February Investigation catch-all

[earlybird]

WHO: DAMIAN WAYNE, closed to Investigation plot CR
WHERE: Various locations
WHEN: Early February until Mid-February
WHAT: Robin is investigating a missing childrens' case, which brings him into contact with an array of characters.
WARNINGS: The kind of content you'd see usually see in a Detective Comics comic: violence, language, discussion of sensitive topics (murder, human trafficking, etc.)

NOTE TO PLAYERS: I've set the details of this plot up so you can feel free to tag at your own pace, or opt to handwave if you like!

START... MAURTIA FALLS.

Robin first picks up the trail of a few missing kids from the street; four children from the St. Nicholas Orphanage of Maurtia Falls Catholic Union. Assumed runaways, lost numbers in the system, they were originally a case file tossed aside by MFPD. But a key witness gives him a promising lead: Mortimer Stroud, a conman with a minor criminal history working at the orphanage as a part-time janitor under a different alias. Robin suspects he took advantage of his station, and sold some info upstream to interested parties about which children wouldn't be missed.

A catch-and-release interrogation gives him the location of a recently abandoned "workshop" in Maurtia Falls, and another name -- this time of a murdered criminal whose body was found by local police in de Chima: Warren Pierce.

LOCATION... DE CHIMA.

ASIDE: CRANE

Although in de Chima on business, there's some personal motive for Damian to make a visit out to the city. Ever since he discovered this world's Bruce Wayne, he's kept an eye on the older version of his father from afar. However, curiosity wins out, and draws him closer -- close enough to find out Dr. Jonathan Crane has, somehow, insidiously inserted himself into Wayne Enterprises. He has time for a little visit.

SABRIEL

Warren's effects are being held in the police evidence locker, and his body down in the department morgue. Sabriel, on RISE business, catches Robin in the middle of his investigation, and -- after some back and forth -- uses her skill to chat with Warren's ghost long enough for an interrogation, and another name: "CONSTANTINE."

LOCATION... MAURTIA FALLS.

JOHN

Constantine is suspicious, and an asshole, but Damian knows enough to know he (probably) wouldn't be involved on the wrong side of this kind of business. However, a lead is a lead, and the "supernatural advisor" is getting a visit from Robin: whether or not John's sober enough to deal with him. Turns out Constantine knows Warren -- enough to inspire a spiteful grudge that lasted beyond the grave, evidently. Constantine also knows a few other characters who ran in the same circles.

ASIDE: MOTOKO

Other children have gone missing, and these kinds of cases are bound to cross-over the deeper into the criminal underbelly an investigation gets: Robin runs into the Major, who's following up on her own threads. She's got some opinions on a boy getting involved in this kind of business, and Robin has some opinions about her opinions.

ALFIE

Those leads have born fruit: an informant has named Alfie Solomons as a lead player in what is looking, increasingly, like a child-trafficking scheme. Alfie isn't too happy to hear that he's been thrown under the bus, used as a scapegoat and a distraction, and conned by his own clients into unknowingly taking part in the kind of unsavory business even he wouldn't touch. He has the real identities of the perpetrators to give Robin -- one of them the very informant who pointed him Alfie's way.

DARYL

He's close. But his investigation has ground to a halt, as the ringleaders went underground at the tip-off of an investigation, and he's no closer to finding out where the children are being held. He's learned from the best that sometimes a change of track, a step back, is needed. A person -- an "angel" -- keeps coming up in several related cases, and that person might have some answers... if he can find and flush him out. (Daryl, turns out, has a special kind of insight.)

AURICAN, BRIANNA, and SHELKE

With Daryl's help, Robin is able to finally track down where the missing children are being held captive, only to discover a major operation in progress: nearly thirty youth have been taken and stored at a riverside warehouse to be handed off down the line, and among them are several imPorts. However, Robin isn't the only one to be making his move; neither Aurican nor the Breeze have been sitting quietly or waiting on rescue...and Shelke is in the same boat as them.

ALFIE, REVISITED

The main players behind the operation -- this hub, at least -- escaped in the chaos, going deep underground again in hopes of evading Robin's chase. But where they lose the vigilante, they find the man they double-crossed. Their bodies are found a week later, dumped among the trash and grime of Maurtia Falls' personal "crime alley" -- and it doesn't take a genius detective to guess who was behind it.

Comments

JOHN

[earlybird]

[heckblazer]

[ There are currently two things to which Constantine is blissfully unaware: the sheer number, a magnitude, really, of people who want him dead or suffering; and when he's being tracked by members of the Bat clan.

Normally, John can tell when he's being watched, but he deals with people who are lowlifes and wannabes who are too clumsy and obvious in the first place. The Bats and the Birds are something else - actually competent, for one.

John swaggers out of his usual poker match, intending to enjoy a stroll. He doesn't cheat every week, as it would raise too much suspicion, but he felt like treating himself tonight. One of the boys had stupidly bet his grandfather's pocket watch, and antiques always did work well for charging spells. He could enchant it with a bad luck spell and bet it back, now that would be funny.

And so John was planning on spending his night, enjoying a cigarette and an evening stroll, musing on what he could do with his new riches, hilariously unawares to any small, angry, flying children that might be about to to accost him. ]

[earlybird]

[ At this point, John should have learned the value of constant vigilance. It wouldn't save him much trouble, but it might come as less of a shock when a cannonball of a boy drops down in front of him like hell itself come knocking. ]

Constantine. A word.

