2013-05-31 - Bad Cop, Worse Cop

There's some classical music playing in the Iceberg Lounge as the suspicious-looking clientele of the place comes in and out, fancy cars stopping before a red carpet so the patrons can arrive in the most extravagant way possible. Even at night, the Iceberg Lounge shines as one of Gotham's prime jewels, and as anything in Gotham, it reeks of corruption and decay. Inside there seem to be a ball of sorts, people dancing the charleston as if it's still in vogue, and maybe it is. Gothamites have been known for their eccentricities.

Kara Zor-El comes into the Iceberg Lounge. Wearing her supergirl outfit. She had heard that Batman was out of town, Tim was busy, and Oracle had some sort of ... Birds of Prey thing. But she remembered once doing a mission for Batman where she found out about how this criminal called Penguin operated out of this nightclub, and that Batman let him operate because it was a good way to find out what the criminal element was doing. She walks past the shady businessmen, intergang members, small time supervillains, mobsters, etc and over to the bar. "I need to know where Penguin is." she says, rather straightforwardly.

There is one thing people don't do when they see Supergirl coming is keep doing whatever it is that they were that is illegal, and as such scandidly clad women are now confused as their male friends talk about celebrities or the weather, lots of white powder is found alone over tables and so on. People turn their faces and pretend to have never seen this woman before.

And that is until she gets to the large oaken door guarded by two large guards. As Supergirl approaches it, both men exchange looks, knowing fully well that when one of 'these' shows up, you don't confront them, you warn your boss they are going in, and as such, Kara finds the door open when she finally gets to it, the very own Mr. Cobblepot sitting behind his desk with both hands clasped together, his face serious as he nods to a chair before him.

Kara Zor-El walks, umimpeded, into Cobblepot's office. Once inside, she says, simply, "Okay... I need information, and you're going to give it to me." she says, looking down at the rotund 'retired' criminal.

Penguin frowns some, pursing his lips, that ugly nose indeed making him look like the animal of his monicker. "I am going to give you the information, if you pay for it, you little brat!", the man readily says, knowing he has to at least put up a fight unless he wants to be pushed around by other, non-kryptonian people.

"I realize you are very keen on just taking what you want from me, but lets be frank, dear... You are not going to kill me, or hurt me, and you are not going to throw me in jail, because I know a certain someone who wouldn't like that very much... so you are either sitting down and dropping the attitude, Supergirl, or you are going to leave her empty handed..."

Kara Zor-El's initial thought is to sit down, but remembers what Batman once said about dealing with criminals in Gotham. Can't let them think you won't hurt them. You have to approach things from a position of strength before backing down a bit.

She slams her fist down into the desk, destroying it. "Sure, I won't kill you. But hurting you? Oh... that I'm totally fine with doing. See, you're confusing me with my cousin. My cousin who grew up on Earth and has a much better tolerance for how you people act here. Who knows - maybe I'll lose my temper and turn this whole place into a pile of rubble. You know, I'm sort of prone to do stuff like that ... accidentally." she says as she reaches forward to grip Penguin by the scruff of his shirt, lifting him off the ground out of his seat. "So you can tell me the information and I might actually OWE you a favor, or I can be mad at you. Which would you prefer? A favor from me? Or me being angry?"

"SQUAWK! How d-dare y-", and he is hoisted in the air, before the psychopatic cousin to Superman. Penguin is not sure or not, but he can see the madness behind the face of innocence that is Kara, and for a moment he fully believes the girl's words. That is all Supergirl needs to make him squeal, or squawk, but in the end the Cobblepot just nods and kicks in the air.

"Fine! Squawk! Fine! Just drop me! I will tell you what I can you power abusing cheerleader!"

