you better know what you're fighting for

[gevurah]

WHO: KATE and MAX
WHERE: near a local grocery store
WHEN: night of 6/4
WARNINGS: potential violence and language
SUMMARY: Kate and Max do some shopping and a funny thing happens on the way home.
FORMAT: quick


[ Buying food and drinks at night is fairly routine for Kate. Even back home, she made the occasional trip toward evening to pick up things she needed around the kitchen and splurged a little. Not tonight; splurging is something she's had to restrain herself from, especially with a roommate to care for. It's not like Bette, who has her own money to spend freely.

Her shopping trip is fairly quick. All she needed was milk, bread, some vegetables, and she picked up ice cream and a couple of chocolates for herself and Nill. As she heads out of the store, she picks up bright pink hair not too far off. ]

Max?

Comments

[futurebatwoman]

[ Max had similarly not picked up too much. Mostly she tried to get all the shopping for the week done on Sunday when she had more time. But sometime at work she'd realized she'd forgotten coffee and cream, and stopped in to pick them up on the way home. Then grabbed a cake mix and some pastries. Reasons she tried to limit her grocery shopping right there.

She'd only just left when she hears Kate call her name, and turns around with a smile. ]

Hey! I didn't realize you lived near here.

[gevurah]

[ She returns the smile. She hasn't been socializing too much since the lunch with Dent, so it's nice to see someone outside the Network. ]

Just a few blocks away. I don't have a car or motorcycle yet, so walking's the only option for now.

[futurebatwoman]

Yeah, same. And cars are always hard to deal with in big cities anyways.

[ Parking spots especially. She shrugged and started walking again. ]

It's nice to know I don't live too far from you.

[gevurah]

Parking fees would be a killer. [ And she doesn't really have that sort of money to spend these days. She misses that luxury. ]

I never knew you left the MAC. Those apartments are not worth it, huh?

[futurebatwoman]

Seriously.

I left sometime in January. It didn't feel all that safe there. [ Speaking of safe. That alley is dark, and is that streetlight out? ]

[gevurah]

[ She always felt as if someone had their eyes on her while she stayed in the MAC. Multiple sweeps for any bugs came up with nothing. Terrible though, she doesn't like being a paranoid person. Cautious every now and then? Yes. But certainly not paranoid.

And speaking of moments she isn't too cautious, the dark alley doesn't get her thinking twice. It's a shortcut, why not? ]

Nill and I moved into a place back in the winter, too. I prefer it much more than the MACs, even if it's small.

[futurebatwoman]

[ It registers for a moment in the Gotham-raised section of her brain, but she idly dismisses it and keeps going. It won't be a problem. ]

Same here. I'll take small over being put someplace every Import potentially has access to.

[gevurah]

I like the privacy, too. [ She has to admit it; she doesn't like being physically close to people who might notice a nocturnal neighbor. ]

How's City Hall been treating you?

[futurebatwoman]

[ Bingo, Kate. ]

Pretty well. It's busy, but it's interesting work and I'm enjoying it.

[gevurah]

Politics were never for me.

[ Serving your country? No problem. She never liked being too involved in the politics of it all.

As they venture deeper into the alleyway, something from the corner of her eye gets her to stop in her tracks. Instinctively, she moves in front of Max. She never takes her eyes off the darkness ahead, something moving out of it.

About four taller men step out. They looked more amused than anything, but Kate instantly spots a switchblade in one of their hands. ]

[futurebatwoman]

Thankfully so far there's not too much actual politics involved.

[ And - oh. She's never run across this situation before, and for the moment she lets Kate step in front of her. Four men. She maps outcomes in her head. In her suit, this would be easy. Out of her suit and with Kate as an unknown factor is going to be more difficult. She steps closer to Kate and pitches her tone lower, so only she can hear. ]

There's only four of them.

[gevurah]

[ And vice-versa for Kate. A small group and they clearly have no guns on them. They probably think brute strength and intimidation will work on them. Max seems to be standing her ground, but can she hold her own in a fight? ]

Can you handle two--

[ One of the men steps closer. No older than twenty-five. Might be the "leader" of this group. He holds out a hand and flashes a crooked smile. ]

Wallet, watch and jewelry, ladies. Nobody makes a fuss and we can all go home.

[ It's condescending, but it means he's underestimating Kate. That's good; she likes the element of surprise when it's on her side. She drops the bags slowly and raises her arms to show she's going to comply.

Then she dips low and fast, jetting a leg out to knock the leader off his feet. ]

[futurebatwoman]

[ That condescension almost sparks a smile on Max's face, but she keeps it set on anxiety. Underestimating is precisely where she wants them. And that almost question from Kate sets her more at ease regarding her companion.

She mimics Kate's actions, dropping her bags and edging to the left to give them both a bit more space.

