Isn't She Pretty?

[Oracle]

Gotham was often cold, and tonight, wasn't all that bad in comparison to most. The fall evening didn't have the nip that promised snow at any moment, so it was considered a plus in that regard. The streets were damp from a fresh rain that spat enough to soak things and let off once more every few hours. Thus, the small gathering of puddles in the uneven pavement reflected the neon lights of Chinatown with a faint glow. Due to the rain, and this late time of night, it was quiet on the usually-crowded streets in this part of the district. The shops and salesmen and women had covered their goods and closed their doors to sleep and prep for the next early morning and long day. 

The soft murmur of a television echoed down the block as an elderly oriental woman sat huddled close, eyes peering at the screen with a constant look of distaste, though it might have been her natural expression. 

"...the string of missing women has begun to accululate in recent weeks and it is now believed by Gotham Police that some cases are linked, though they have yet to reveal any connections as to how they've made this determination. The women on this list are those that have gone missing and stayed that way, the list has begun around 4 women and Gotham Police say there may be more added to this guesstimate very soon as the case unfolds. Their ages range from 22 to 28 and all have said to be of different descent and background. The latest missing case to have sparked this possibility is that of Jun Yon Wong, a 23 year old female from the Chinatown District just four days ago. She has not been seen since..."

Batgirl's canary yellow boots landed softly on the ledge of the train pass over looking Chinatown as she chewed her full, lower lip in a frown. The cases were indeed linked, and the GCPD had the thought right on it, but they were pulling at smoke trying to get more on the case and nothing more was coming of it. This was what she had been keeping track of for two weeks now and she herself had gotten little else. But something told her the girl's missing, and that list the GCPD had put out was far longer, were about to resurface and not alive. Her gut was clenching as it whispered and she wasn't going to ignore it. Something more was coming and it was about to start showing its ugly head. She just had to get ahead of it and find the girls.

[Batman (Bruce Wayne)]

"I'm telling you, check the shop footage of every building on that block, someone's seen something and we gotta find out who!" Commissioner Gordon spoke fiercely into his phone before hanging it up. His attention turned to the shadow of his office. "My units are shaking up every store in the Chinatown district and we can't get a beat on anything. I can only imagine how their parents must feel..." Jim looked to his desk where a picture of Barbara in a pencil skirt college uniform and a bright smile aimed at the camera.

His voice was deep and soft, speaking from the darkness to avoid any attention if someone would enter the room. "You're doing everything you can, Jim. We're doing everything we can with our efforts."

"I...I just can't help but think what if it were Barbara or James?" Jim spoke sorrowfully.

"Take the night off, Jim...Go home to your family and get some rest." Batman stated as he walked towards the window behind Jim's chair.

"And leave you to all the work, old friend? I can't sleep while this maniac is out there."

"That makes two of us." Batman replied to Jim's statement as he stepped out to the fire escape. Batman armed his grappling hook and shot it towards the rooftops to swing across the way into the distance. "Batman to all points...I spoke to Commissioner Gordon. His detectives are looking into security footage surrounding the most recent victim. What do you all have?" Batman dropped down into the cockpit of the Batmobile. The engine would rev to life and begin driving forward at a slow pace so that the engines purr wouldn't give away his location to any unsuspecting criminals.

[Dick Grayson/Nightwing]

Ah Gotham, perpetual city of gargoyle statues and shadowy nights of rain. As much as Dick was growing to love Bludhaven even he admitted that the smaller forgotten city wasn't nearly as inspired as Gotham was. Gotham had a big beautiful gothic feel to it, with the statues of gargoyles that watched throughout the night over it's people. Ages ago people thought they were demons waiting to prey upon the souls of the innocent. Nowadays not so much, they weren't seen as evil manifestations anymore as much as dark guardians of the night. Of course, when you have a symbol so associated with demons of the night it lends to help with that shift in image. 

"I'm just saying Bruce, being associated with gargoyles isn't the worst thing you can be with. There was a kickass cartoon of them in the early 90's." Nightwing said casually to the gargoyle statue to his left. He named him Bruce, he was a much better listener than his own Bruce. 