Kara Zor-El opens her hand and lets him drop. "That's better." she says, still frowning a bit, crossing her arms. Batman would be so proud! "So... I need to know anything you know about someone called The Tall Man and the mercenaries who tried to blow up Metropolis Dam last week. And before you even think of lying... remember something. I can hear your heartbeat, see your body temperature, and see any changes in your physiology. Just think of me as a walking lie detector." Okay, it doesnt actually work on a lot of people but it works sometimes!

As the fat little man falls on his ass he lets out another squawk, blushing at the indignity of being dropped like a sack of potatoes. Trying to stand up, something that takes some effort, the balding man groans and uses his chair for support, muttering.

"That Metropolis thing was not because of the dam... it was because of you super types.", the man begins, turning to Kara "Someone from that other Earth has taken a lot of interest in you and your cousin, and your people. He has this contract... it's an awful lot of money, they say, that he is offering for you or your cousin on a silver platter..."

Kara Zor-El looks down at Penguin. "Who, and how can I find him?" She puts her hands on her hips. "Plus how would blowing up the dam actually take me or Kal out?"

The crook shakes his head at Kara's short-sightedness and takes a deep sight, looking up at the girl striking her famours heroic pose "My guess, and I don't have to be a genius to assume, is that the stupid monster that attacked you thought he could take on any of you, so he just had to create a way of drawing you out of your heroic perches. Of course they are not familiar with Kryptonians on the other Earth... so he got taught a lesson most of us learned long ago. As to who and how to find him... they say he finds you... but in that case... if you had any friends in the underworld... you could maybe set a trap for him... forging your own capture. But who in the criminal world would ever work with a kryptonian, right?"

Kara Zor-El looks down at Penguin then turns and walks away. "Yeah... what criminal would I trust to work with me ..." she says to herself.

---

A few days later, there's news in the criminal grapevine that Supergirl was captured by a mysterious newcomer to the world of supervillainy - known only as 'Red X.' Word is, he's long been a thorn in the side of the Titans.

What no one outside the Titans knows, however, is Red X is actually none other than Robin, the Boy Wonder.

It is dark at night in New York as Red X brings his captured Kryptonian to warehouse 43 at the docks. The air is chilly and there seems to be sound of static in the air, as if they were under the cables of a power plant or something like that. Some dogs bark at the distance, and when the duo approaches the door, if Kara looks somehow subdued, it opens without them even doing anything, the sound of engines and bending metal clear to Kara even if it might not be to Tim.

In fact, Kara can hear a lot of things coming inside, the swishing of wind, the clanging of metal, turbines, rodents coming and going, but all of it is for nothing as, when the pair walks into the room, they see The Tall Man.

The room is poorly lit, and espacious like a warehouse should be, just a few crates here and there. The ground is full of mist, like a magician's show, and standing without any worries in the world, in the middle of the room, there is a giant humanoid creature, featureless and completely white, awaiting for the pair. It has no heartbeat, no nothing. It just stands there, and with a slight move of it's head, it looks down at the two heroes. A booming voice speaks, and the whole building trembles with it's power.

"Welcome."

Red X enters the warehouse, Supergirl being dragged behind him. Red, metallic bands bind her hands, feet, and mouth. The villain is slender and slightly short once the shadowy form can see him. Or her, it's hard to tell with the bodysuit. Red X is dressed in a black suit, with red X's on the chest and full head cowl. His black and red cloak flutters some as the Girl of Steel is dumped unceremoniously to the floor in front of him. The villan's voice is hollow, like a synthesized effect, as he says. "Your Kryptonian. Where's my money?"

Kara Zor-El looks unconscious or something as she's dumped on the floor. She's worked hard on trying to make sure to lower her heartbeat as imperceptably as she can, though Kal's still so much better at doing that. Still, it does seem like she's out cold.

The creature itself makes no sound as it kneels and reaches out, motioning it's hand to a suitcase that seems to appear out of thin air, before it. Although it's gaze is not easy to catch, since it lacks eyes, mouth, ears or anything else, it's obvious the Tall Man is looking at Supergirl. It doesn't take long before robed figures show up, coming from the back of the warehouse, slowly, chanting something in what sounds like latin.

