Showdown at Slaughter Swamp

[newoutsiders]

Batgirl and Green Arrow have been riding for a few hours now, on their way to Slaughter Swamp: the last sighting of the mutated, truck driving zombie dubbed "Gingross." The red-tinged air pollution of Gotham fades behind you, giving way to the muted moonlight of a cloudy night sky. The swamp carries something of a supernatural reputation, as you're well aware- if the "hauntings" in Connor's building can be traced anywhere, Slaughter Swamp is as likely a point of origin as any.

Eventually, you run out of road and park the Batcycle. The nearest source of real light is coming through the window of a nearby, small wooden shack right on the edge of the swamp.

Comments

[stephbrown]

Steph doesn't like the look of those weapons. She's hoping that the toy soldiers are as easy to disarm as actual toy soldiers, even though her luck never really runs that way. She gives it a try anyway, striking for the weapon of the nearest soldier with her staff.

[newoutsiders]

You disarm the soldier, weapon going off as it clatters to the ground. An angry red laser jumps from the muzzle, blowing a scary hole in the wall behind you.

You now have the full attention of all twelve soldiers.

(Order of Initiative:

Starfire
Batman
Green Arrow
Soldiers
Batgirl)

[newoutsiders]

Likely as a way of detracting angry robot attention off Steph, Starfire begins glowing brightly to present herself as a more obvious target, and flings a starbolt through the soldiers on your party's left. The front two go down.

[bat_by_another_name]

That's all the initiative Batman requires. Dropping from the ceiling, she lands hard on the robotic heads of the first two soldiers lined on the right. With her clawed gauntlets, she digs her hands into the large toys' faces and easily pulls.

Not wasting time, she kicks off the two soldiers and volts across the crowd in the right. She spins quickly and throws three Batarangs at the backs of the soldiers.

[newoutsiders]

The faceplates of the two toy soldiers fall right off, revealing a nightmare of wires and microchips as they fall to the ground. The batarangs meet their mark, but they don't seem to have much of an effect.

[not_easy_being_green]

After seeing what the Batarangs have - or haven't, really - done to the soldiers, Connor quickly discards the idea of just shooting arrows at them.

Connor dives for the gun of the fallen soldier nearest him. It's hot, and heavy - he knows he can't hold it for long. He's gotta make this shot count.

He fires a blast at the most convenient soldiers to target, then immediately drops it, hands tingling with the pain of the minor burns even through his gloves.

[newoutsiders]

Connor doesn't hold down the trigger for long, which seems to affect the strength of the blast- while not nearly as powerful as the blast you previously witnessed, it does manage to take down one of the soldiers on the left, bring the total down to seven.

In unison, those seven aim their weapons skyward, all converging on Starfire. Kori assumes a similar defensive pose to the one you saw when she blocked the turrets outside- but instead of fizzling out, or even combusting, Starfire seems to absorb them.

The look on her face betrays that she did not expect this to happen.

She falls to the ground, prone.

[stephbrown]

Well, that's... not good. Steph goes for a kaboomerang; hopefully an explosion to the face will take one of them out, and maybe distract the remaining soldiers from Starfire until she can shake off whatever that was.

[newoutsiders]

The kaboomerang brings the total number of soldiers down to six.

[bat_by_another_name]

It's apparent now what can take the soldiers down and Batman wastes no time putting her half-baked plan into motion. Taking off as fast as she can, she reaches into her utility belt and produces the capsules containing plastique.

She slides beneath the remaining soldiers, dropping the capsules beneath the robots, then halts by Starfire.

"Cover!" she orders, pulling the Tamaranean over her shoulder before ducking away, she presses the remote control for the C4 after making certain that Starfire is shielded.

[newoutsiders]

All heed Batman's orders as the plastique goes off inside the age, laser, and Starbolt worn Hall of Doom. The soldiers, however, do not- and where they once stood, a large hole now looms into the main chamber before them- a thirteen seat dais, with a higher podium in the center, seat turned away from you.

Connor also spots a familiar face, held captive in some kind of contraption in a far room: Lemmy Mason, would-be ghost hunter.

[not_easy_being_green]

Oh God. Lemmy??

"... they have a captive," he says quietly.

[newoutsiders]

"Hello, children," a growling, gravelly voice said from the turned around chair. "Batman. Or whoever you are. I suppose you're here for the bull. Well, you're too late. I don't have it anymore. But, as long as you're here... I might as well entertain."

