Bella gasped, exhausted, but still alive.
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 14, 2018 4:06:54 GMT -6
While Copperhead was dazed, I quickly took advantage of the opportunity to finally apprehend the sinister assassin. I knelt down to tightly restrain her hands together behind her back and her ankles together with separate rope, applying double knots to make that she won’t slither her way out of them.
“You think these ties will hold me?” Copperhead hissed angrily, struggling within the ropes. I picked her up by the ropes, carrying her to a nearby opened shipping crate in the warehouse..
“Maybe not.” I snarled as I forcibly tossed her into the crate, “But I would like to see you try to get out of this one.”
“I know where he is..... Black Mask!” Copperhead confessed, which forced me to stop closing the door all the way, keeping it half open to look back inside.
“Tell me!” I scowled, coughing. Copperhead’s poison was still flowing through my veins.
“He’s holding a meeting. All of his men will be there. When you set me free, I’ll tell you where.” Copperhead revealed, making an offer for information on Black Mask’s whereabouts in exchange for her freedom.
“Thanks. I owe you one.” I smirked, knowing better than to be fooled by any desperate criminal, especially those who were defeated, preparing to close the door…..
“Wait! I can tell you the location!” Copperhead promised, begging for me to let her go. I ignored her pleas for freedom.
“You already did!” I smirked, slamming the door shut and locking Copperhead inside the shipping crate for the GCPD to come and collect.
“What are you doing!? Set me free, Pendejo!” Copperhead screamed from inside the darkness of the shipping crate.
“Not a chance!” I snarled back, walking away from the shipping crate, deeply relieved that it was finally over. But for how long?
As I was walking away from the shipping crate, still ignoring Copperhead’s demands to be released, I found myself weakly collapsing down to me knees again, the poison spreading, realising that I may have less time than I thought.
“Oracle……Send the GCPD an anonymous tip……Tell them to look inside the shipping containers at the steel mill……” I weakly reported to Oracle, coughing up blood, out of my mouth, crimson stains on my gloved hand.
“Does that mean you’ve dealt with Copperhead, Bella?” Oracle asked.
“Yes…..And I’m about to deal with Black Mask…….” I declared, struggling to stand on my own two feet, my body beginning to feel so numb that I couldn’t feel my body anymore.
“No, Bella. Not after you’ve just went though. You vitals are still off the charts! I’m calling Bruce to have him pick you up for medical…..” Oracle suggested.
“Not now, Oracle…….I’ll be……” I choked, as if I just lost my capability to speak, the poison within me growing stronger. I was growing weaker, my vision so blurry that I couldn’t see things clearly anymore, slowly fading into blackness with my eyes half opened again. I fell back to my knees, losing my capability to walk. Evrry step I took during my fight against Copperhead drained every last piece of energy I had left within me, coughing violently like my throat was on fire, heavily breathing for air.
“Bella? BELLA! Can you hear me?! What’s happening?!” Oracle frantically called.
I could barely hear Oracle’s fading voice on the other line of my communicator, on the floor my hands and knees for support. Before I could desperately try to crawl my way out of the steel mill, my knees and arms gave in and I collapsed onto the floor on my front side, my body shutting down completely.
“Bruce……..” were my last words. I pressed my weak fingers on a small red button on my utility belt that was meant to be used if I was in danger and for Batman to respond to. I weakly rolled my body upward with my back on the floor, staring up at the ceiling into nothingness before my vision faded to black and I closed my eyes before I took my last breath, fearing that I have died because I wanted to prove myself to Batman. But now, I have proven to everyone that I’m one of those heroes who had failed and died trying.
My body laid lifelessinside the Steel Mill, my eyes closed, awaiting for death to take me away from this cruel world of pain and suffering. I was about to find out that I was about to be taken somewhere far away, but not in the way I imagined it to happen. I was on the verge of death, but what’s about to happen next will be an uexpected reunion in a familiar land far far away, deep within my mind……
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Post by LexingtonDeville1984 on Oct 14, 2018 7:47:08 GMT -6
At the Batcave, the emergency signal sent by Bella had already been received by the Batcomputer’s multipurpose long range scanners. Bruce emerged from a chamber where he kept the majority of crime fighting equipment, clad in his Batman alter-ego.
"Oracle, where did the signal originate from?" He asked, using his cowl’s built in communicator.
The Sionis Steel Mill. Please hurry, Bruce. Bella’s vital signs are low, but she won’t have long." Oracle urged, relaying all the necessary information to her former mentor.
"I’ll save her and bring her back to the Batcave for medical analysis. Don’t worry, Barbara." Batman reassured, disconnecting the call. Amidst the cascading waterfall inside the cave, he ascended the steps to the Batwing launching pad, clicking several buttons on his left wrist gauntlet. The VTOL engines underneath the titular black jet roared to life, hovering in midair.
"Keep all channels clear, Alfred. I’m going in." Batman called out, his voice barely loud enough over the roaring jet engines.
