The Birds of Prey

[Oracle]

Oracle had known Gotham. She grew up in Gotham. She worked with the Police Department. She was Batgirl. Was Batgirl... But she knew Gotham. She knew it's heroes. It's Crime lords, its thugs, and it's corrupt. She knew the pulse of crime in this city. She was constantly monitoring all traffic and security cameras, putting sniffers into banks to keep track of big money transactions. She knew what came across the police scanners before it even got that far! Often before the crime was committed! That is why she now nicknamed the Oracle!



She also knew those who were the best to stop it. Most incidents required a voice altered tip on the tip line. Or she could contact one of Gotham's vigilantes, sizing up who had the skill set and availability to jump in and 'save the day' as it were.



Then there was someone new... Oracle only caught only glimpses of the woman to start with. An apparent vigilante who would take out thugs as fast as Barb's search algorithms could find them. A new vigilante in town, Interesting...



The most interesting and frustrating thing about this new vigliante was that this woman knew where traffic cameras and store security cameras were so Barb never got a full image of her. A heeled boot here, a flash of black fishnets or leather. The trailing brush of blonde hair. It took some work, but Oracle managed to get a partial of the woman's face, from a reflection in a window, and plugged it into a new search algorithm to scan day hours of all traffic cameras to see if she could figure out who this woman was.



Meanwhile combing through blogs searching with dozens of keywords, from the few details Oracle had gleened from watching glimpses of this Blonde, Barb was surprised to get hundreds of accounts of the woman, not just from Gotham, but all over the country! Cental city, Star city, Metropolis, New York City, Chicago, everywhere. The times of the sitings were as differed as the cities she was seen in, but it was easy to see the paths this vigilante made across the county. Only one other time had she been in Gotham, until the frequent sitings now.



This vigilante was more urban myth than person. A fish netted mixed martial artist, who swooped in saving people. And apparently she went by the name Black Canary. So called because one siting confirmed her riding a motorcycle with a screaming canary painted on her helmet.



As Oracle looked into these sitings, it was less clear that this woman was a hero or a criminal... The blonde had been part of a yakuza ran illegal motorcycle race in star city. A dog fighting ring in Gotham. And had been at a paranormal research center in Central City which was closed down once it was discovered the government was picking students to become special ops weapons. All but one student was accounted for.



This incident in Central City seemed to be a turning point for the blonde fighter...Since that moment whenever there was a disappearance of someone who may have a meta human ability the Black Canary was sited. In fact the appearance of the blonde coincided when a series of women were being kidnapped in Gotham recently. Also the night after an ice skater was kidnapped from the rink she trained, an anguished shriek was reported and the enormous glass wall was shattered.



After a day of cranking through a month's worth of data, the search on the city's traffic cams completed! The data reported several women matching the blonde's likeness. Upon looking into the places each woman had been sited, employment histories bookingkeeping, Barb would find the blonde had worked at these places at different times. At some of them she still was! But the odd thing was that each blonde at each job had a different identity. One was housecleaning in a hotel. Another a secretary for a shady businessman. Another a mechanic. Another a paralegal in City Hall. And the last was an instructor at a new dojo on the east side of Gotham.



Taking these aliases and running them back through her data on the Black Canary sightings, she would find these women had also been working and sighted in the same cities as Black Canary. As well as in wresting tournaments. Only one had a history of doing more tournaments in New York City, and that was the one who ran and owned the dojo. Which was established with a small business grant from the Wayne foundation... Interesting.

"Time to make contact." Her fingertips graced the monitor before and leaned back in her chair. "Hello, Black Canary...it's time you and I finally spoke." Oracle stared at the monitors, images of the elusive Black Canary all over them. The flash of yellow so striking against the darkness of Gotham's setting. Her style was particular and her footprint was miniscule. She was good, she was very good. But Oracle had tracked her down, that piece she was proud of. It had taken her longer than she was pleased to admit, the Canary had given her a true challenge. But she'd done it. Now, the time had come for the fruits of her labor. She rolled herself to her room in the tower, changed into something other than a set of GCPD sweats and a wife beater. A black button up, sleeves rolled up to the elbows over a dark green shirt and a set of jeans. Her black boots stretched up to her knees and matched her shirt with purpose. Leaving her red hair down, the former Batgirl made her away across Gotham to the dojo as her target. The air had bite tonight and flurries were falling from the black sky. The white tufts stuck to the cars along the streets and clung to her red hair as she got out of the taxi. She paid the driver and sat outside the large open windows of the dojo, clearly in view of the mats inside. The streets here were moderately quiet but business seemed to be just fine. Entering the dojo, the warm air rushed her in sharp contrast to the cold chill that still bit at her nose and cheeks, flushing them a bright pink. Her blue eyes scanned for the striking blond she knew would be here, or, for the face that couldn't be hidden by a wig.