[ A demand, more like, and issued as if he hasn't swung in from nowhere to darken John's door, cape swallowing up his form as it settles around him; nothing visible except for the narrowed eyes of his mask, the button of a nose, and the steady, permanent scowl. ]

[heckblazer]

[ Hell coming knocking isn't news to John, which may be why he's spared not completely losing his shit at the small, caped bundle of anger dropping in front of him. It's startling, more than it is intimidating, considering the boy's physique. But the message Robin conveys is clear enough. Plus, he knows what the child is capable of. Batsy doesn't hand out those tights and masks for charity.

Not that it stops him from retorting with his usual detached snark: ]

Yer' an awfully little bird to be flyin' alone at night. Something you're after?

[earlybird]

[ He promised himself that he would punch the next person who had an opinion on his age or his height, and that is exactly what he does -- delivering a quick, punishing jab to Constantine's side. The peanut gallery can feel free to shut it.

The standard Bat-greeting, really. He wrinkles his nose, and continues on as if he didn't just casually assault John for his crime of mouthing off. ]

Yes, actually. A dead man told me an interesting tale tonight. The name 'Warren Pierce' ring any bells?

[ It should. The man certainly knew Constantine. ]

[heckblazer]

[ And that makes the third member of the Batcult that John's been socked by since showing up in this world. Not a bad number, but he's a little disappointed that he's still standing.

Not that there's time to complain, with the name that the boy spits out. ]

Blimey -- Warren? Yeah, local lad. Or was, til a few weeks ago. [ He sighs, trying to read the situation without giving away too much detail. Like he'd give the clan of try-hards in tights any free intel. ] He try to curse me from beyond the grave or somethin'? Always was a spiteful shite.

[earlybird]

Something like that. Named you as the ring leader in a child kidnapping case.

[ He squints, crossing his arms. Purely professional. One of them has to be. He flicks his cape out, straightening it out; a clean, cut counterpoint to John's general air of dishevelment. ]

Not that I'm buying that. I hear you're many things, but a kidnapper? And a competent one, at that? Doubtful.

[ Compliment and insult in one. It's always a mixed bag with Bats. Better than Robin actually suspecting him, though -- otherwise, this little meet-and-greet would've happened in a dark alley with a curb-stomping opener. ]

[heckblazer]

[ A calloused and bony hand rises to John's face, pinching the bridge of his nose as he exhales heavily. ]

Bloke gets summoned from beyond the grave and all he can do is talk shite? Sounds like him. [ He looks up again with an eye on the boy, a trace of concern to his face. ]

Morgue manage to clean up his burns, by the by? Hate for a kid to see something like that.

[earlybird]

[ His nose wrinkles, mouth slanting to the side in scorn -- save your concern, Constantine, he's seen worse.

(He's done worse. There's a ship docked at al Ghul island that exists as a testament to that.) ]

-Tt.- Why would they? The man was barbecue, and he's going to be cremated anyway.

[ No brainer. ID him, toss a sheet over the body, and throw it in a locker until the investigators get the green-light for release. ]

You know how he died, though.

[ And whatever John knows, he wants to hear. The dip into a growl -- grim, uncompromising -- is so Batman that it's uncanny. ]

[heckblazer]

So happens I might.

[ As casually as breathing, he sticks a cigarette in his teeth and flicks up a flame to light it. Although, he makes sure to shift to down wind and blow the smoke away from the kid. A conscientious move he'd deny if called on, but better than getting ribs broken by the lad's father for second-hand smoke exposure.

The little growl is noted, but it'll be a while before he grows into it. And even then, the Bats and Birds weren't quite enough to frighten him. ]

Far as I remember, mate's last words were somethin' like "Fuck you John, I'm invincible" while full of vintage Atlantean vodka and tryin' to take up fire-eating as a new hobby. Surprised to hear his throat was intact enough to speak, actually.

[ True, lots of John's mates ended up dead from being around him too much. Some of those incidents he had more remorse for than others. His casual tone is enough to imply how he feels about this particular drama. ]

[earlybird]

Both times his 'last words' were to curse your name. You left quite the impression.

[ The thin line of his lips edges towards a smirk, rather than grimacing at the memory; even for a Robin his amusement leans heavily towards the morbid. The Commissioner's smacked him in the back of the head for his disrespect for the dead before, but it didn't stick.

Not much does, with this one. ]

Know who he ran with? Places he did business?

[heckblazer]

((uhhh I winged this so lmk if I need to edit to cut down on potential infomodding?))

[ Not to worry. With company like John, such trifles as "respect for the dead" are hardly expected. If anything, the corners of his mouth twitch upwards right back at the little bird and he snorts in amusement. All of twelve years old, and already sharper than his old man or the rest of the caped crew. ]

I should tell ya, Warren might've been a decent bloke in some other life. Here, he was an inheritee of mom and pop's money. Lawyers, y'see. Sharky ones. Mostly just enrolled in college to run one a' those fraternities and bought his grades. Growing up with too much money, too little consequences and an unshakeable urge to try pleasing the old man does make a young one like to take on stupid dares, though.

[ He blows a bit more smoke downwind ponderously, letting that and his brief pause be held to maximum dramatic effect. ]

Though I do recall something 'bout his little brother preaching at one o' the big Irish-Catholic joints in town. Might explain the fixation with me. Who can resist tryin' to reform a sinner, right?

[ More chatty than John had initially planned on being, but the boy's attempts at intimidation, and at simultaneously trying to rebel against and appease the big bat-daddy, were strangely charming. Plus, it's not like he's telling the kid all this just to send him off on his own. If shaking down the surviving Pierces is on the menu, John wants in. He's been bored lately, anyway. ]