Breaking and Entering (OPEN)

[Dick Grayson]

Nightwing stood still in the darkness that engulfed him at the bottom of the stairs. Another Titan had shown up. Whoever called him had also called Raven, someone who had recently become somewhat of a right hand woman to the costumed vigilante. Something was definitely going on here. At the back of his mind he predicted this would lead him in the direction of the bombing at Star City. The loose ends there never did tie in to anything. Something was going on, and while the three women rushed in Nightwing waited tensely. Every muscle in his body twitched at the sounds of the screams above. His blue orbs peered up as he saw Raven vanish and seep upstairs, and the new woman...whom he still did not trust yet...created some kind of vortex or portal.

"Powers", he said with a sideways grin and an expulsion of air. "Who needs 'em?", he questioned with a sardonic grin as he catapulted up the stairs.

[Batgirl]

While she was still outside Batgirl launched her grappling line to the top of the building where she scaled up to the roof. While she was scaling the building she was also looking for any open second or third floor windows through which she could easily enter. Her one thought was "I hope Nightwing appreciates all the risk Shockwave and I, not to mention Raven are going through to make sure he's well protected."[/i]

When she had finally found an open window (it was on the third floor, which was less than optimal) Batgirl used it but grumbled "I would have preferred this window to be on the second floor where I could enter and still be in the center of all the action."[/color]

[whiteraven]

Raven stood carefully in the upper floor when she heard Nightwing enter the room. She didn't even move to look at him, her whole attention was focused on the group of people across from her. Several of them were holding guns, each one pointing at a differen't person. A small child cried off the side and a man lay on the floor. Raven couldn't tell weather he was alive or not.

"Calm down." She was saying, her voice as voice of emotion as always. "Just lower the weapons. Nobody needs to get hurt here."

Though it didn't show, she was readying her powers in her mind so that if somebody did shoot she might be able to slow the bullet down. Hearing a slight noise from upstairs she figured immedietly who it might be and sent a telepathic message to Batgirl.

*Batgirl, there's a fault in the cealing by the far right wall. The wood is rather rotten and could probably be broken through easily. I don't know what's going on here yet, but we're going to need you."

Without thinking, behind her back, Raven made a slight hand sign to Nightwing. It was one of the signals used by US troops, meaning pincer movement. She figured that if anybody would know obscure sign language, he would.

[Dick Grayson]

Nightwing could not stand this. He had fallen for a trap. He should have known better, really. But that wasn't what was driving him mad at the moment. No. What was irking him beyond belief was the vision of the tiny girl who wailed from her place on the hard cold floor. He hated when children got involved. A persons childhood shouldn't involve such things. That's how villains were created. Well, heroes too, as Nightwing couldn't help but recall his own ill-fated childhood.

The lean young man took an angry step forward as he glared at the group of men, holding their weapons like cowards. "You sick---", he tightened his fists into white-knuckled balls as Raven began to speak. Her emotionless voice did wonders to calm him at times. This was one of those times.

His blue eyes wandered immediately to the motions Raven was making behind her back. The pincer movement. A classic, and perfect for this situation. They would clamp down on them. Envelope them. Destroy them. Maybe.

He shuffled to the side carefully, hands in the air. It might look like he was surrendering, but he was only positioning himself for the militant based attack. He could have done wonders in The Untouchables, really he could. But for now he focused on the situation in front of him.

[whiteraven]

Raven contenued to speek slowly and carefully, the way one would talk to a dangerous wounded animal. In smooth steps she began to move around the group.

"Easy," she contenued, not even really paying attention to what she was saying. "take a deep breath, relax your muscels, lower the weapons."

Her steps took her past the weeping child. Raven didn't understand kids, not the way Nightwind did at least. But she could do something. As she passed the girl, Raven took some of the girl's fear away. Slowly the tears abated and the kid just sat there hugging a ragged teddy bear.

"You're angry and frightened." She said slowly and clearly, "But this isn't how to deal-" She cut off when one of the men, fed up with the stalemate, pointed his gun suddenly at the child.