[Peyton Riley]

Looking into the large picture windows of the Dojo which showed off the little martial arts club, Oracle would see a collection of students wearing karate gi's all moving in unison, crowding the scene and blocking their insturctors.

The dojo was warm, almost steamy compared to the frigid Gotham day outside. and wheeling into the dojo the redhead would find a little waiting area for parents with another large picture window, giving a view of the students and their teachers. One was a large asian man who was double the height of the students and nearly as wide! He seemed good natured and walked through the students helping them by gently tapping hands and feet to correct their positioning and stance. The other. Was her! The blonde! She was wearing a black gi and leading them through some practice drills, when a student with a broken leg came in from the back hallway on his crutches.

"Sensei Lance, why did you have me get dressed? I showed you my doctor's note..." whined the boy.

The blonde gave a bit of a smirk hearing the student and motioned the class to stop and to sit in a semi-circle. The class rushed to do so.

"Because Charlie, I don't accept doctor's notes. Unless you are contagious or have the flu, I want every student in every class." The large asian man, obviously the assistant pulled up a wood chair and set it beside Sensei Lance without her even asking. Apparently he had seen this before... "Please take a seat, and I'll hold onto the crutches for you." Charlie sat and the blonde took his crutches. She went around the semi-cirlce with them. once or twice trying to put weight on the 'bad' foot, and would wince as she did so. Obviously getting into character. "You see class, advisaries don't pick fights when you are at your best. They pick fights when you're at your worst, when you seem weak." The blonde went up to her assitant who was already in a fighting stance. "You can still practice and even fight, even when you don't seem to be capable of such."

The assistant suddenly lunged at the sensei, who pivoted to the side, leaning on one of the crutches. The other crutch swung about, sliding down her grip so she was holding the foot of the crutch, and with a swift movement sweeped the assistant's foot, making him land on the mat! The blonde gently pressed the cruth pad, gently against his throat. The big man just smiled at her, before she let him up. The students all wide eyed at their sensei.

She turned back to the student in the chair. "Now Charlie, I won't ask you to put weight on your broken leg, but I will have you keep training and yourself in condition for when you can join the main class, learning some of the lessons with them, and a few special ones for you too."

Charlie grinned. "Can I learn to fight with crutches too!"

Lance smirked. "Maybe, if you are good, and you keep trying to get healed up!" she teased and ruffled his hair. She looked at the redhead watching her Class, then back at the students. "That's enough for one day, you all get out of here!" The students scrambled to go to the back hallway, where the locker rooms were. Lance went over to the waiting room and opened the door to it. "Hey." said the blonde offering a hand to the other woman to shake. "I'm Dinah, the sensei of this Dojo. Are you interested in a class? I have classes for adults, as well as intermediate and more advance classes as well."

[Oracle]

She was great at teaching children, at getting down to their level without belittling them. It was a difficult task to manage and she wished the blond would rub off on Bruce, maybe it would make him a bit better at working with the bat kids. She smiled up at the Sensei from her chair and wheeled to follow her. "Hello, Dinah," her voice was cordial, smooth. She deflected about the classes or giving her name and instead, drew blue eyes around the dojo with a trained eye. "You have a lovely establishment. And you're a wonder with the children, it's so refreshing to see someone able to teach them without making them feel small, rather the opposite actually. Whatever got you into this field, if I may ask?" Barbara slowed her chair to fold her hands across her lap. The wool coat and knitted yellow scarf snuggled her but kept her defined upper body concealed from the woman's view. She'd thought hard about throwing up some fake excuse for being their, a bullied son in need of defense, a boyfriend who likes to hit her...but something just didn't feel the same. No, she wanted this woman to connect with her, not to trip up over lies or facades, well, no more than she needed to put up. She needed trust and she had to earn it.

[Peyton Riley]

The blonde sensei led the visitor into the training area of her dojo. She gave the woman a curious look, as she was greeted, by the red haired stranger who disregarded returning an introduction herself. She gave a small smile at the praise. "well, thank you. And well, I believe that if you treat kids like kids, that is how they act. They can't make choices and they aren't big enough to do the things they can. But if you treat them like equals just training and learning with you. They will surprise you and can accomplish anything." she gave the woman a strange look at the question asking her about how she got into this line of work. "Well, a lot of these kids have problems you know? they are struggling at school with bullies or with their emotions, or confidence... and well I was one of those kids once. You know? My dad died, and I struggled with it. I didn't think I could get though it... and my Dad's friend. He took me to his gym and helped me get those feelings out on the punching bag. And showed me I could do make a difference. I could do things. And well. I like to be able to give that to kids too, like he did. to be their friend, help them out, show them more about themselves." Her view got distant for a moment and then focused on the woman in the chair with the thick coat and cute scarf. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. Is there a reason you came here today? Can I help you with something?" her brain working over the questioning redhead. A curious woman from the neighborhood? a reporter? someone with their own agenda? hrm... she would let the woman slowly reveal herself.

