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]

"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?"

[not_easy_being_green]

Connor is... less than amused. He gives Grundy a cold look.

"Where's the device you've been using to control them?"

[newoutsiders]

With superhuman effort, Grundy forces his face into a sickening grin.

"So. Glad. You. Asked."

On cue, Grundy's chrome chair begins to expand around him, until soon it's ten feet tall: an enormous chested but space age sleek mutagenic silver body armor, enveloping all but his head.

"You see... I'm sitting on it."

[Initiative:

Batman
Green Arrow
Grundy
Batgirl]

[bat_by_another_name]

Growling under her breath, Batman reaches up to her cowl, knowingly switching the HUD's focus so that she can see Grundy's face up close and personal. It's grotesque to see what he's become -- inside and outside the machine -- but Cass doesn't need reminders that she has human lives to save. And that includes Grundy. There won't be any blowing up this robot. Yet.

"Legs," she grunts to her companions before rushing forward.

Once she's slid beneath Grundy's legs and has turned to face behind the armor, she throws the remote detonating Batarangs for the joints behind the armor's knee space.

She may not be the most learned in robotics, but Cassandra has torn up her share of devices. She knows all her team needs is an opening.

"Grundy!" she calls out before pressing the button for remote detonation of the Batarangs. "Does Toyman know... you have his toys?" She narrows her eyes. "Does Luthor?"

Primary objective might be to save these souls attached to Grundy's machine, but Batman's still a detective. And she's seen too many Metropolis connections lately for comfort.

[newoutsiders]

"Not Toyman," he says.

Cass realizes as she throws the batarangs behind the knees that there are no joints. At least not apparent ones.

The batarangs are encased in metallic bubbles- which he shoots from the back of his legs with the power of a wrecking ball, both aimed directly at Batman. She dodges one, but the other is a direct hit- knocking her back with explosive force.

"Magnus."

[not_easy_being_green]

Grundy is a thoroughly vile man. He's personally responsible for the deaths of countless many, and the torture of even more. But Connor still hates to be this ruthless.

Still, his hand is steady as he draws the bow back, and aims an arrow for each of Grundy's exposed eyes.

[newoutsiders]

A metal dome quickly extends and retracts over Grundy's head, arrows deflecting impotently.

"Going for the eyes? Oh, that's dirty. Now... I've got to get dirty too."

Grundy extends his bulky arms, which make a metallic splash against the far sides of each wall. Each wall encased in his liquid metal, dozens of spearlike extrusions expand and retract from both sides at unpredictable intervals. Connor manages to sidestep them all- but an already staggered batman gets caught on one, piercing her armor and retracting, leaving a small but ugly wound- and Steph dodges the first few, only to be caught unawares by a pool of metal creeping below her- a spear extending vertically, catching her leg.

[stephbrown]

"Ow," Steph hisses. She does her best to ignore the pain in her leg in favor of the pain in her neck, also known as Grundy. She pulls a brickerang from her belt, activates it, and tosses it, hoping the extra punch behind it will help.

[newoutsiders]

The brickerang phases through the metal suit like it was passing through water. Apparently he has control over the viscosity of the metal. That's disconcerting.

[bat_by_another_name]

She can't help but think that it's a good thing she did not switch into the Batgirl suit earlier as she examines the wound carefully. The suit's shock absorbers might do wonders for the kickback of the blasts, but it's far from self healing. She'll manage with this wound, but she's not exactly interested in adding to her collection.

Her eyes narrow as she looks at the mechanical nightmare Grundy has become. Magnus. She thinks to herself. She's never had the pleasure of meeting him or his Metal Men.

But someone more experienced may have. She looks to Green Arrow. "Metal is acting like... water. Do you know Magnus? What he's... up to?"

It occurs to her that metals act different. "Metal Men." It occurs to her. She sets the HUD for analysis of what the construct is made of as she goes about.

Until then, she'll do what she does best: moving fast and hitting hard.

Mindful of her wound, she runs around a comfortable perimeter -- leaping onto any high ground she comes across, and throws multiple detonating Batarangs at him, never staying still to make herself a target if she can help it, but hopefully buying time all the same.

[newoutsiders]

Batman dodges all of the oncoming wall spikes, and Meta-Grundy's fists, as she maneuvers around the room. She goes into analysis mode, opening a connection with Jean-Paul. It crackles at first, but the connection comes through.