Nightwing was making strides in Bludhaven, carving his mark, he could feel it - or maybe he was wishing it was. He knew he would never truly make his mark on the city until there was real change. Bludhaven was like Gotham in it's pre-Batman years, only Batman tipped the balance at the right time and managed to balance the scales. Bludhaven wasn't as lucky, the scales were so skewed that Lady Justice herself would have sobbed to see justice so perverted. After months of fighting waves of corruption and super villains wanting to carve their own mark out of Batman's watchful gaze Nightwing managed to...level the playing field enough for him to leave safely. He didn't fear a hostile takeover now coming to Gotham as he did in the months past. It certainly wasn't safe or cured, not by a long shot...but he could breathe easier not being in Bludhaven tonight. Not that it mattered, Bludhaven's 'magic hour of crime' wasn't midnight like Gotham - but the twilight of the setting sun. So here he was, sitting on one of the older buildings of Gotham, the ones that all four corners had a gargoyle over them, by himself talking to his old friend: Bruce the Gargoyle.

"Yes, Keith David is boss. But that's not what we're talking about." Nightwing continued on. "You ever feel lonely Bruce? I mean, yeah you're a gargoyle but you have your other gargoyle friends," Nightwing looked to his right, "Jim." he then looked behind him to his left, "Clark." then to there he imaged the other one would be across the building, "And Stormageddon, dark lord of all. But, hear me out: you can have all the allies in the world all the friends around you and yet...don't you feel lonely?"

He paused, for no real reason other than to simulate a conversation.

"I never felt lonely. I mean, maybe in the few hours after my parents death...and realistically the days after, but since then I always felt surrounded by people I care about. You, Alfred, the Titans, Babs...I always feel like when things get bad I can call them up and know things will be fine." his eyes went downcast. "I mean, I used to...nowadays I don't feel like that anymore. I feel like I'm always fighting the shadow of whatever legacy is left behind for me. I thought breaking away from Robin and being Nightwing would help, but all I feel like is an idiot in blue and black kevlar."

He leaned against the gargoyle and sighed.

"I guess a part of me was hoping that he would call me when he needed me. That I would be on his list when emergencies hit. Then I remind myself he has others for that, calling for me would be a waste of his time. Meanwhile I have him on speed dial in case shit hits the fan, talk about pathetic right?" he paused for a moment, halting conversation as he heard the subtle roar of the Batmobile going at a far slower pace than usual. It was unusual for him because the Batmobile was usually broken out to hurry to places Batman couldn't glide to fast enough, but...it was moving slow like a beat cop on patrol. He raised an eyebrow at this and turned to his gargoyle friend.

"Sorry Bruce, got to run. We'll continue this later I promise - I gotta go reconnect with the family right now." he stepped away from the gargoyle and pulled out of his wrist gloves his old communicator. He kept it for when he would need to contact them, which was rare, but still happened. He popped the communicator in his ear and broadcasted to the available comms within the Batfamily. Knowing Bruce (the real one, not the gargoyle) would hear this.

"The batmobile isn't breaking all speed limit and traffic laws, either you decided to take the letter of the law far too seriously or something's up."

[Oracle]

His voice cooed over the comms and Barbara blinked, surprise misting her eyes as the sprinkles started back up again. The cool beads dripped down her cowl and over her cheeks to drip off her chin to the street below as she recollected herself. What he hell was he doing back in Gotham? He'd been spending all his time with his new mistress Bludhaven, why show up now? Did it really matter? She thought about it a moment and decided not. Great, something else to change the wind. She just hoped he and Bruce would play nice so she didn't have to deal with their horrid tension.

Batgirl leaned back on one haunch and sent the file compiled on the growing list of missing women so far to him. People went missing in Gotham all the time, far more than most cities. But lately, it seemed the target range for the missing females was a little more direct. "Consider yourself briefed." She said as the file sent to show to him, and she continued combing through the surrounding security cameras where the latest girls had gone missing as she answered back to Batman.

