Legacies of Justice

[Batgirl]

Who: Arsenal(emits too!), Starfire, Batgirl, Demona and Robin

Elsewhere...

The room is dark, illuminated only by the glow of multiple monitors, all filled with static. Around them, a group of shadowy figures has gathered, clustered about in a tight circle, occasionally jostling one another for a slightly better view of the still blank screens. Quiet murmurs fill the room, mostly muttered complaints only half heard and likely all but ignored by anyone but the speaker.
"...should never have taken this long..."
"...have you ever heard of anything so ridiculous..."
"...hadn't run amok we could have been finished this competition months ago..."
"..still haven't managed to replaced all the damaged capacitors..."
"...my foot you're standing on..."
"...watch those elbows or I swear I'm going to get my disintegrator..."

After a moment however the figure seated amidst the cluster motions for silence, harsh voice gratting over the buzz of muted conversations. "Silence. Silence! I said SHUT UP! It's about to begin!" And with that, the monitors spring to life at last, the image of Midtown Manhatten springing up for the static-filled haze...

Here and Now...

Midtown Manhatten. Just where Roy Harper happens to be. Only minutes since dropping Lian off at the babysitter's for the evening, the redheaded archer has already donned his costume and taken to the rooftops and ledges that dot this part of New York, making his way through the cool winter evening, footing sure despite the light dusting of snow that lays heavily upon the metropolis. Down below, the streets remain jammed with traffic, and the sidewalks not significantly less so as some people still fight traffic in their effort to get home, while others are headed out for the evening to the countless destinations the city offers for those seeking food or entertainment. Not a quiet night to be sure -- there are no quiet nights in this city, one of the many things Roy loves about it -- but nothing out of the ordinary either. At least not until Roy here's a scuffling behind him. Whirling, his bow already half raised, the redheaded Titan blinks in surprise as he spots not some crook creeping across the rooftops, not some supervillain, not even an alien menace. Nope, it's a monkey. A cute monkey leaving footprints in the snow. "What are you doing up here little guy?" he asks with a smile, heedless, for the moment at least that he isn't the only on getting an animal surprise this night. Down, on the streets below, more then a half dozen monkeys begin to wander out of nearby alleyways, or push aside sewer gratings, their numbers beginning to grow as an excited murmurs goes up from the onlooking pedestrians, and the first blaring blast of horns begins to light up the evening air with their all too familiar cries...

The city is sooooo pretty. At least, it is from overhead with that lovely dusting of snow. Starfire is enjoying her patrol overhead, swooping upwards and then diving with a freefall just for the fun of it. It's like a dance, really, and she giggles as she flies. The trail left behind by her hair must be an odd thing to watch, just because it's kind of all over the place.

It's as she reaches the bottom of one of her falls that she Kory a look at the neighborhood around her. She is paying attention, after all. Mostly. Nothing seems odd at first glance, and so she's curved upwards to again climb higher into the sky. Then though, she pauses. Her head tilts a bit. Something was just not quite usual there. Sure, the streets are always filled with primates, but not usually that particular type. Her head tilts the other way then, before she looks downwards. Yes, monkeys. "Huh." she says in a voice that says she's terribly confused. She drifts down then, to have a better look. "Huh." she repeats then.

While working on the teen gangs for Oracle, Batgirl learned that a few of them were headed to New York City to meet with someone. Whether that someone was their supplier or someone they hope to pass the weapons onto she wasn't able to determine. Having spent the day wandering about the city to gain her bearings, the cowled teen now finds herself moving about the rooftops in hidden pursuit of two of the teens from Gotham. The remaining Gothamite stayed behind in their hotel room though he hasn't been totally forgotten about considering the bugs placed on the windows to monitor should the meeting take place there instead of abroad.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things, running into a monkey on the rooftops of New York City isn't the strangest thing that has ever happened to Roy. Truth be told it doesn't crack the top ten, top hundred, possibly not even the top one thousand. But it's still strange enough to capture his attention. "You know, Lian loves you little guys. Did you get out of your cage at the park? It's not that far away. Or does someone around here have a pet they probably shouldn't have...?" the redhead asks with a smile, not entirely paying attention to the noise from the street below. Not yet anyways. Instead he crouches down and extends a hand towards the monkey, wiggling fingers and trying to coax it closer. "Hey... what's that on your back? It kinda looks like... a backpack?" he asks incredulously.