"Do hurry, sir. Miss Raven’s life is hanging by a thread." Alfred responded.
Batman climbed into the jet’s main pilot seat, which elevated up into the main c0ckpit. Once inside, the control panels lit up, giving him full control of the machine. The craft positioned itself and its afterburners kicked in, speeding out of the cave and into the night skies. Batman hoped he could reach Bella in time. The death of his beloved dark-haired angel would send him even further over the edge of despair.
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At the Steel Mill, Bella lay motionless on the cold metal floor. Her pale skin was accompanied by a trickle of blood from her lips, her pulse still showing signs of life. Despite this small flicker of hope, her blue eyes weren’t opening. It was as if her body had succumbed to death after the last several years of vowing to protect Gotham.
Through the darkened void, a small speck of light came to her, growing bigger and bigger. Distant voices could be heard. Voices that she recognised from a week ago. Voices that were soft, feminine, and curious.
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"My goodness! She has returned!"
"But why isn’t she responding?"
"We must procure the jewelweed flower. Only then will she awaken from her sleep.
Bella’s body lay on a small leaf in a clearing, which appeared to be in the middle of the enchanted forest that she had visited before apprehending The Mad Hatter. Her skin was a deathly shade of pale, her lips a disconcerting colour of purple. The poison was slowly feeding off the last few remnants of her hope.
A leafed hand passed the jewelweed flower to Rose, the matriarch of the flowers. Her hands gently extracted small drops of nectar, holding up Bella’s head as the sweet taste travelled into her throat. The way Rose yielded hope and compassion was a sight to behold. She allowed the dark-haired crimefighter more nectar induced sustenance, administering enough as it’s healing properties took effect..
"How on Earth was she found?"
"Wonderland was kind enough to bring her into our care. We owe her our gratitude."
Bella’s skin began to slowly return to it’s normal and natural colour. Her lips also returned to their default colour of red, a small murmur falling from her mouth. The poison was slowly ebbing away from her bloodstream, the jewelweed flower was effectively counteracting Copperhead’s neurotoxin, filling her body with life.
"She’s awakening!" The excited Lilly chirped.
Bella could feel her body slowly recovering, her blue eyes fluttering open as Rose gently held her head with one leafed hand, caressing her cheek with the other. She reached down to caress one of her human hands, just as Bella’s body responded by grasping the soft and gentle touch of the matriarch.
She had been saved by sheer hope and compassion.
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Post by Bella Raven - Crow Woman on Oct 17, 2018 5:48:48 GMT -6
Chapter 2: Wonderland Reunion
What felt like a long journey far away from reality the moment I closed my eyes lasted for a near eternity. I could feel myself being taken away from life on earth, death taking all the pain and suffering away from my former life in Gotham.
I could hear calm and cheerful voices echoing in my head. Voices that sounded too familiar. Slmost like a dream I recalled about a enchanted land where I was forced to find my own way back home. But it couldn’t be……Could it?
I moaned as response that I was slowly waking from my sleep. I responded to the soft and gentle touch on my hand that was being comforted, saved by someone I once knew. My one hand responded to the touch of the matriarch, first mistakenly believing that I was being touched by angel in heaven. Am I dead? I gasped and coughed for air, weakly opening my blue eyes. At first, my vision was blinded by the light of the sun above me until it became clear again.
“You’re going to be okay. You’re safe now, child.” Said the angelic voice of the matriarch above me, her one leafy hand gently lifting my head up while her other leafy hand touched my cheek to calm me down, reassuring that I was safe and cured.
“Ugh…..Wh-What…..Happened…..?” I groaned, feeling slightly lightheaded and disorientated before regaining my senses again. I could feel someone holding my head, finding myself in the embrace of a flower’s shadow hovering over me, blocking the sunlight from my eyes. I narrowed them up at the flowery red matriarch above me.
“You……I remember you……” I muttered in my raspy voice, recalling the rose from our last encounter, coughing again, realising that I was somehow transported into familiar surroundings with life sized grass, mushrooms, and even colourful flowers that surrounded both the rose and I to signal that I was alive.
“It’s alright, my dear. There’s no need to be alarmed.” Rose calmy spoke, advising for me to rest after the effect of the jewelweed flower revitalising my body. I narrowed my eyes down to observe my body laying on a small leaf like bed in the middle of the enchanted forest. It looked like Wonderland.
“Am I……Dead…..?” I asked, wondering if I really was dead and went to heaven. Or, if I was truly back in Wonderland. This caused the Daisy to giggle.
“No, silly! You’re in Wonderland! Welcome back!” Daisy cheered.
“And about time too. We thought you’ll be sleeping with the weeds tonight.” Iris said with her snobby and conceited attitude.
“We were worried!” Said all 6 Pansysat once.
“I’m alive…..? But how……?” I coughed, asking too many questions at once. How I recovered from my near death state and how I managed to be transported back to Wonderland, a face of paranoia and confusion happening all at once, realising that the rose needed to ease my stress more before the explanation.
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