"I'll shoot her!" He yelled, his eyes glinted with a crazy terror. His hands were shaking to the point where Raven was afraid he would shoot without meaning too. "I'll shoot her!"

[Serenity♥]

Serenity watched the situation. When the man pointed a gun at the little girl, her shadow shot out. It trapped the man, stopping his movements. He suddenly straightened up, the gun dropping from his hands.

The other men's heads snapped up to see where the shadow was coming from. One raised a gun at Serenity. Her eyes glared at him, as her shadow slowly moved towards him. He seemed to notice and started shooting the floor, trying to hit the shadow.

[whiteraven]

Raven didn't even think, she just acted. Using her powers, she grabbed all the weapons in the room. Telepathically holding them up in the air, each one dropped it's bullets and then crumpled into scrap metel. Letting the fall, they bounced harmlessly agianst the floor.

In the heat of the moment the little girl had started crying again. Looking at Nightwing she knew that he would be able to help the kid more than she. Instead, Raven flew to the man lying on the floor.

Her hands seemed to glow with a white light and she pressed her hands to his chest, trying to find a pulse, trying to make a pulse. She was concentrating so hard, she didn't notice when a man holding a crow-bar stepped behind her. Raising his make-ship weapon, possibly for the kill.

[Batgirl]

As she came through the hole in the floor Batgirl saw the man standing behind Raven with his crowbar poised to do some serious damage. Her first thought was "I've got to somehow get that tool away from him without distracting Raven from what she's doing, trying to save that other fellow's life."[/color]

Batgirl then called to crowbar man "Hey, you!! You want to leave my friend alone??? She's trying to save someone's life. If it's a fight you want take me on if you think you can!"[/color]

[whiteraven]

Raven barely regestered Batgirl's voice, or the man standing behind her, she was trying so hard to save the man lying on the ground before her. However, no matter how hard she tried, or how much energy she put into him, it was too late. The man was dead and she knew that anything she tried would only drain her.

Angry at herself for not helping him sooner, she sank through the floorboards in a cloud of dark smoke. A second later she rematerialzed behind the man with the crowbar. Immedietly, his weapon turned black and shreaded itself into metel shavings. He spun around to face her, but Raven was already gone, moving quickly through the mass of thugs. Appearing one second, then gone the next. Trying to get their guards down and keep them occupied so that the others could actually attack.

[Dick Grayson]

Nightwing snapped into action in an instant. He was a wonder to watch, really. He had such quick and precise movements and could flip, kick and slam his way through a crowd of mean easily. He was standing over the little girl soon, and he scooped her up gently in his arms. It was strange to see how he could go from deadly to fatherly in a few split seconds.

"It'll be okay kid", he whispered carefully as he pushed black her blonde curls.

He looked around to see only two more men standing, and they both look scared. He carried the tiny trembling girl over to Serenity and offered her the child. "Look after her, for just a second?", he pleaded before catapulting backwards and landing in front of one of the men.

He shoved the man against the wall and gripped his shirt, twisting it between his knuckles.

"You had better star talking.."

[Serenity♥]

"That's not a good-" Serenity tried to say to Nightwing as he gave the girl to her. Instantly, memories flashed through her head, memories the little girl held. She looked down at the green eyes of the girl. "It's ok Sarah. Shh." she told the girl quietly as she looked around the room.

Sarah's father, the man Raven was trying to help, was on the ground. *At least she still has her mother.* she thought. Sarah looked ready to fall asleep. From all the excitment, the seven year old was drained of energy. Serenity rested to girl's head on her shoulders and felt little arms ensnare her neck.