Down on the streets below, the spectacle of a bunch of monekys appearing is becoming a little more serious. People point and gawk to be sure, but traffic also grinds to a halt as the little simians run through the streets, darting her and there with their little cries. A few disappear into some of the various shops that line the streets, and after a few moments one darts in towards a woman who gives a delighted little cry and stoops to greet him... until he snatches her purse and begins to scamper down the street. A moment later some of those monkeys that disappeared into shops come darting out, usually with cash or other valuables clutched in their little hands while those in the street start accosting pedestrians bodily, snatching purses, jewelery or anything else of value they can get thier hands on. Suddenly the monkeys just don't seem quite so cute..

Starfire is hovering considerably nearer the street now, watching the monkeys along with everyone else in the area. They are adorable, after all. "Awwww..." she can't help but say, and then into her comm she asks "Nightwing, can I have a pet monkey? Pleeeeeeease? I'll take care of it! Promise! Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" Meanwhile, she drifts closer to one for a better look. The backpacks do get a strange sort of look from her. It just never occurred to Kory that monkeys need a place to put their stuff, too.

Of course, then it becomes more clear for what sort of things they need the backpacks, and Starfire's eyes widen. Once again, but likely not for the last time, she says "Huh." Then though, she starts to move to try to intercept some of them. Cute little thieving monkeys are still cute little *thieving* monkeys.

Leaping across an alley, the cowled teen lands lightly on her feet on the far side in a crouch. Waiting a few seconds for her targets to get farther ahead of her Batgirl moves towards the edge and then peers over the side to make sure they are still headed in the same direction. Seeing the two teens partially down the block Batgirl takes the time to take in her surroundings and while doing so she hears the sound of the discovered monkeys. Leaning farther over the edge she pulls out a set of binoculars to get a closer look at the seen down below.

The two teens are forgotten as the monkeys come into clear view and she talks into the mic in her cowl, "Oracle? Are monkeys normal?" While she waits for the redhead's response she moves the binoculars about to see if there's any sign as to watch direction they came from or where they might be headed.

It is unlikely that Oracle is taken aback very often. Not with the life she leads. She has also had plenty of opportunities to get used to Batgirl's inquiries, usually made with a minimum of words. But in this particular situation she can probably be forgiven if she's set a little off balance. "Monkey's normal? I guess..." she allows. "Where are you Cassandra? You didn't trail your targets to the zoo did you?"

Meanwhile, on the streets of Midtown Manhatten, things are quickly beginning to degenerate. Shouts and cries rise up everywhere, joined by an almost constant honking of horns that might very well deafen anyone not used to this sort of racket. And across the street, more the a score of monkeys race about, down sidewalks and under parked cars, darting for alleyways, and climbing up the sides of buildings. Chaos reigns, like the scene from a bad movie, as people chase after the little creatures, trying to retrieve their valuables with very little luck. And then someone gets lucky. A good samaritan, trying to be helpful manages to snag the monkey with the purse by the tail. "Gotcha!" he shouts as the monkey lets loose with it's plantive screams. And it begins.

It is all the shouting down on the street that finally draws Arsenal's attention away from the monkey on the rooftop with him and he turns back to the ledge, peering over it just as the lone monkey is snatched. Those simian screams are like a signal however and suddenly, all of the little scampering creatures grow very still as those metallic backpacks seem to... expand. Sheets of a silvery metal begin to lace out, more and more until it seems more then impossible that so much was contained in such a tiny pack. Within a few seconds, where a score of thieving monkeys stood, now a score of giant armored robotic apes stand instead, with the exception of where their heads should be, the orginial monkeys still sit. Then a clear dome slides up, sealing in the monkey. The good samaritan who's act started the entire thing has falled to the ground, scampering backwards, hands tugging and wet pavement, pants soaked through as the robotic ape turns on him with a roar.