[Oracle]

Barbara liked what she heard. The blond was wise, down to earth, and was genuine, that was important. It was easy to see the flashes of blond she'd been watching on the scant security feeds as a younger girl, angrily dealing to a punching bag and given direction. It was understandable and something Barb respected. As the crowd thinned out in the dojo some, at least in their close vicinity, she lowered her eyes to the floor a moment as Dinah asked again who she was. She was polite, but curious and starting to grow more curious as to just what the redhead was doing there, yet she wasn't being forceful or wicked in the way she asked. This was the one, Barbara knew it, could feel it. She raised her blue eyes to the blond and folded her hands in her lap. "My name is Barbara. I came to inquire about you, rather than your dojo, though, don't get me wrong, it is an impressive one. It's a lovely establishment and you've done well with it." her eyes grazed over the mats and the students before settling back on the sensei herself. "But my interests are with you." she reached into the innards of her black wool coat and slipped free a picture printed out. Turning it over to Dinah, she would see the flash of the blond running around Gotham as of late. Barbara's eyes leveled with her. No lies. No trickery. "You're not in trouble. I'm not after you. But you've caught my attention, and I'd like to have some of yours when you get the chance."

[Peyton Riley]

Dinah gave a smile as she looked Barbara over, not seeming too surprised that the redhead came here become of herself, not the dojo. "Well, thanks. I have gotten admirers before. And I am flattered, if you wanted to go out for..." and then Barbara handed her the picture and her smile melted, she gave the woman a quizzical glance. "There is nothing saying I'm this woman in your picture. But I find this interesting, so I'll talk with you a bit." The blonde's mind was turning things over. Just who was this lady?! She managed to get a hint of a picture of her in a security camera. Did she work with the police? No, she must be independent, since she did nothing formal. But with access to what appeared to be a private security camera... hrm... "This was my last class for the night. Want to come talk in my office?" she offered, starting to head to the back hallway. A dozen questions about who this woman was roamed through her mind. And there was something off about her. The leader of the dojo naturally sized up the woman in the chair. Despite wearing the bulky coat which hid her build nicely. And likely having strong upper body strength, the woman carried herself differently. Her posture was that of a fighter. It was why she offered her more advanced training. She wasn't worried about having to fight this stranger. Or that she could prove that she was a vigilante. She was more concerned about what she wanted. People who thought they had something on you, often had more agendeas to follow up with. Time to see how far this rabbit hole went this time...

[Oracle]

Barbara gave a curt nod, eyes following every movement she made. "A talk would be lovely." Her blue eyes tailored every footstep and every sway the female Sensei made. This was the woman in the picture, she was sure of it. No part of her questioned it save for the detective in her always knew to keep an open mind. She wheeled her chair down the hall, a safe distance from the blond, senses on the alert. She'd already gotten a schematic of the dojo, knew it's layout above ground and even its connection to the sewers below ground, just in case. This woman had all the stealth and grace of a fighter, which would make sense for her job. But it was more than that, just a milisecond of difference in other martial artists she noted. It was well hidden, almost untraceable, but Barbara knew well what to look for and she'd been studying the cameras and traces of the blond vigilante for so long, she knew just what to look for.

"Perhaps you have something of the caffeine variety?" She broached gently, turning wherever the blond led.

[Peyton Riley]

The blonde could feel the way the red-headed woman looked her over, followed how she moved. She wasn't sure if she was trying to glean whether she was Black Canary from a movement or if she was checking her out. If Barbara looked around the hallway she would find something odd compared to the layout. The building had originally been a department store which had been chopped up with walls to make smaller businesses. And the locker room door was the stairway leading down. Which made some sense. The original store also had a sub basement (second basement) used for inventory. But apparently that had been cemented over, all the entrances bricked in since it was a rough space and did have access to the sewers, and it wasn't a selling point to small businesses. Now the Dojo was supposed to have the department store's single elevator. And that did go to the sub basement. But... but it wasn't there. It should have been right across from the sensi's office on the corner. But there were walls here which were not on the original layout. The blonde made some space in the little office. It had an aged computer sitting on a counter, it had to have been 7 years old, and had more filing cabinets than one would expect for a dojo. Apparently the blonde kept her records there instead of her computer.

