Gotham Opera House - March:
"Okay, this kind of makes up for Wayne Manor." Your wife says, nestling up beside you as the two of you watch the musicians tune their instruments in the orchestra pit. "Box seats? If your parents could see you now." She chuckles, the two of you taking the opportunity to cuddle up together, in a private box overlooking the stage. "Weird that Wayne gave us tickets, but was so insistent we didn't go tonight. You think he knows something we- Oh shit, it's The Roman. Don't look." You look. In the oversized Royal box next to yours - so named, your programme informs you, with the intention of seating British royalty before the Revolution in the mistaken belief they'd visit the colonies - sits Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, mob boss and the ruler of Gotham.
One of his bodyguards, a mountain of muscle in an ill-fitting suit, glares at you, and you quickly look away. "Rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous already?" You sigh.
The orchestra finishes their preparations and the lights begin to dim. The stage goes black, and you hear a voice.
"Ladies. Gentlemen. You have eaten well."
A flurry of whispers travel across the room.
"Is this meant to be in English?"
"You have eaten Gotham's wealth."
"This isn't how Tosca starts - is this one of those 'modern reinterpretations or somethin'?"
"Her spirit."
"What happened to the lights?"
"But your feast is nearly over. And none of you are safe."
A sound rings out from the stage, that only you recognise - the sound of a thick polycarbonate cable being shot out of a grapnel gun - and you watch in shock as a rope flies over Carmine Falcone's shoulder, wrapping tightly around his neck afte the cable stretches to its full length. The Don, the Godfather, The Roman - Gotham's untouchable king, is dragged forwards, flipping over the balcony and crashing into the seats below.
There's a pregnant pause, no one daring to speak, no one daring to even look at the man lying ass up beneath the Royal box, groaning in pain and trying to get to his feet, as though worried that even witnessing The Roman's humiliation will make them share the inevitable retribution to follow.
"The hell are you idiots doing! Get the bastard!" The goliath springs forward, faster than you'd think, and lands on the ground floor, rushing the stage with nine other men. They spread out, dodging the orchestra pit as they clamber up to the stage. A man falls at the edge, one of your batarangs carving a gash in his forhead as it knocks his head back. He falls into the pit and you hear the crashing of cymbals and the atonal shriek of a bassoon. "He's throwin' shit, be care-aah!" Another man lands on his back with the grapnel cable around his ankle, and he thrashes and screams, nails carving lines in the wooden stage floor as he's dragged into darkness and goes silent. You hear a thunderclap, then several more as the gangsters draw pistols and begin firing randomly at the stage. The gunshots bouncing off the acoustics are so loud that you can barely hear it as the stage floor explodes upwards in a shower of wooden splinters, and one of the men falls through the floor - no, is
dragged through it.
You hear screams from the audience and feel the rush as people get up from their seats to run for the exit, but your gaze is fixed on the stage. The Falcone men are firing downwards now, spending the last of their ammunition on the floor. Their magazines drop almost at once to the broken ground, and then the stage lights come on at what must be the maximum brightness setting. Wayne stands, somehow, at the middle of the stage, clad in the suit you made for him.
The first man to recover from the blinding lights pulls his hand from his face to see a gauntleted fist smash into it. He flies backwards in a spray of broken teeth. The next thug tries to backpedal and gain some room to reload. Wayne stomps a foot down on his instep to halt his flight, and then sends the front part of the guy's knee backwards. A knife slashes through the outer layer of the Batsuit, getting caught by the aramid fibres within and bouncing off harmlessly before Wayne brings a knee up into the guy's nose. The goliath moves forward, a massive arm sailing through the air as Wayne ducks, recoiling back before sending two hard shots to the Batman's stomach. Wayne doubles forward in pain, grabs the man, twisting, and then both of them crash loudly through the stage and out of sight. As quickly as the show started, it's over.
"Next time, I pick the entertainment for date night." Your wife exhales next to you.
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"Alright, Mr Fox. I'll let you get back to it. Wait outside and we'll send your wife out to meet you once she's given her statement. Thank you for your cooperation." The tired looking ginger detective dismisses you, and you walk out of the Opera House. There are too many people out front, talking, gossiping, and too many Falcones among them for your comfort. You head into the nearby alley, wondering what you got yourself into - you expected Wayne would be fighting muggers and rapists, maybe some low-level gangsters. Not...whatever the hell that was.
So deep are you in thought that you don't notice the thief until she's right behind you. "That was really quite the show, huh? I nearly forgot to rob the place blind." She purrs, and you nearly jump out of your skin. Turning, you see her, up in the fire escape. It's too dark to see much, but you can make out the tight leather catsuit and balaclava. Remembering the reason you came here - the message slipped into your office with an request to meet, you sigh. "You wanted to talk. So talk." Out front, you hear people beginning to shout as they realise their valuables have been stolen.
"LexCorp has been stepping on you - trying to show you who's boss. If you don't fight back, they're going to get bolder." She says, all business. "My offer's simple - I give you my number, and when you need to make your enemy hurt, you give me a call. Corporate espionage, sabotage - I do a bit of everything. Well, not murder - you'll have to find someone else for that. So?"
Choose One:
[] Refuse - You'll fight your battle with LexCorp within the law
[] Accept - (Gain Catwoman as an asset for corporate espionage)
[] Shout out - The police are just around the corner. If you shout, they might be able to catch this thief.
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QM Note: Forgive me for the length of the opening section - I'd planned just a small scene to show you how BMan had rolled with the new suit you made him, but it kept getting longer and longer as I wrote it and ended up overshadowing the Catwoman section that was the whole point of the update. I beg your indulgence - I'm not very good at writing action, but it's fun to write nonetheless.
As for the next turn, it should be coming up soon - with some revisions to the numbers to make actions a little less difficult.