"Well damn, that's a new one." Arsenal begins, immediately reaching for the fold-out crossbow at his side. Which, of course is when he suddenly finds himself lifted into the air by the monkey who had been standing behind him, now all hulked out in ultimate robot form. Held dangling by a powerful metal hand, Roy's limbs flail, a look of incredulous panic on his face. "Ummmmm.... nice monkey?" he tries.

Starfire was all set to start bullseying the monkeys with her starbolts. Chasing them while weaving in and out of people and traffic was possible, but not easy. Before she can get a shot off though, the 'alarm' sounds and the backpacks start to transform. Sure, she could start shooting before the monkeys are fully encased, but it's hard not to just stan- float and stare at what's going on. Once again, head tilted, "Huh." She follows it up with another call into her comm. "There's... uh... thieving monkeys in robotic ape-shaped armor in Midtown. In case anyone's available." Then, she gets herself into action and fires a bolt at the nearest robot. "Bad monkey!"

"New York," the cowled teen replies to the question of where she is before she adds in, "Maybe Midtown." Where she is exactly she's not sure having had to learn it on the fly from overhearing people when she was walking around during the day. As one of monkeys manages to get within 15 feet of the roof where she's sitting Batgirl puts away her binoculars and pulls out a decel line which she tosses at the monkey in hopes of catching it.%r%rIts after the line is thrown that the monkey goes robot down on the street below. "Monkeys growing," she reports back to the clocktower as she gives the line in her hand a shake now in an attempt not to catch her target.

"Yes, I know...meeting up..." Demona steps out of the revoling door of the library, then stops dead in place. Her cell phone is still resting next to her ear, and her jaw is slacked slightly, watching the very strange robotic simians making menace. "I think I gotta go...you'll never believe what I just saw." With that, the cell phone snaps closed with a click, and she tries to figure out just what she intends to do...outside of maybe herding the civilians out of the way.

Monkey's in Midtown Manhatten. It is almost inevitable that Batgirl's rather succinct answers to Oracle's inquiries will only raise more questions, but the hacker extrodinaire knows better then to further probe the teen with questions. Any further answers are likely to be similiarly brief. Instead, the comm goes silent as Oracle turns to other means to get a handle on just what's going on in New York City.

Meanwhile, Batgirl's decel line finds the giant robotic monkey without very much difficulty. For one thing, the robotic menace seems to be oblivious to it and for another... it's a giant robotic ape. It's pretty hard to miss. But just what effect it has on the creature is more debatable. If it's hindered by the strong testline, it certainly shows no signs of it, stamping out onto the street unimpeding, crushing the hood of a car underfoot as the shocked passengers spill out into the street, running down the road screaming. Aside from the driver. He exits too, but instead of running screaming, he backs away shouting. Mainly obsenities about robotic monkeys.

"I hear you Star. And I'm on the scene. But I'm kinda having this little situation..." Roy replies over his own commline, still caught dangling in the grasp of his evil robotic captor. Really, it's quiet embarassing. To be manhandled by some primitive mammal. Sure, it's a primitive mammal in a robotic ape suit, but even still. "You want a banana? I'm pretty sure I can find you a banana if you let me go..." he wheedles. No dice however. A sigh quickly passes the redhead's lips and with a certain amaount of resignation, he raises up that fold-out crossbow. "I really didn't want to hurt you little guy. For one thing, I'm pretty sure Donna and Kory might both kick my ass for skewering some cute fuzzy creature, but I think you're a lil' too dangerous to be wandering around loose. Sorry..." And with that he lets the quarrel loose.