"I've got little to nothing on the cameras yet. Whoever is up to this, they're clever to avoid camera angles, I'll keep looking though." And whoever they were, they were damn clever. No one had been taken from the same area, nor had they any proof they'd been to the same place recently or had anything in common save for a small age range. The targets were all beautiful, that much she could say, but with no bodies showing up, it wasn't possible to say that's why they were taken. "Targets are being picking up from seemingly random locations, I can't even certainly match them to near a bus stop or train station for sure. Sometimes it's blocks away from a station or stop, other times there's none even close enough to say for sure the mode of transportation is the same. He's either very clever or he isn't taking either to get around. I've checked with the cab companies, no one is missing a cab or has had any issues as of late." Which didn't leave them with a whole lot yet. Still, the feeling that those girls were going to start showing was just under her skin and she couldn't shake it.

A machine whirred near her ear and Barbara frowned, turning to the small drone hovering at her shoulder. It wasn't supposed to be even that loud, despite how considerably quiet it was. This damned thing still needed to work on its stealth. The drone, something she'd been toying with for months now, was definitely a work in progress, and if she had the luck along with more time, she had great plans for it. Made of the same material the bat mobile and other gadgets were made from, it would hold up better to gun fire and weaponry, but she was saving that for the final design. For now, it was a lightweight practice run. And this one had lasted the longest. Barbara had effectively created a somewhat beginning for an AI she'd affectionately named "Peter." The name, held significance that made her heart warm a little despite the cold. Jason Peter Todd wasn't around anymore, but she liked having something to help her that felt like he was close. Though, he was annoying her at times as the real Jason had. This damned thing still had bugs and it wasn't learning to flank correctly.

"Bubble, Peter, you're in my bubble." She said softly, and the drone hesitated a moment, computing, before it backed away in the air a foot for her comfort. Barbara nodded and frowned again as the whirring got to her. She was good with computers, robotics was another beast. But at least it was working better than the last models. And it wasn't that the whirring was overly loud, just that it wasn't silent. She needed it silent. She'd set it up with several features, some of which were in perfect working order. If she or one of the team was in trouble, Peter could read the vitals if they were close enough and alert the others for help, giving their location. Eventually, she wanted to install it the ability to resucitate as well if the victim needed it, but....that one was going to have to wait until she'd fixed the other bugs. It had a taser on it as well, although she'd only allowed that on this evening for the first time, as the other drivers had not learned she wasn't a target for getting the shock treatment for some reason. So far though, this model was doing well. It recorded as it went and backed up the files to her computer for later review so if it caught something she didn't, she could go back and review the footage. The ideas she had for this were long and great, but it was a start.

The alert tweeted in her comm that she was receiving a phone call and she checked it before answering. "Dad, hey, you still at the station?"

There was the sound of a car engine and splashing water as the tires hit a puddle on the street with the windows down. "Hey, honey, no, I'm headed home. Are you up this late working on something?"

She glanced at the drone, "Yeah, I can't get my stupid computer program to do what I want just yet. It's being...stubborn." The drone stared back blankly and she shook her head. "I'm about to head to bed though, I left meatloaf in the microwave and the corn casserole is covered in foil next to it too. I'll probably be out by the time you're home. Make sure you eat, okay?"

Jim's voice was thankful, "Thanks, honey. Get some rest. I'm sure you'll figure out that program, you're the smartest girl I know."

Barbara grinned, blushing a little. "Thanks Dad. Night."

They hung up and she sighed, looking back down at Chinatown and reconnecting to the main comms. "He won't strike in Chinatown again. He hasn't double hit any area. But I can't guess a pattern to see where he'll hit next. I was going to start searching areas where the bodies might be dumped, see if I pick up anything."

[Batman (Bruce Wayne)]

"Since when did the suspect become a 'He' ? You know what they say about assumptions, they make an as--" Red Robin was cut off by Batman.