Dinah took a seat in the office chair by the computer, it looked like it hardly got used. And blinked before smiling at the question. There was a coffee maker on her desk. "Sure, I'll just need to go down to the locker rooms to get the water, I'll be right back." she took the carafe and left the redhead alone in the office.

[Oracle]

Barbara's eyes did a quick, double-take. Where was the elevator? The level down was supposed to be RIGHT THERE. She knew it. She'd studied the schematics so carefully. She was sure. Something was wrong. It had been cemented over, the entrance was gone. Her chair rolled round the corner and into the small office. The redhead cringed. Oh, that computer, oh it hurt just to look at it. It was so dated and so old. Barb could swear she smelled the dust on the fan inside it blowing out chunks of dust bunnies. The tech in her just begged to replace it with a beautiful, updated computer with decent software. The file cabinet in the corner made her worry that was the reason she couldn't find files on the students and staff, everything was old and on paper. Fantastic. Nothing she couldn't get around though.

She smiled courteously in thanks and after she was sure Dinah was gone and she heard no footfalls, she took to the cabinet quickly. Her hand pulled free a device the size of a wallet, pulling arms free to stretch the width of an 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper. She turned it on and set it atop the cabinet, the green light lit up and shot downward against the top of the cabinet. As that laser-read the files inside the drawers, backing them to her computer and tablet instantly. At the same time, she wheeled toward the desk and began silently rifling through drawers, searching for anything useful, but keeping a weary ear for oncoming footfalls.

[Peyton Riley]

Barb would find the filing cabinet locked, of course, but that didn't seem to stop her from using her nifty little toy. The data coming in from her cabinet reader was a folder on every student and some of the parents that were related to the dojo, as well as her assistant. All of them having very detailed notes on skill level and how every day's practice went. There was a few pages on history and personalities as well. The redhead would find that the files read like a combination of a psychologists patient evaluation and a police report. But other than being overly detailed she didn't find much else.

The desk drawer was locked of course. This sensei seemed to have some trust issues. If she was to pick the locks she would find a money lockbox which held the fees from the students. As well as a well documented ledger and the dojo's checkbook. It all seemed on the book, and everything was accounted for. there was also a ton of pens and pocket sized notebooks. But they were all blank. Actually Barb wouldn't find any notebooks which had been filled in. There were only two things which stood out. An RFID tag, like ones used for building security access, laying in the bottom of a drawer, kind of hidden, but easy to get to. as well as a scrap of paper which read 'Queen's Blessing' on one side. The other side appeared to have a bank routing and account number on it.

Around that time she would hear the tapping of the sensei's shoes coming back. The cabinet was only 3/4ths done, and she was in the middle of a drawer.

[Oracle]

She indeed picked that lock and carefully went through the contents, memorizing the origins of every item so as to replace them as they had once been. Most everything was exactly as they should be for a common dojo owner with detailed books. Frowning to herself, she had hoped there would be a little something. But then again, based on how well this woman kept herself off the radar, was she really surprised? Eyes glanced at the walled over elevator again. That didn't sit right by any means. The file reader finished and she rolled to it, her hand closing around the piece just before her ears picked up the footfalls. Wheeling to the middle of the room, the room put back in its place as before and relocked, she awaiting the woman. Her mind reeled with thoughts on her findings. What was the "Queen's Blessing" note? And why the hell did she have so many empty notebooks. Her eyes hadn't picked up on any writing indents that she'd noticed. But who kept so many around? Invisible ink perhaps? Still, that would leave indents?

She placed a gentle smile on for the woman's return.

[Peyton Riley]

Barb would find that none of the notebooks had any indents, they were all the same thickness as well. apparently these notebooks had never been used, once they had, the obviously never returned back to this office. The security card lay in the drawer. It was an odd find. This building had normal locks, nothing in it seemed to use any kind of card. And this was the kind which only needed to be placed by a reader, whether visible or not and it would unlock the door. The note about the 'blessing' seemed to have been kept there to remind Dinah of something, likely something she needed to refer to fairly often, based on how wrinkled the paper was. Probably to use the bank account number on it. The paper was fairly old and worn, she had kept it for awhile.

the blonde sensei stepped into the room. "Sorry, it took me a minute." she said while she poured the water into the coffee maker. She went to shelf behind her and pulled out a coffee filter and a coffee can, starting to get the coffee ready. She sat down in her hardly used desk chair.

"So Barbara... just what did you want to talk to me about? I really don't know anything about this woman in the picture." she seemed sincere. "I can fight, I used to fight professionally. Lightweight woman's division. I can give you my record and my resume, if you are really curious about all this. Do you need references?" she was mildly poking fun of the redhead's curiosity.