A swift flight and the arrow strikes at the glass dome incasing the monkey. Quarrel meets glass. arrow bounds away having done little more then knicking the protective covering. "Oh shit. Nice monkey. Nice monkey. Kory I could use a h..." Arsenal begins once more over the comm, the last word suddenly extended considerably. "...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddd!" Possibly because the redheaded archer suddenly finds himself flying out across the street, limbs flailing as the mechanical simian takes action against its attacker.

Oh, Kory won't kick Roy's ass for hurting and cute, fuzzy thing. She's run into too many cute, fuzzy races that weren't nearly as sweet as they looked. This is just another of those, in her mind. Of course, she hasn't heard of there being cute, little, thieving monkeys in robotic ape armor. On Earth, anyway. The universe is a strange, strange place. "What do you n-" Then there's the familiar sound of an arher being flung, and she's moving up immediately to try to spot and catch him. Fortunately, he's not all that hard to spot.

Grunting softly as she tries to hold onto the giant monkey, Batgirl finds her efforts useless as her captive pulls her towards the roof's edge despite her best efforts. The cowled teen hangs on for several seconds with her boots braced against the ledge before she finally makes the decision to ditch her line before she's pulled head first towards the street. Even so when she does let go of the line momentum carries her backwards to hit the surface of the rooftop for a few seconds before regaining her feet. Once back on her feet she retrieves another line and shoots it at a building partway down the block in pursuit.

Shock and awe. That's what Demona is doing, standing very still, watching the mayhem. Ok, monkeys in robots...that's just freaky...and...her eyes open wide, seeing the flailing figure come flying in her general direction. Ok, legs not working at the moment, too scared. Eep!

With Batgirl's decel line released, A set of R-shaped objects go zipping out to bang at the monkey's head. Robin is perched on a nearby ledge, having watched Batgirl's tumble. "Sorry for being late. Traffic." He says over the comms. He keeps an eye on the traffic and the monkey, making sure that he has its attention to direct it away. "Now....where is the off switch..."

No, it is not a pretty picture. A number of cars are all but crushed under the stampeding monkeys, left mangled wrecks with crashed rooftops and hoods. Pavement is cracked under the heavy footfalls of the robotic monstrocities, windows smashes, lightstands broken and twisted. People flee down the streets while others remain paralysed in fear, or simply watching the spectacle. This is still New York afterall. Alien invasions seem to happen every other week. Rampaging robotic monkeys are weird to be sure, no one could say otherwise. But they're not the strangest thing the inhabitants of this city have seen. In the distance, the first sound of approaching police squad cars can be heard, their sirens echoing through the night, almost lost under the shouts of panicked people and the amplified cries of the little monkeys in the biiiiiig ape suits.

Decel lines, arrows, and yes, even 'R'-shaped throwing knives can't seem to penetrate the clear domes that seem to protect the living brains behind the metal monsters. And increasingly, the simian terrors have begun to spread out, threatening to spread their mayham to surrounding neighborhoods. Not a pretty picture. But some linger, including one that makes a near beeline towards the steps of the nearby library were Demona stands.

"Why does this always happen to me? Could my day get any friggin' worse?" Roy Harper Jr. asks, presumably in rhetorical fashion as he plummets towards the hard pavement below. Arms still flail -- maybe he hopes that he'll spontaneously discover that he can fly -- but otherwise, things doesn't look terribly good for the redheaded archer. At least until Starfire manages to snag him before he meets his untimely fate. With a beaming smile, he winks at his fellow redhead over the lowered edge of his sunglasses. "'Course, things are starting to look up. Hi Kory. Excuse me for just a second." And with that, he twists in her grasp, letting another arrow fly from his crossbow.

This time the arrow isn't aimed for the clear dome encasing the thieving monkeys. Instead, it is fired at the back of the robot almost to Demona. Instead of bouncing off, the arrow sticks, the blunt point clinging to the ape. An instant later, waves of blue eletricity ripple across the creatures torso, the taser arrow giving the robot a good healthy zap. And an instant after that? Only momentum keeps the dangerous robot moving forward as it crashes down onto the steps of the library, dome sliding back, the silvery metal armor receeding once more into a tight package on the unconscious monkey's back.