They all make a circle around Kara, and attempt to take the girl by the arms and legs, hoisting her up in the air.

Red X lowers himself in a bow, although he keeps his eyes focused on the Tall Man. The suitcase is taken, and Red X starts to walk out. No glance is given to Supergirl or the robed ones. What their business is with the Kryptonian is none of his. Within moments, the mercenary villain is blending in with the shadows of the building.

Kara Zor-El is hoisted up by the beings who are picking her up off the ground, still feigning unconsciousness until she can have some idea that 'The Tall Man' is nearby. Also waiting until Robin is in his stealthy position.

As Robin leaves, despite his costume and theatrics, the door of the warehouse closes, and the creature returns to it's initial pose, the large Tall Man standing motionless in the middle of the room. As the cultists cannot see the 'Red X' person anymore, the lights of the warehouse go on, and the five people in robes take the kryptonian to a table on the corner. As they place the young-looking alien over it, a boysterous voice can be heard as a door is opened.

From inside a figure walks into the warehouse, clad in green spandex and sporting a large, mirrored dome for a helm, that keeps anyone from seeing his true face. In his hand the man has a collar, upon which rests a glowing, green stone that Kara knows too well. As he approaches the 'sleeping beauty', the cultists take off their robes, groaning in annoyance.

"I hope we are getting our money upfront."

Once outside, speed matters to 'Red X'. Quickly and silently, he makes his way around the corner of the building, pulling off the bodysuit. A leap up and the pneumatic hiss of a grapnel gun allows the figure quick access to the roof, shedding more clothing as he ascends. And when he reaches the skylight looking down inside the warehouse, 'Red X' is revealed to be Robin, the Teen Wonder! "Hang on, Kara," he whispers as he starts unlocking the skylight. "I'm on my way..." And when Robin glances down to see the green stone in the collar, he gives up on stealth and puts a thermite charge on the glass.

Kara Zor-El pulls her hands away from each other, shattering the red metallic bonds holding her. She grabs two of the formerly robed beings, flying a bit back. "Sorry but I think you should get a better paying job. I hear McDonald's hiring..." before throwing them at the others. Then she notices the kryptonite. Crap! If they had kryptonite, why send thugs like Abomination?

Keeping her distance, she says, "So... I heard you wanted to meet me?"

"Crap! I told you to make sure she was out! That is why you don't hire stupid people to work with you when you are such a genius!", and with that the man clicks on a remote control, and the lights are out again, stroboscopic (sp?) lights raining down on them as the man runs away, probably trying to go for one of the many false floors around them.

"You know that ever since we had our last encounter, I just -had- to have one of your kryptenians... have you as my stage assistant... the things I would be able to do... nobody would ever make fun of Mysterio again!", the man says, his voice booming like the Tall Man's did. Upon finding a false door on the ground, he tries slipping in without Kara noticing it.

Suddenly, there's a loud explosion from above and the tinkling chimes of shattered glass falling. Following shortly after the glass, Robin comes swooping down like a bird of prey after a rabbit. Even without his night-vision lenses, the glow of the kryptonite is easy to see. The strobes are a nucience, but the lens polarization compensates. Pulling a Batarang out of his utility belt, shortly before landing, Robin tosses it at the retreating Mysterio, trying to knock the kryptonite collar out of the villain's hands and away from Kara.

Kara Zor-El flies down once the kryptonit is away from Mysterio, grabbing him before he can go through the false door. "So... first off, it's Kryptonian, not Kryptenian." She plants her hand on his collar, holding him tight, putting her other hand on her hip. "Second, you're probably the dumbest genius I've ever met. Third, with that outfit, I don't think having a Kryptonian assistant would stop people from making fun of you." Then she lifts her hand up so that Mysterio is suspended off the ground by her arm. "And fourth, if you have the money to pay for helicopters with nuclear missiles, mercenaries, and that stupid... big... green guy, why would you do stuff like robbing a jewelry store? I'm thinking I'm going to hurt you now. Any words?"