"Robin has a point, 30% of rape cases are caused by women, 40% of child abductions are performed by women as well..."

Tim would grin hearing Dick Grayson's voice, turning in his seat within the Batmobile he would speak only to Batman off from the microphone. "He's home sick." Tapping his com he would speak cheerfully to Nightwing. "Heya, there's room if you want a lift...I don't see you outside though..." Tim looked around the windows for Nightwing." Oblivious to the point of Nightwing being stealthy and undetected.

"Batgirl, we're not looking for security footage, we're looking for clues. Something that would be off from the usual street characteristics." Batman opened the cockpit and allowed for Nightwing to drop into the backseat if he chose to. The Batmobile would pass through the old town district prompting Batman and Robin to both look around with their heads poking out of the cockpit.

[Dick Grayson/Nightwing]

Nightwing scaled down the side of the building as the batmobile slowed to a stop, once he got close enough to the ground he then leaped from his spot in the air and landed in the seat in back. Landing with a 'thwump' he looked at the two of them he gave a grunt and looked between the two of them. 

"Red Robin." he nodded to Tim politely. "Batman." he nodded to Bruce stiffly. 

Once the tense greetings were out of the way he tapped his ear comm and looked between the two of them, "Another night in Gotham huh? I read the information Batgirl sent me, a serial kidnapper?"

What a night for him to return to Gotham huh? The night of a serial kidnapping, or at least the night of an active investigation, and he shows back up in everyone's lives. With him being gone for so long he was afraid about how well he'd fit back in with the group. He leaned forward in the batmobile with his eyes narrowed.

"4 women we know of, possibly more, have vanished. Locations seem to be random on surface, with no obvious connection. Targets seem to be women, regarded as 'beautiful' so the kidnapper has a preference. Suggests male, but there is a chance of female, and the kidnapper is transporting victims in a fashion not yet identified." after reciting the information he had read, a method of his in order to sort his own thoughts out (like a chalkboard of the clues). "It wouldn't happen to be the usual crowd would it? Mad Hatter? He tends to kidnap women for his 'Alice'..."

[Oracle]

Barbara bit her lip, her slip of the tongue led to the boys jumping her hide for making assumptions. They were right, of course, but it wasn't as though she meant she'd ruled out women. It just sort of came out that way. But her thoughts were distracted away as she could hear the tense tone to their conversation. Jeez, the boys really needed to get whatever they had out in the open, this was going to get old fast. Not that Bruce ever would, he locked up everything better than Tutankhamun's tomb. And even then, when they'd opened it, it had sent six men to death by strange illnesses. Maybe that was why Bruce was so heavily guarded, he let up and people died.

Shaking away the thought, the Batgirl silently maneuvered down the fire escape, checking every level for clues as this was the very alley the girl had last been seen near. The young woman had last been spotted by a friend, Sun Jon, a cook at the Lucky Cat Cafe just across the street from his alley. He'd spotted her and waved, she'd waved back, and he'd gotten busy with work after. That was at 10:15 or so according to reports. Barbara began combing the alley, trying to see past the wave of fresh rain that had collected to look for clues.

[Batman (Bruce Wayne)]

Tim thought out loud and spoke. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder though...Barbara is pretty to me, Batman and Nightwing, not so much...No offense big guys." Tim sheepishly looked between Batman and Nightwing.

"The Madhatter, while usually looking for a specific woman to fit the criteria of Alice, isn't limited to just seeking her. He will snatch anyone who is capable of fulfilling a role he wants to be played. He once tried to capture me for the role of Queen's guard. He's sloppy, but he also carries distinct footprints, either rabbit shoes from his victims or size 16 shoes from his costume. Jervis Tetch wears a size 8."

Tim would then comment. "Well it's a good thing the rainy nature of Gotham has left plenty of forensic material to work with."