"What do you mean, you?" Starfire asks as she catches Roy. "It's not like it's always..." She pauses, then. "No, wait. Nevermind. You're right." she amends then with a grin as she heads to the ground to drop off the archer. She watches then as his electricity trick works, and she smiles. "Oh! Good! Think the ity would mind if I snagged an electrical line, and did some damage? I mean, to the monkeys?"

"Bout time," Batgirl says into the mic in her cowl as she passes feet above those on the street, not near as flashy as Starfire's flying entrance onto the scene though its definately not Bat approved. RObots are a little out of her league considering her training but that doesn't seem to be an issue as the cowled teen reaches into her belt to pull out two batarangs which she positions in her hand before throwing so they will hit with a point when they make contact.

Holy...it's coming....then Demona blinks as a electric surge explodes through the metal beast, sending it crashing on the steps. As the cockpit opens, a now over curious girl picks up the unconscious monkey form by the scruff of the neck. "Now what the hell are you..." She mutters, trying to get a better view of what's inside said cockpit as she holds little fuzzy dude.

Robin just smiles at Batgirl's reply before looking around at the attacking monkeys. He might be able to take them down, but he needs to know how. Weak points and overrides. He turns as he sees that the Arrow drops one. "That will do." He says, reaching for a line. He secures it quickly before swinging down to the street, close to the library. "You might want to get back." He tells the girl as he walks up to examine the monkey.

"Probably," Roy replies cheerfully. An ultimately, chances are he's right. Sooner or later the city always seems to get mad at the Titans. It's kinda a tradition. Apparently however the thought doesn't particularly bother him. If Nightwing was here, Starfire might get a different answer. But he's not. Which means that trouble will ensue. "But honestly, parades bore me. It's more fun to watch Nightwing deal with some redfaced bureaucrat trying to give us a bill for knocking out power to six city blocks. So I'd say go nuts," the arches urges, already unslinging his bow from his shoulder and looking for his next target.

Maybe Batgirl is simply lucky. Or maybe it's that uncanny Bat-sense that Gotham vigiliantes seem to have. The armor that encases the simian robots seems too thick to be penetrated easily -- as Arsenal and Robin have both found out. But the twin batarangs seems to find precisely the right spot, sinking in at the joints of the legs where the armored plates don't quite overlap. Either way, one of the robotic monkey's legs begins to drag, steps stumbling before it crashes to the ground. Then, like the other damaged robot, the silvery folds of armor begin to receed back into the compressed backpack on the money's back, leaving only a confused little creature in the middle of the street.

Sooner of later, most get mad at the Titans. For one reason or other. It's just one of those things. Everyone eventually gets over it, though. "Parades bore you, Roy? Like we get that all *that* often? Besides, you never get bored with being the center of attention." Then, despite all the mayhem around them, she laughs. "Well. If it'll give Nightwing a headache..." She heads towards the nearest power line to get a grip. As it were. And find a monkey to shock.

While Robin moves in to take a closer look at the robot monkey, Batgirl lets the swing of her line take her upwards back towards the shadows. Was there a reminder over a secret channel that she shouldn't be where she is? Or was it a nagging voice in her head making that same reminder? Either way it isn't more then a few seconds before the cowled teen disappears from view into the shadows of the Manhatten skyline and night itself.

Robin scrunches up his nose as he looks over the monkey and his pack. He pauses before reaching to key his comm. "While they are giant monkeys, it looks like there are still monkeys inside. Has anyone tried to lure them away with...bananas?"

"You notice how, they sorta look, well, normal once out of the mega ape armor plate?" Demona continues to study the small unconscious creature, having completely ignored Robin's other request to get out of the way. It's only after a second look at Robin, that there's even the suggestion that she recongizes the boy wonder from the previous encounter in Gotham.

