[Upstate New York] The Second Law (Invite Only)

Weld did not speak much during the journey, mainly because he was focused on not trying to bump into any of the walls of the Quinjet accidentally. It would have been very awkward if he got stuck... as poor of a view as Rescue seemed to have of them already, he did not want to make the team look bad. Still, he was not above feeling annoyed by the fact that they were asked to do this; it was not like they had begged to come here.

He walked out shortly after Rescue, just as Supergirl landed. Weld ignored her as he walked over to join Kara before looking at Rescue, glancing over at the S.H.I.E.L.D. guy she introduced as Michael and looking back to Rescue as she hurried to depart. He frowned, for whatever reason he was not so certain he believed her. Weld looked to Supergirl and gave her one of his more encouraging smiles, with a nod and thumbs up, to show that he had faith in her and was there if she needed support. If he was upset by mistrust, he did not show it outwardly and seemed just as relaxed as always.

He adjusted his headset before walking to the security gate, ignoring the guards before stopping.

Metal, of course, it was.

"Excuse me, but if we are to be guided, it would be nice to be let inside." He said, looking at one of the guards.

He could potentially use his powers to get over the gate on his own, but he was not a show pony, and he trusted this Michael fellow as much as he trusted them. He watched as one of the soldiers said something into his walkie-talkie, and moments later, the security gate opened.

"Thank you, much obliged," he said before sauntering in after their guide.

Everything said by Rescue and Michael passed by Batgirl's attention. It was irrelevant to the objective at hand. She lingered behind her teammates for a moment, her eyes on… the guards, it seemed. They stared back at her, though with much less resolve. Being stared at intensely by a girl - one dressed like a Bat, no less - would be a strange feeling for anyone. Her skintight cowl wrinkled around her eyes. They looked focused. Then, she moved on, casually ducking and going under the security fence that was in the middle of being raised for Weld. There were many variables to account for here. How much time did they have?

---

The gate guard was quick to buzz Weld through. From how promptly he took Weld at face value, he seemed to be familiar with the kind of person that could well make trouble if he was tested (and he had no intention to do so). Similarly, many of the personnel watched Frost hover over the gate with her powers. Their stares lingered, then quickly turned away and continued to speak among themselves. Something about keeping it cool. The men as a whole lagged behind them, almost hesitant to join their leader.

”They must pay you the big bucks.” Michael’s tone was even, but his words certainly weren’t. His eyes were ahead, taking in the building itself as they started to walk inside. The entrance was a garage space, with enough space for at least two military vehicles to simultaneously enter or exit. While there had been ample security outside, there appeared to be even more on the inside. Most of the security was mechanically oriented - Stark drones, automated turrets, and even Mandroids - pristine ones, which were at odds with the designs that had been shown in the briefing.

Michael turned about face, looking at Kara and her motley crew with neither respect nor disrespect. For those familiar with his type, it was an air that bordered on tolerance. ”I’m just doing my job. Your being here is not in my job description. I’ve been trusted to lead my men to protect this site, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” For a moment, he frowned. Said men (and women) were only just now shuffling into the room. Michael pinched the bridge of his nose.

”Let’s just get this over with, alright? What do you kids want to know?”

Caitlin kept her head on a swivel, especially when it came to any of the tech that was being used for security. If she solo'd this place back in the day, she would have had her hands full. Attacking this place would require serious firepower, or a lot of people. The Mandroids were fairly impressive, as were the turrets. "I have a question. How exactly are all of these things controlled out of curiosity? Is there a central hub on site? Are they remote controlled? Or is this system entirely autonomous?" Caitlin asked, trying to get a better lay of the land. Clearly whoever was stealing from Stark either has some kind of advantage over his security, something that could easily knock over a place like this before someone could respond. It was definitely a puzzle she wanted to at least have a few pieces of before things heated up.

(As of this post, I am going to begin continue enforcing the weekly deadline to post with your PC.)

Batgirl had tired of this man shortly into his introduction. The tension had only gotten worse from there. She had little patience for it, and she had less tact for resolving it. When Weld looked back at her, she nodded in the affirmative. That was indeed true. Inwardly, she was enjoying herself. This was... nice. Being with her peers. But, neither could she afford to remain idle while this man wasted time. The next time any of Batgirl's teammates looked in her direction, she would simply no longer be there. The first trick of His that Cassandra had learned. She needed to investigate this facility in its entirety. If she had remained there any longer, she would have given this man a reason to mistrust them.

---

The longer Weld and Supergirl went on, the more clearly irritated Michael became. When all was said was done, he almost looked like he didn't want to dignify any of it with a response. He turned away from them for a moment and... hold on. He counted the heads of the twerps, once, then twice. Wasn't there...? Whatever. Now he actually had a headache.

"It wasn't my call." If he could help it, that was the only admission they would get out of him. He addressed Supergirl first. "That's right. We did. What we found, Stark's pet already told you. The places have been thoroughly cleaned by whoever hit them. Which doesn't make any damn sense, because my team and I has been at every single one and there wasn't a clear point of entry until everything went to hell. I've never dealt with something like this." Michael scowled. He made sure not to say it, but it was clear enough: he certainly didn't think punkass capes could handle what he couldn't.

He looked over at one of the Mandroids in question. One of his security personnel, standing just a little apart from the others, was finagling with a small device that appeared to be controlling its movements. "What the hell would they be a cover for? These are weapons depots. That's as cut and dry as you get for warehouse raids, and they're only going for outdated weapons? You're the experts here. You tell me."