[Dick Grayson/Nightwing]

Nightwing didn't respond immediately, he took a moment to gather his thoughts and clear them out. Detective work, while he was trained in it, wasn't his forte. Bruce and Tim were far better in that department than he was, that's not to say he was a slouch - it was an acknowledgement that his skills weren't as vast as his ego wanted. And as much as he wanted to say something or call the shots...it was Gotham, Bruce's city. Which while usually was instinct to follow his directive, being a solo worker in Bludhaven with no boss to answer to was burning in his mind and going back to work for an employee (temporarily) was still a bit mentally jarring. Still. Had to play by the rules...especially since he knows he would enforce the same idea if Bruce tried to step into Bludhaven and call the shots.


"Need a fourth set of eyes?" Nightwing then offered, which seemed retroactive at this point, but technically Barbara didn't really ask him, she just kinda assumed he would help. Which he would, she was right, but still. "You two have it combed here in the Batmobile pretty well, Batgirl is..."

He frowned, he didn't see her in the Batmobile, but Barbara didn't really ride in the Batmobile too much unless needed. He heard her voice and she sent him information, so if he had to wager a guess she was probably doing some field work after already have scoped the cameras to see if she could nail the perp. 

"Anyway, I'm here so...what can I do?"

[Oracle]

Barbara smiled slightly to herself at the comment Tim made. Sweet kid. She drew out her collection swabs and started dabbing the brick wall of the alley. Her drone was showing the sheen of a residue pattern, about head-height to the woman's stature. It spanned the circumfrence of about a foot and a half and it was faint, but it wasn't part of the wall naturally, and it didn't occur anywhere else in the alley. She capped the swab container and placed it in her pouch, collecting another. " You're a big boy," she said in response to Dick. "I'm sure you'll think of something." There was a trace of malice in her tone and she tightened her jaw as she fed the next swab into Peter's recepticle and gathered the third and final swab for Batman. Though, knowing him, he might just come get his own. She couldn't bite back the terseness she held with Dick. Though she wouldn't admit that it was an issue right now. He had left, he thought himself above them and he left without even saying 'good bye' to her. He'd just taken off. Bruce hadn't even bothered to say something to her until she'd asked to bring him on a run and Bruce had gruffly answered that Dick had left Gotham and the team. That was that. It was hard to gleam anything from Batman, but she'd known him long enough to know he wasn't pleased with the action. At least, some part of it. But what was the man ever actually pleased with?

Still, her longest partner and really, her best friend next to Kara had just up and left. Left the team, left the city, left her behind and never said a word. No call or explanation. They'd breifly messaged since, but he didn't seem too phased on what his actions had done and for that she was even further irritated with him. And a real partner wouldn't have just up and left like that, let alone a friend. Maybe he was happier in Bludhaven. Maybe he had a better partner there. Maybe she was smarter and better at things than she was. Maybe-

The swab snapped in half and she growled to herself, picking up the pieces and tucking them away just as Peter beeped. "Swab filed. Traces of multiple chemical compounds dispersed in an uneven surface." She read over the list of chemicals, nodding to herself and connecting back to the comms in a more controlled tone.

"I've got a spot here on the alley way wall, deep near the back. It looks like a compound was used to knock the victim unconsciousand fast, it's been placed through some sort of aerosal dispersal." Searching the compound, she compared it to others used that they had on file. "It doesn't match up to anything quite like what we've seen before, Scarecrow, Ivy, Joker...it's different than them all, not similar enough to pin to any for sure."

[Batman (Bruce Wayne)]

Batman hadn't held a grudge a had instead Dick since the man left Gotham, rather Batman had done his best to make the "break" as clean as possible by not holding a grudge...or even reaching out to Dick. But with escalation of events over the past 2 years, now felt like everyone could breathe easier without Bane, Hush, or Black Mask threatening everyone in the city.

"We'll make a few routes and regroup at Oracle. Got that, Batgirl? We'll see what you've found and make our move from there." With that Batman put the vehicle into a higher gear and set out on a patrol towards The Clock Tower. By the time Batgirl would arrive, Batman would be standing by the computer reviewing the police files.

Tim sat on a couch playing World of Warcraft with his laptop.