If Kate's initial move is more aggressive than she'd anticipated from a civilian, she doesn't have time to say so as she kicks a can into the face of the one on her left, giving her the moment she needs to rush the thug right in front of her in hopes of taking him down hard and fast. ]

[gevurah]

[ The leader is trying to go for something in his pocket. A weapon, possibly. Kate wastes no time grabbing his arms from the underside and keeping them far away from his pockets as possible. They struggle for some time before a second guy comes barreling at her. She kicks the leader squarely in the chest, sending them both bowling over into each other. ]

[futurebatwoman]

[ She tries to keep an eye on Kate from the corner of her eye, but mostly she's distracted by the attempted punch the guy in front of her throws. She slides out of its way and grabs his arm to execute a judo throw, the landing stunning him as she looks over to catch Kate's kick. She doesn't get up from the crouch she ended in to scythe a leg out to bring down the second guy on her side. ]

[gevurah]

[ Her gaze on Max doesn't linger for too long. She can't watch both their backs at the same time. When the second thug scrambles to get up and pulls out a switchblade, she's ready for him. Her movements are much more elegant and swift than his, yet still aggressive and precise in her hits. Her elbow connects with his face and she kicks the bottom of his leg hard enough for something to crack. Howling in pain, it's over for him.

The leader doesn't look so confident anymore. As soon as he's on his feet, he turns around and runs. Kate doesn't chase him. There's a wild look in her eyes. Maybe that scared him off alone. ]

[futurebatwoman]

[ The second guy gets back up, and she blocks his blow at her. In the middle of kneeing him in the stomach she sees that blow and hears the crack of the bone. What -

She deserves the clip on the jaw she gets for that mistake of looking away, but in return she punches him hard enough to break his nose and he staggers and then turns and runs after his leader, still clutching his nose. Leaving Max with Kate and a weird gut feeling that she's seen that style before. ]

You're good. [ The guy she threw to the ground is stirring again with a moan, and she puts a foot on the back of his neck. A not-so-subtle urging to stay down. ] I didn't know you had training.

[gevurah]

So are you.

[ She actually looks surprised to see Max take down someone with such grace and ease. Gothamites, huh... full of surprises. She moves closer in case Max needs back-up, but it looks like she's got it handled. ]

My dad taught me. [ Said rather quickly, mostly because she doesn't want to talk about her father. ]

[futurebatwoman]

Thanks.

[ It must just be a Gotham thing, Max thinks, but there's still that nagging feeling that she's missing something. ]

He must have been some teacher.

[gevurah]

[ Though she keeps a close eye on the thug on the ground as she pulls out her phone and dials for the cops, she motions to the Special Forces tattoo on her arm. ]

Grew up military.

[ She puts the phone to her ear. ]

We're going to be here a while.

[futurebatwoman]

It shows. I'm glad it was you I was walking with.

[ She presses her foot down a little harder just to make sure the guy on the ground gets her point. ]

I wasn't doing anything tonight anyways.

[ But she does get out her phone to text Midii and let her know she'll be late. ]

[gevurah]

[ After she's dispatched the cops, she hangs up and sends a text to Nill to inform her she'll be later, too. ]

Are you hurt anywhere, by the way?

[futurebatwoman]

No, I'm fine. I get out of the way fast. [ Except for that last one, but it had barely counted. ]

You all right? That knife didn't get anywhere near you, did it?

[gevurah]

Not a scratch. [ Luckily. She would have broken a jaw or two if someone had gotten stab happy on her again.

A sigh. ]

Not how I wanted to spend my night.

[futurebatwoman]

Good. I'm glad.

[ The heady rush of adrenaline is fading already, and she realizes it's chilly and getting later. ]

I'll second that. And it's not like I have free time just lying around.

[gevurah]

Nill's going to worry, even if I told her I'm okay. [ She really doesn't like to have her fret over trivial things like this. ] You'd think in a city full of superheroes the alleyways would at least be cleaned up off these kind of thugs.

[futurebatwoman]

It's gonna be a headache.

[ She casts a look up, considering. Making a mental note to swing by here on patrol later. ]

You'd think. There's so many some of them are doubling up on names.

[gevurah]

[ She pockets the phone, folding her arms now. ]

I doubt they know we're imPorts, so that's less work for you, right?

[futurebatwoman]

Ha. Yeah, hopefully.

Aren't the cops normally faster than this?

[gevurah]

Traffic? [ Huh, she's right, though. They should be responding faster and there's got to be a patrol car somewhere nearby. ]

[futurebatwoman]

Maybe. Who knows.

[ She keeps track of response times, generally. ]

How are you doing recently?

[gevurah]

[ Somehow, the question nearly gets a quiet laugh out of her. Here they are making sure this thug doesn't get up after scaring off the rest of them and they're having small talk. ]

Pretty good. [ Barring certain dealings with Dent and now the awkward tension that's settled between her and Renee. ]

How about you? Outside of work.

[futurebatwoman]

[ The incongruence almost doesn't even strike her as unusual. ]

Good. I'm glad.

[ a beat. ] Outside of work? [ Her laugh is a little awkward. ] I've become someone's legal guardian and they've moved in with me. It's pretty new.

[gevurah]

[ Kate blinks, surprised by that news. While she has always believed the kids in this city needed someone to look out for them, in her eyes Max is still one of them. ]

That's a big responsibility to take on.

[ It's crossed her mind a few times; adopting Nill. But she will be eighteen in another year and it's not a role that she wants to put herself in, in all honesty. ]