Ahhhh yes, bananas. Roy did try /offering/ a banana to his original tormentor. Unfortunately, while the monkeys might be advanced enough to wear super robotic ape armor, they are not apparently advanced enough to understand english. Then, of course, there was the problem of not actually having a banana on him. That hurt. So, he simply has to make due with taser arrows. His good looks and winning ways with women for a fruit stand! "That's the spirit!" the redheaded archer enthuses as Starfire goes to town on the local electic supply. Almost as soon as she rips the powerlines from their place the block around them is plunged into darkness only broken by the glare of car lights -- those that aren't crushed at any rate -- and the more distant glow from buildings evidently not effected.

It doesn't take long before another trio of the robots have crashed back to earth, whether from Arsenal's taser arrows or Starfire's experiment in the constructive use of the local power grid. In each case, as the armor fails, it reverts, shrinking rapidly to store itself in little backpacks on the cute monkey's backs. "This is kinda like big game hunting. But in the comfort of your own backyard. If these little guys hadn't of caused tens of thousands of dollars, I'd put them up for entertainment event of the year," Roy suggests as his bow twangs again, another shot unleashed.

Sure, there will be a lecture. There's always a lecture. Starfire's learned to mostly tune them out by now. She has to figure, though, that dark is better than more damage and injuries. In that spirit, she keeps at with the power line. Oracle's patched the comms together by now, so when Robin's voice comes over it she smiles and says "Hello there! Welome to New York! Have you seen our fine library?" The one that will hopefully not get too crushed during all this.

Robin slowly stands up from investigating the mechanical pack. He looks back at Demona for a moment. "Yeah..I noticed." He says back to her before going back to look at the plates. "There might be weak point at the neck joint. Batgirl was able to disable one that way. Possible there is an exposed connect there."

Apparently, these folks are working together...maybe? Anyways, maybe it's time for a quick hiding place. Passing the limp monkey to Robin, she ducks under one of the large marble lions near the stairs to the library. Ok, this is some cover...and just maybe enough to make sure she survives. Or at least, that's what Demona hopes.

Fortunately, survival looks like less and less of an issue. With a number of the evil robotic monkeys of doom rendered back to their original state of cute monkeys who steal, the immediate danger is passing. Of course there are still a few more out there, already having scattered out of sight of Arsenal and Starfire's attempts to bring them down. "I don't think he's real big on the chit chat Star," Roy murmurs over the now merged comms. "Sound like anyone we know?" he asks, a smirk playing across his expression as he creeps his way down a side alley, glancing around carefully while holding his nocked bow in front of him, ready to loose. As he steps beneath a shadow from above, he glances up, just in time to see one of the still active robots dropping towards him. In one smooth motion he fires before dropping into a crouch, rolling aside as the moneky crashes into the pavement before beginning to revert. "Chalk up another one for the good guys!"

Elsewhere...

The bank of monitors continues to illuminate the otherwise dark room, flickering images playing across the multitude of screens, though one remains focused on Robin as he continues his examination of the monkey and it's unusual gear. "I think that's quite enough. It was an... interesting demonstation but you plainly should have hardened the armor against electrical discharges. Sloppy work Doctor," comes a condescending voice out of the masses of shadowy figures standing there.
"But..."
"No no, he's quite right. The mayham was acceptable, but it's only a matter of time before they hunt down the rest of your silly monkeys. Really, of all the things to use as a CPU. Monkey brains? Do you only have one doctorate or something?"

At once an angry babble of voices fills the room, intelligible conversation mostly ending before the figure seated in front of the bank of monitors raises his hand. "Stop squabbling like grad students. It's pathetic. I'll hand out the marks later, but the experiment is over. I'm terminating it." And with that, the seated figure reaches over to press a button...

Midtown Manhatter, Here and Now...

The silvery backbacks that rest strapped to the various monkeys suddenly begin to sparkle and glow, just a moment before they suddenly disappear in a little burst of flame. The monkey that Robin examines bursts upright, awake and crying out as the fur is singed from it's back, burned away as any evidence of the armor vanishes, leaving behind only injured simians and the scent of burning monkey hair wafting on the cool evening breeze...