"I have no money! T-there is no money!", the man says, his voice a lot less boisterous now that he has a broken hand and has a Supergirl holding him up by the color. Word in the street says that she roughed up Penguin something fierce! As he kicks the air and holds the girl's arm in an attempt to free himself, the man just squeals "Please, let me go! I am not even the real Mysterio! I'm just a double he hired! Please! I have to play my rent!". His heart is beating hard and fast.

Robin sees that Kara has gotten to Mysterio; or at least the double playing him. So, the junior half of the Dynamic Duo goes to scoop up the Kryptonite collar. The green stone goes straight into a lead-lined container on his utility belt for safe keepign until it can be disposed of. A frown forms on Robin's face as he hears Kara's threats and the man's panicked response. He's used to doing this along with Batman. From Kara, threatening a prisoner with harm seems...wrong. "You don't have to hurt him, Supergirl," Robin says with a meanacing tone as he approaches them. "The Tombs will hurt him plenty." Robin looks right into the eyes of the minion, his eyes blazing with fury. "And after the Tombs, you're going to Blackgate. Yeah, you're gonna be surrounded by gang-bangers and mob torpedoes, 24-7. And you're not gonna have a friend in the world to watch your back when you enter that level of Hell." RObin pauses to let all that sink in. "Or, you can tell us everything you know about Mysterio. How he hired you. Who your contacts with him were. You spill, we tell Gordon you played ball and he'll keep you safe. You keep one bit of information from us, you get thrownnin with the rest of the human garbage."

Kara Zor-El keeps Mysterio suspended off the ground, and with her free hand rubs the bridge of her nose. "You know... the human body actually has a lot of rather distinct set of changes when they lie. It doesnt work with everyone. Some mutants... metahumans... Sometimes some altered humans. You're none of those. And I can tell you're lying. Not to mention..." She puts her finger and thumb to Mysterio's glass dome and flicks it, shattering the glass. "I've already seen your face before. Plus... x-ray vision. So again... dumbest.... genius... ever." Then when Robin starts his 'bad cop' routine, she just listens to Mysterio, adding, "Or space! I could throw him into space you know!"

When the helmet shatters Kara and Tim can see that the man inside is indeed Mysterio, the real Mysterio, and that he looks about from Robin to Supergirl with sweat on his brow. Although his legs shake pathetically, the man tries to stammer something, anything.

"Y-You cannot do this! I-I've read about you! You are that man's cousin! You were supposed to be a goodie two shoes! You can't throw me into space! I know it!", but he doesn't, he doesn't know these crazy super gods from another dimension. "Come on! We can work something out! You keep the money!", a money he said he never had "I-I can make you great! W-we could make this arrest something grand! Something epic!"

Kara mentions, "Something orbital?" Yeah she's playing this 'throw you into space' thing for all its worth.

Robin steps right up, getting into Mysterio's face. Also, he's interposing his body between Mysterio and Kara, while Kara still holds the villain. "She doesn't like it when you try to get her attention with nuclear missles and big green monsters." Robin's voice drops to a growl. "I don't like it either." He hopes he's being intimidating, but its so hard when you're a few inches shorter than the girl that just threatened to launch a man into orbit. "But you're right. She doesn't do things like that." It's less of a reassurance for mysterio and more of a reminder directed at Kara. "But me? I deal with scum like you every day. My boss too. And he's not happy at all that there's now lot more costumed criminals showing up in *his* city. Now, whatever you think *she* can do to you, it'd be over quickly. Batman and me? We'll be a nightmare for the rest of your life. We'll be in every shadow you pass. When you turn out the lights to sleep, we'll be there too. Batman's like Santa Claus; he knows if you've been bad or good, only he delivers pain instead of coal to the bad kids. So, which are you, Mr. Beck? A good, cooperative thug that's gonna spill his guts? Or a bad one who's gonna get a visit from the Bat?"