"-crcckstatman? Batman, do you read? This looks bad. The metal is some kind of titanium alloy- it's going to be hard to beat, especially with his control. But, generally speaking, Magnus stuff doesn't do well in the cold."

The detonating batarangs have no such properties, though- and they only serve to blow out super hot chunks of molten steel alloy from Meta-Grundy's bulk as projectiles- which all but Steph manage to dodge. That's a nasty burn.

[not_easy_being_green]

It's a desperate gambit. And not one he particularly likes the idea of. But it's all he's got.

Connor takes a breath, steadies himself... and runs towards Grundy, dodging the spikes as well as he can. He might take some punishment. He'll power through it. As soon as he sees his chance, within arm's reach of something resembling a stable surface, just for a moment, he reaches into a certain pocket on his utility belt and pulls out two two particular devices.

The Sensometers.

Maybe it'll do nothing. Maybe it'll just make things worse. But if he can just get them fighting for control of the body...

He braces himself... and slaps them onto the metal.

[newoutsiders]

Grundy ceases his maniacal laughter as, suddenly, his fluid suit seizes up.

"What? What's happening?"

A familiar wave of electricity washes over Meta-Grundy. The responsometer feedback.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Two additional metal heads bubble up from Meta-Grundy's shoulders. Connor recognizes them immediately as Sal Handy and Perry Veto.

"We're not gonna be your puppets anymore, you freak!" Sal shouts at him.

"I think it's time for some payback," Perry agrees.

Grundy howls in pain as the shock of the responsometers, now under his victims' control, continues to course through him.

Talking is a free action

[not_easy_being_green]

"Perry! Sal!" Connor calls out. "He can't move without the metal body! If you can push him out, it's over!"

Re: Talking is a free action

[newoutsiders]

Perry and Sal look at each other, not in unison, and concentrate.

"W-what are you-" Grundy stammers, as the body begins rolling and rippling, "Stop that!"

With a loud splurt, Grundy's motionless body is ejected. Prone on the floor, he coughs up a glob of titanium.

Re: Talking is a free action

[stephbrown]

Steph watches for a moment to make sure he's not gonna magically get up and start moving around before she goes over. She pulls a zip tie out of her belt and leans down to tie up his hands. "You're under so much arrest," she says. "So, so much."

She looks around. "How's the guy in the contraption doing?"

Re: Talking is a free action

[newoutsiders]

Steph's question is followed by a beeping, and the electric hum of the machine in the back ceases. The responsometer to which Lemmy was hooked up then begins to flash. It doesn't take a genius to piece together that whatever actually occurred on a philosophical level, whatever sentience is contained within that responsometer identifies as Lemmy.

An examination of the contraption to which Lemmy's body is attached yields some disconnected IVs, filled gingo extract.

Before you, the Meta-Grundy armor undergoes a strange mitosis, as it splits into two human sized, human shaped bodies. They look like Sal and Perry, made entirely from metal.

"All right," Perry says, examining the back of his new hand. "Looks like I'm back in the game! Wait 'til Flash gets a load of me."

[not_easy_being_green]

"How is he?" Connor examines Lemmy as well, not sure if he's going to - wake up, he supposes.

At Perry's words, Connor turns back, looking less than amused.

"Thank you for your help there. We can't hold you on anything, so technically, you're free to go. But you have a second chance. You can do more with your life now than you ever could. Don't waste it."

[newoutsiders]

"Whatever, nerd," he sneers. "Central City, here I come!"

Perry smashes through the ceiling, and launches away as a huge ball bearing at an unmatchable speed.

As for Lemmy- he's alive, but only in the basest sense of the term. In terms of brain activity, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle.

"Sorry about that guy," Sal says sheepishly. "Thanks for saving me from that nightmare. Hey- uh, if you need any help, with Kathleen and this new kid, I could spare some metal for their computer disk things. Least I could do. I'm... kind of densely packed right now."

[not_easy_being_green]

Great. It was worth trying, he supposes. "We'll have to give the Flash a heads-up about that..."

When Sal speaks, he nods. "Thank you. I think... that's the least they deserve, after all of this." He turns to Steph. "Batgirl? You took Kathleen's responsometer, right?"