He regarded Frost with a little more warmth. At least she stuck to the script. "These Mandroids are remote controlled by us locally. Their protocols are deadbolted - the only way you can operate them is with one of the devices Frank there has, and we've never let them out of our sight. The Mandroids they keep taking are more like the old Iron Man models - you have to get into the tin cans to pilot them. More like deathtraps, if you ask me."

The fact that they were treated with such contempt almost visibly irritated Kara. Then again, she couldn't be too surprised, since Stark worked like that. But somehow, things got done. Rolling her eyes was an Olympian task as Michael offered his own rebuttals. At the very least, he shed some useful information as well.

She digested his words, trying to find a further connection. Weld was backing her up as she did so, applying his own know-how on the tech parts. His suggestions were valid, yet without clear evidence, they were getting nowhere. Kara let out a brief sigh just as Weld noted that Batgirl had disappeared. She didn't know Orphan all too well, though she knew of her skills. Supergirl had no time to go and chase her down, so she held out hope that Cass was doing necessary recon. 

Dialing it all back, Kara first decided to respond to his snide comment. The rest could come after, since this felt like a necessary time to establish both her and her team's competence again.

"Stark has a habit of doing things unconventionally. We're looking at every possibility here."

Kara looked at Frank as well, just a moment after Weld did. A theory or an inkling of one was building in her mind. Before she'd address it, however, Supergirl gave an approving nod at Weld's question and threw a look at Michael, expecting a response. Once he would give that, Kara would circle back to her earlier observation.

"Your team has been at every scene. The Mandroids can only be controlled with the devices your team has. You could have a mole. Someone helping the thieves through you? They have had to have intel from the inside, at least parts of it."

There wasn't a note of accusation in her voice. Though with her brief interaction with Michael, he would probably translate it as such. Didn't matter, they needed to look at every possibility. With Batgirl nowhere to be seen still, Kara decided to check in via earpiece.

"Batgirl. Have you found anything?"

Kara wasn't really sure if she would actually respond. But she had to check in regardless. Something was fishy about this whole thing and Kara couldn't figure out what it was, perhaps a bona fide detective could.

Michael was losing patience, and quickly. His brow furrowed, unfurrowed, then furrowed again as he was put through his paces with Weld's musings. This hit a fever pitch with Kara's accusation. His neutral face broke, replaced with an angry snarl. "Frank" quickly moved away from this scene, back with the crowd he had come from. "Are you serious?! That's where we're at now?! I guess you're going to accuse me next, huh!" He jabbed a finger at Kara. Suddenly he was barely able to contain himself. "Maybe you're the mole, huh?! Come here to finish the job?"

While Frank moved away, there was the slightest intonation from beneath his multitool helmet that he was speaking to someone. Their equipment was designed to deliver their transmissions through vibrations from their lips to their earpiece. No one could have picked up on it... except maybe for Supergirl. Only a few words at a time stood out. ...ot leaving...o we do... erstood.

There was no response from Batgirl. The only notification Kara received were two audible blips in quick succession. Standard Champions protocol indicated that this meant that the transmission had been received. She had recognized that Kara had said something, and for one reason or another did not respond. They would have to make do without her for the time being.

Michael turned to Caitlin's request, still fuming. She hadn't done anything to upset him. Yet. "...what? That doesn't... Hey, Frank? Is that true?"

There wasn't a response. All of the soldiers looked the same. He must've stepped out. Michael shook his head, then grasped the side of his head. What the hell was going on?

Batgirl moved quickly through the long corridors of the inner complex, keeping her head on a swivel. She kept her body lowered at half-profile - for stealth, and to reduce her frame of contact if anyone attempted to open fire on her. For her teammates, it may have been difficult to believe that these men would open fire on them (especially the younger ones), though Batgirl had become accustomed to such things before she had learned how to brush her teeth. Nothing was outside mission parameters, and most certainly when there were unknown factors at play. And there were unknown factors at play. She had not encountered a single personnel so far. Not even the civilians who were working here. There ought to be at least one ongoing shift at a time like this... right? There were no signs of a struggle, either. If something had happened, whoever had been responsible was very good at not leaving a trace. Paranoia. Focus./i]

Batgirl eventually made her way into narrower areas. She was up now, on a higher level. Were they catwalks? Rafters? She had no reference for these buildings. Rescue had provided the team with floor plans, but she had neglected to commit them to memory. It had not seemed important at the time. She operated better on the go, anyway. She was beginning to regret that decision now. Her head buzzed, which threatened to numb her senses. That was right. The team had communicators. She was with others here. But she was alone. She tapped the earpiece twice, lodged within the temple of her cowl. They were all more accustomed to this than she was. They did not need her distracting them, and she did not need theirs. Any lingering thoughts she had on the matter were dispelled when she noticed a body ahead, limp against the mesh walkway. She ran over, taking note of the many pipeworks surrounding this part of the architecture. There were spaces within it, and they ran deep within the walls. The man's body was lying in front of a CCTV console. A brief sequence played on the grainy monitor, over and over. Cassandra's eyes immediately narrowed. Was that...?!

She spun around, raising her wrist bracer to catch the sword within one of its many grooves. It was holding... for now. She stared at her assailant. Behind her cowl, Cassandra was glaring daggers.