The chrome chair- as opposed to the leather chairs surrounding- swivels around, and the podium sinks into the ground. You see Grundy reveal himself within- body atrophied, neck lolling to one side, face paralyzed.

"Pardon me for not getting up," he says through gritted teeth.

[stephbrown]

Wow, this keeps getting better and better. Steph was really hoping Starfire would be more awake for the Grundy thing. On the upside, it doesn't look like he's going to be beating up on them, unless this is all some sort of elaborate hoax to lull them into a false sense of security. That's probably Bruce levels of paranoia, though.

Still, as long as he's not rushing at them to beat them to a pulp, maybe they can use this as some sort of intel gathering mission. Steph takes a step forward. "What's going on here, Grundy?"

[newoutsiders]

"What's going on, Blondie," he grunts, "Is I just want my life back. I heard about these computers. The ones you could upload your brain to. They call it 'transhumanism,' maybe you heard about it in school. But I like being human, you know? I've gotten attached to this gross, gray, lumpy body. When it works, anyway," he scathes.

"So! I say, graft the computer with my brain on it onto the body, and the brain can't die! This way, my brain can stay stable every time I come back! No more mindless zombie Grundy! And I can finally take charge of my gang again. I honestly don't see what's so bad about that. We're just trying to get it right here. Sure, some people have to die, or turn into putty monsters, but it's all in the name of progress, right?"

[not_easy_being_green]

"No," Connor says. "I'm sorry for your condition. But these people are not your toys. You've kidnapped and tortured and killed, and you do not get to point to some vague concept of 'progress' to justify it."

"This is over. Let him go."

[newoutsiders]

"Eh."

He struggles for a moment.

"I was trying to shrug at you. But my point is, I'm already a monster. In for a penny, and all that."

[stephbrown]

Steph takes a look around the room, trying to get an idea for the layout. She whispers to Connor, "Think he can stop us if we just rescue the dude? We can arrest Grundy after."

[newoutsiders]

You hear a raspy, throaty chuckle from Grundy, like a chainsaw caught in a lawnmower.

"You want to grab the kid? Sure. Go ahead. He's right over there."

[stephbrown]

"Or not," Steph replies, narrowing her eyes. "You should be trying to stop us. Why aren't you trying to stop us?"

[not_easy_being_green]

Connor does not even slightly trust Grundy. Moving very cautiously, he steps marginally closer to Lemmy, examining his bonds more closely, but at a healthy distance.

"Batman?" he asks. "What do you think?"

[bat_by_another_name]

Technology is not Cassandra's strong point. She approaches, allowing the HUD to record everything and transmit it back to the Temple. If Jean Paul can give her a message with what he knows, she can decide if she wants to smash the computers now or later.

"We need to know..." she slowly responds to Green Arrow, leaning closer to the machine, "what stage it's at."

She looks to Grundy and huffs. Because while she can hope for some further technological know-how from Jean Paul, Batman has to always be prepared.

Cocking her head to the side, Batman stands tall before the atrophied body coolly. "How do you know?" she asks. "How do you know the computer... is still you. It is numbers. Words. How can that be a brain? Or, soul?"

[newoutsiders]

He wheezes a dry, bitter laugh.

"Ah, yeah, that old chestnut. You think just because sometimes I grunt about pants in the third person, I haven't read Sartre? You come back from the dead as many times as I have, especially when your brain's so different each time, you start thinking about if you're really the same guy you always were. But... hey. You ever hear the story of Swamp Thing? A mass of plant matter who thought he was a guy, because he was implanted with a dead guy's memories? Nice fella. You'd like him. Kind of a cousin of mine, I guess. But the point is: it doesn't matter how you were born. Your thoughts and memories, that's who you are. Maybe it's a new me each time I come back. Maybe this computer brain is an entirely new thing, that's just the same as me in every way that counts. I figure I'm already a sin against nature. Like I said: in for a penny."

[not_easy_being_green]

"Not that I can't appreciate the philosophy...." Connor starts, "But I'm more concerned about Lemmy right now."

He turns to Grundy. "What's going on? What are you doing to him? What happens if we unplug him?"

[newoutsiders]

"Test number four. If everything goes right, he'll live forever, in his own body! Hell, he might even get superpowers. Who wouldn't want a chance at that? If you unplug him now, well, you'll interrupt the transfer. I dunno what would happen, but probably nothing good. Wanna find out?"