[Shockwave]

Gwen Stratford watched in awe, obviously taken aback by the break-neck speed of the suddenly passed events. Her ashen gazed jumped from Raven attempting to resurrect the man on the floor to the small girl Serenity pulled to her chest to calm her. The sight Gwen held immediately softened, and a smile crept onto her face until Nightwing slammed one of the men onto the wall and told him to explain himself. She silently listened to what the man was planning on saying within the heat of battle-- within the heat of Nightwing's threatening, angry breath and--

Wait, Gwen thought, gazing around suspiciously. One of the guys are missing. Looking to one of the men Nightwing kicked to the floor and the man that Serenity got from the little girl, Gwen glanced to Raven who dodged the man's attack with the crowbar. She simply played slight mind games with the man to keep him occupied while Serenity helped the poor kid and Nightwing got some answers from the other man.

Shockwave found herself unaware of her ability to help the situation at all-- Everyone had everything under control. Usually this would make Gwen sad because of the fact that she wasn't needed, but she was growing as a hero. Seeing justice made her happy. Her eyes darted to the man Nightwing held.

"H-H-Hey, man, lemme go! T-This has got n-nothin' to do with you!" He sputtered out.

That isn't going to save you now! Gwen thought honestly as she walked over to the frightened guy. To Gwen, Nightwing appeared to be on the verge of choking the man. She was assuming all the gang was doing was stealing, but maybe Dick had known of other things. "Err, seeing as how this guy here has you pinned," She began, exchanging a glance with the middle-aged, five o'clock shadowed man with her slightly worried expression. Leaning past Nightwing's flexed arms as he held the criminal up against the wall, she whispered to the man loudly. "I think you should just drop a name as soon as possible if you'd like to keep your face."

Shockwave took a step back, veiling her pride and her excitement after delivering her first threat with pretty good results. She couldn't complain. All of the heroes had the man shaking in his shoes. The little girl let out a small cry before falling into an exhausted slumber that Serenity had established as 'Sarah'. She also said that Sarah's father lay on the floor, who had passed on. Gwen sighed. Her rush of excitement immediately caved in. Crouching down to Serenity's level, the scarlet haired woman asked her if there was anything she could do.

ooc| Sorry it's so long. -_-;;

[whiteraven]

Raven nodded to Shockwave from her vantage point. They had spent a long time training, Raven was pretty sure Sparky could deal with an attack, though she was pretty sure the red head was unaware of her own ability. Finally tiring of her game of confusing the two men she had been playing mind games with, she appered behind both of them.

Placing a cold hand on the back of both their necks she squeezed on the nerve center. Soundlessly, they fell to the floor. She stepped over their unconcious bodies to where Serenity held the girl, Sarah was it?

Gesturing to the man lying dead on the floor, she asked in a soft tone so as not to alert the child.

"Her father?"

However, she kept a wary eye on the man Nightwing held. Ready to hold him if he, by some fluke of nature, managed to get out of the vigilante's iron grip.

[Serenity♥]

Serenity sighed and nodded. "He worked here." she said, motioning towards the father. "Sarah wanted to come to work with him today, and well, what parent can say no to their seven year old?" she explained.

"These boozes here were having a small party here, including some drugs. You look through some of those boxes, and you're gonna find some stuff. Anyway, the dad heard something and came to see what was going on. Sarah followed." she told. "You can figured the rest out."

The little girl was sleeping but fidgiting around, as if in a nightmare. *She has good reason to have a nightmare too.* Serenity thought.

[Shockwave]

As Serenity explained everything, and Shockwave raised a brow and pulled herself back up into a standing position. She backed away to give the woman and the child some breathing room, while the cogs within Gwen's mind began to twirl around and work. Pulling some wavy, scarlet hair behind her ear, Shockwave swallowed, unsure how to respond to this odd feeling. A feeling of dubiousness, a suspicion.

"I guess I'll look in those boxes, then!" Shockwave announced, holding her loud aura around her to veil her other ideas. There must be something she was missing. Her fingers curved underneath the cardboard wings and she pulled them apart, opening it to see medium sized packages of cocaine. Bags and bags of it. Shockwave's jaw dropped as she turned to the others. Wow, idiot. She thought to herself. Who would bring so much to a place where people actually work? Her eyes darted curiously to Serenity before looking at the others. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation. "Ding ding." She whispered to herself as she stood up.