Kara Zor-El has to admit to herself, Tim really can be all intimidating and scary-like. She looks at Robin while keeping Mysterio held off the ground. "Wow..." She looks over at Mysterio. "Honestly, I've seen what his boss does to people. Throwing you into space would actually be more merciful." She whistles to herself.

"Oh my god, you two little psychos! What's the problem with you two?! Okay, I'll talk! What is it that you two want to know? God damn it... At least Spiderman had some decency! Had morals!", the man whines, his voice getting more and more high pitched. "Come on, I'll talk, and please let me go!"

"Police should be on their way," Robin says, still a bit forceful in his tone. "When they get here, you're gonig to let them take you into custody. You escape, Batman and I put you at the top of our hunting list. You answer every question the detectives ask. You tell them every criminal contact you have. You tell them about every costumed criminal you know. You do this, you get to sleep peacefully at night." It's still too far away for human hearing, but Kara can hear police sirens approaching.

Kara Zor-El puts her finger to her chin thoughtfully. "You know Robin... technically speaking, he's right. can't really throw him into space. I mean, at the force I'd be throwing him he'd probably burn up by the troposphere, maybe the ionosphere. Definitely by the time he reaches the exosphere. Air friction and all that." she says thoughtfully to herself.

Okay, apparently Kara's playing 'Bad Cop, Worse Cop.' instead of 'Bad Cop, Good Cop.'

At this point Mysterio has just broken in sobs, cursing his luck for trying to go against someone who is apparently far stronger than most of the heroes he fought before. Not only that, she seems to be friends with a young Punisher-like boy, and at that point Mysterio is just mourning the end of his career as a villain, since chirping like a bird will probably make every villain pretty aware of the day he will get out of prison.

"Okay, man... whatever... just... just let me go man... Whatever...", the grown up man cries, shaking his head and sparing a last look at the duo. They are way too young. Maybe heroes in the other Earth start earlier, And are adopted by more twisted versions of the one in his world.

"Just let me go to prison already...", and at that, the sirens seem to near the couple of heroes, zooming into the warehouse.

Kara Zor-El murmurs to herself, more thoughtfully, though loud enough so Mysterio can hear, "Plus I guess actually his lungs would burst within the first couple of seconds from the air pressure differential... still not as bad as dealing with Batman though. As long as he cooperates at least. Hrm..."

Yeah Kara's really taken the whole 'Criminals are a cowardly lot' thing to heart. She stops talking about it once the cops arrive, though, tossing Mysterio onto the floor over at the police as they arrive.

As the cops arrive, Robin puts his hand on Kara's arm, guiding her to let Mysterio slump down to the ground. "Okay, seriously, he's had enough," he whispers under his breath. And as the police flood in thoguh the front door. Robin shoots his grapple gun up to the broken skylight and zips right up out of the warehouse.

Mysterio is taken by the cops without resisting, even if they seem to at least try and show just how prepared they are at dealing with a super criminal, shouting and cuffing him. One of them thanks Kara, and then asks her to stay away from this juristiction, and then leaves with the prisoner, Mysterio at the back of a NYPD car, head hanging low.

Kara Zor-El nods a little to the police officer, then flies up to follow Robin. Once by him, she asks, in all earnest, "So how did I do? Was I scary enough? Batman said that I'm supposed to be scary when interrogating criminals. He seemed scared but it could have just been adrenaline. What do you think?"

Robin looks at Kara in disbelief as she asks about her performance. He shakes his head, slowly smiling. "I think you and I need to have a long talk about it before your cousin finds out about this." Then, Robin's smile grows into one of encouragement. "But...I think you're going to put me out of a sidekick job. You should be wearing my costume instead." A pause.

"Just don't expect em to wear yours; I don't have the legs for it." And with the launch of another shot from his grapple gun, RObin swings off and away.