Breaking and Entering (OPEN)

[Dick Grayson]

Dick Grayson wasn't even sure why he had bothered to show up here tonight. But he had, for whatever reason, and he was garbed in his usual Nightwing attire. The form fitting costume allowed for swift and silent movement through the darkened city. The moon and stars were completely blocked off due to smog and smoke, and the only light that shone was a ruddy crackled illumination resonating from the grimey lights that lined the sidewalks. A sidestep here, a quick corner there and a catapult for good measure had the young man smack dab where he was asked to be.

It had been the previous night, maybe around 11:30, when he received the call. He had been alone in his Bludhaven office when a mysterious stranger phoned in practically begging that he be here at midnight. It was the urgency in the obviously disguised voice that irked him. The sense of neediness that made him drawn to this place. And as he peered at the plain building it was obvious someone had already been here. Someone had already broken in. And as Nightwing stepped inside, alert as ever, he was ready to find out who wanted him here. And why.

[Batgirl]

Just after Nightwing had entered the building, Batgirl landed behind him, tapped him on the shoulder and whispered"I got the sense you might be needing me for backup tonight. You never know what the situation might require and two heads are always better than one."[/i][/color]

[Dick Grayson]

(OOC: longer posts please)

Nightwing swung around with fierce swiftness, ready to attack the second he felt a slender hand tap his broad shoulders. He turned to be faced with Batgirl, and let out a sigh of relief. She had a talent for being silent, and could even sneak up on the keenest of heroes and villains.

"Good idea" , he said in a hushed whisper as he took a quick step back outside. "But I'll need to go in there alone for now, I'll call if I need anything. Keep an eye on everything out here", he finished as he turned back around and stepped in.

His bright blue eyes tried their best to make out the images in the dark building. He waited to see who would approach him. He felt a lump in his throat. He was slightly wary of the situation and became tense for only a moment as the floor beneath him creaked.

[Serenity♥]

Serenity looked up. Someone was in the building. She had been here, working. A hero had to make some money. She worked her after hours and helped organize some of the workers desks, bring things to them for in the morning, or wake up employees that had fallen asleep.

About ten mintues ago, she had heard a noise in an upstairs room. Ever since, she had been tense, almost waiting for someone to pop out of nowhere. Now she was hearing almost slient talking as she neared where she heard a window break. Then it seemed like the sound of someone walking around.

Her shadow rushed out and trapped the person. "Who's there?" she asked.

[Dick Grayson]

Nightwing stepped back quickly as soon as he heard the voice. He was quite sure he had heard it at least once before, though he was not familiar with it. Was this the person who asked to meet him here? He couldn't really be sure. He was silent for a few moments until the dim light flickered on. He took another step back and looked around in a state of slight confusion.

"Uhh..your friendly neighborhood Nightwing", the young hero said with a slight shrug and a crooked smile. He might have to charm his way out of this one.

[Shockwave]

Though Gwen Stratford had to admit she knew better, she continued to take the dark alleyways on the way to her apartment a few blocks over. Ever since Raven's training, Shockwave felt a tad bit more prepared to deal with anything that could be in harms way. She was finally growing as a hero. Her shoes silently tapped its way on the randomly shoveled gravel with her hands in her baggy pants pockets, only to pull her hand out to push some scarlet hair behind her left ear.

Gwen passed by several buildings with aging bricks with dirt encrusted in between each one, pillowing them from the floor. With a slight grimace, she quickened her pace. Quiet night in the city, dark alleyways... Not the best idea Gwen had thought up. Just as the young woman found herself on the sidewalk to her apartment, a loud thump along with a muffled crash was heard from the building to the right of her. Gwen froze and slowly inched her sight up to the windows above.

Immediately, this event became an argumentative event between Gwen's two inner thoughts-- Leave to get home because she's scared crapless? Go investigate like a hero should do?

Shockwave sighed, only projecting her indecisive emotion my waving her fists around and letting out a defeated moan. "Fine, let's go." She frowned as she bit her lip to enter the building, only to see it lit and two figures in the main room. Get out of there, get out of there!! Gwen wanted to shout and run free to her home, but her legs refused to move. "Er..." She began as she attempted to steady her breath. "What is going on here??" Gwen placed her hands on her hips, flexed her arms and lowered her voice. Very, very heroic.

[Dick Grayson]

Nightwing heard the familiar voice of the young woman he had inducted into the Teen Titans suddenly. He crossed his arms as he swung his head around to look at her. He smirked in a crooked fashion and shook his head, his long black hair swaying suddenly in front of him.

"Intimidating" , he said with a cocked eyebrow.

He took a deep sigh and shook his head as he smiled. Batgirl first, and now Shockwave. They sure knew how to look after their leader. Quite an ego boost, not that he needed it. He turned back to her and furrowed his brow a bit.

"Do you STILL not have a costume?" , he said a bit surprised.

He spun on his heel to face the other woman. "...I'm getting the awkward feeling this might all be a trap", he whispered rather loudly.

[Serenity♥]

Serenity blinked when she saw who it was. She had met this fellow a while back. She released her shadow hold and crossed her arms. "I get the feeling I'm missing something." she muttered.

"So, might I ask why there are two people next to a broken window in a seemingless closed building in the middle of the night?" she asked, her sarcasm dripping her words. She was curious though.

Serenity looked between the man and girl. *Well, at least it's better than the usual boring night.* she thought.

[Shockwave]

The closer figure turned around, and Gwen bluntly dropped her shoulders and felt herself ease. She let out a deep breath and laughed at herself. Wow, nice going. With a cheesy grin, Gwen lifted her arms up in defense, as if to say 'hey, I tried!'. As Nightwing remarked about her entrance, Gwen let out a defeated sigh. Her grey gaze shifted from Nightwing to Batgirl, and then finally the woman behind the counter. Phew, no threat here. Gwen continued to smile thankfully, and pulled down her shirt's hem on an idle reflex.

"Costumes are overrated!" Gwen complained. She pointed to Batgirl and remarked quickly, "Someone like me would not look flattered in leather!" Inwardly, the young woman laughed at her replies seeing as how she found herself extremely humorous, but the somewhat concerned look on Nightwing's face silenced her.

"So something IS going on, here!" Gwen announced, snapping her fingers. "Can I just go home and watch reruns of America's Next Top Model or something?" Whined she, and she continued to trail off randomly until another loud noise erupted from the floor above. Shockwave's eyes widened in surprise as she took a stance which appeared as if she were shielding herself with her lanky arms.

[Serenity♥]

Serenity laughed to herself as she listened to the girl at the window. She had always thought costumes were over rated and annoying herself. Her smile fell when she heard something above.

"Well, looks like more guests are here to visit." Serenity muttered than sighed. Here she was looking for a normal job where she didn't really have to do much fighting. Boy was she wrong.

"Well, seeing that you two aren't any threats, at least for now, I'm going upstairs if you don't mind, to see who's crashing into my building." she announced. With that she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

[Shockwave]

Gwen blinked at the employee as she turned. "Hey!" She called as the woman made her leave. "Wait up!" Running up to the woman, she smiled wide and asked, "Don't you want us to help? You know, to do the whole 'hero' thing?" Gwen kept her most pleasant, yet somewhat frightening smile on, only to inwardly think that she must have a stamp on her forehead saying, 'I'm obviously knew at this.'.

She would have continued on of course; Gwen loves to talk, but another crash and thump echoed upstairs. Figuring it would be best for the poor objects breaking into a million pieces up above, maybe instead of annoying the woman, should the heroes check the sounds out.

ooc| Short, bah.

[Serenity♥]

This time Serenity laughed out loud. "Too late kid. I am a hero." she told her. "I got my fair share of powers, probably same as you." she said.

She held out a hand to the girl. "Name's Serenity. Nice to meet you." she introduced. Another crash came from upstairs and she sighed. "What is up with this place tonight? Is there a big sign on here that says, "Steal here!" or something?" she complained.

[Shockwave]

"I am a hero."

Gwen's eyes widened, but she quickly hid her surprise by playing it off and saying, "Oh, well pssh." She laughed airily. "I knew that!" Turning to give an awkward glance to Nightwing, she turned back to see the friendly woman holding out her hand. With a wide, toothy smile, Gwen graciously took it. It wasn't every day that someone treated Shockwave as a regular hero-- not a completely idiotic airhead. The woman introduced herself as Serenity, and the only thought that lingered in Gwen's mind was what a pretty name she had.

As Serenity continued to the door, Gwen eagerly followed. Three heroes versus a noisemaker upstairs. Gwen felt confident, for once. Again, she turned back to Nightwing like a little girl at the zoo who had never seen a giraffe. Now for some real action! Gwen gazed up at the ceiling and laughed at Serenity's comment about the racket. Yet, something clung to her chest cautiously. What if Nightwing was right?

ooc| They keep getting shorter and shorter!!

[whiteraven]

"What if he's right?" Raven drawled from the top of the stairs, "Then, obviously, we heroically break in anyway, get captured, escape, and defeat the villain in a thrilling finale."

From her vantage point at the top of the stairs, Raven looked down at Nightwing, Gwen, and the new girl, some sort of hero. There was another crash, a scream, some harsh murmering, a whimper. Looking straight at Nightwing, Raven said,

"You got the call too." It was not a question. "Either we have some sort of seer on our side, or a mole among our upstairs neighbor. Either way, it's obvious what we do now."

Looking down at the two on the stairs Raven said simply, "You coming?" Then, in a flutter of shadows, she was gone and a bright black bird soared through a window into the next room. A moment later there was a crash, then silence.

((I love playing Raven. I never have to use a door, I just appear in the shadows. ))

[Serenity♥]

Serenity felt the girl's hand in her own and her eyes glazed over for a second. Memories that were not her own filled her mind. Memores that belonged to Shockwave. She blinked, coming out of her second trance, and smiled at the girl.

She looked up when a new voice entered the room. An eyebrow raised on the face of Serenity. She wasn't all that impressed with the girl named Raven, as far as Shockwave's memories said.

"Nice trick." she mumbled. Serenity turned to Shockwave. "Want to get upstairs a lot faster?" she asked. The shadows in the room disappeared and gathered in a spiral in front of the two.

"My portal made from shadows. Come on." she said as she stepped through the swirling shadows.