( open ) and what's the worst you take

[batsymbol]

Who: Bruce Wayne/Batman batsymbol
What: July Catch-all, Bruce assimilating to things, Batman being Batman
When: Throughout July, some August things too
Where: Primarily Central City, will mention otherwise
Content Warnings: TBD but let's just say Bruce being Bruce and Batman being Batman.



BRUCE or BATMAN

open to both [brackets] and prose, i'll follow your lead if you have a preference. if you want something else with bruce or bats, shoot me a PM or PP at telekinetics to discuss. otherwise things we've planned/discussed can be dropped in here as well. starters in comments.

Comments

bruce.

[batsymbol]

( screwdriver sets, power cords, computer tool kits, and other various hardware. things that sit in his basket as he wanders through the various aisles of the shop he's in. stocking up. yeah. that's exactly what he's doing for what he has in mind. because he needs to start from scratch all over again and this time, he's without the seemingly endless resources at his fingers whenever he needs them, so. it's stocking up on things he knows he'll need. things that will give him something to do.

if it's here you run into bruce, he's still dressed like a drifter, possibly as a means to keep a relatively low profile. at least he's without the raccoon eyes this time and has a cap on his head. progress. sort of. he typically keeps to himself, but if gets the sense of being watched, he'll look over, even if he doesn't say anything.

at some point, he'll stop to catch a glimpse of one of broadcasts from Fantastic on the tvs, a low hum heard in the back of his throat the more he listens. and while he might be speaking aloud to himself, it's still within earshot of anyone around, low and soft. )

Fantastic, huh?

[mostdangerousbird]

[ The teenager in the aisle picks his head up just enough to roll his eyes at the mention of Fantastic.

Tim’s basket is full of components. A couple of RAID cards, miscellaneous cables, a sound card - there’s easily a few hundred bucks in there, but no tools or casings. Whatever he’s building, it’s going to be custom.

He knows it’s an interesting person, so Tim’s leaning hard into nerd to fit the purchase. His hair is wild and fluffy without product, and he’s drowning in an oversized polo shirt in from the trendy brand of 2017. Khaki shots with no cargo pockets. Plain all white sneakers.

It’s Bruce. Tim adjusts his glasses, ostensibly tucking them more tidily into place, and tries to survey his purchases. ]

The quality of his speeches don’t merit the amount of air time he’s getting.

[ Tim’s real voice is a low tenor with a light Jersey accent. Robin keeps to his lower register and Network English. Right now, he’s stripping out the lower tones like he’s a 1930s radio announcer and imitating the local accent.

It’s not that he wants to hide. Tim isn’t sure he wants to have the conversation needed to have Bruce understand who he is. ]

[batsymbol]

( he doesn't bother to move his basket to the side. rather, he slowly throws a glance his way. stares. takes in the kid's features, his body language, what he is and isn't saying. typical bruce— batman things.

a slow turn of his head back towards the tv, catching whatever else fantastic is going on about, he's quiet for a moment. )

If you call that quality.

( still staring to the television, he mentally takes notes of this fantastic. )

What're you building?

[mostdangerousbird]

I didn’t.

[ call it quality. He implied that it wasn’t, but left it open-ended.

He’s upgrading his tracker and comms server to handle to additional load of another Robin and the flurry of shit that Jay is doing and improve the storage management in hopes of holding six months of remotely accessible data. He’s also building a gauntlet device for Dick Junior. ]

A Cartesian for automated customization of thermoset chassis on a Lilliputian scale.

[ Tim begins walking away before Bruce can put together that nonsense as a robot to paint my D&D minifigs. ]

You wouldn’t understand.

[robintohood]

[Jason had planted a tracker on Bruce during their fight. How could he not? Jason knows this younger version of his adoptive father is going to keep being Batman and eventually he's going to cross paths with the Joker, assuming the psycho is still around. Bruce is obsessed. The whole family is to some degree.

Plus, Jason wants to keep pushing Bruce's boundaries and keep testing him. The man is younger and not as experienced as the Bruce Wayne Jason knows back home. There are weaknesses he hasn't worked out yet. Flaws in the metaphorical and literal armor. Jason wants to know.

Jason's been tailing Bruce for a while today and waiting to see if he'll be noticed. Closer and closer he gets and he keeps observing. Older Dick wasn't kidding that this is Bruce in an emo phase, even without the greasepaint around the eyes.

Soon enough Jason's within earshot of Bruce and he hears the man's comments]

Yeah. He's a real piece of work.

[Jason doesn't hide his Gothamite accent. It's not posh like one would have if they were raised rich. Instead, it's an accent that suggests he has a rougher livelihood. He waits to see how much information Bruce has already picked up and his opinion of the guilds]

[batsymbol]

( he'd found the tracker some time after and had been a little annoyed in it being placed on him. that was a first for him. he'd figured it'd been one of the kids he'd ran into. who else could it be after all? so rather than smash the thing or toss it somewhere else, he'd kept it on him, knowing that whoever had planted it would come by.

that was the point after all.

a slow turn of his head, he regards jason carefully when he goes and offers his own opinion of this fantastic fellow and bruce takes in everything about him. accent, features, body language. all of it put to memory while looking for things in typical batman fashion.

glancing back to the television, he listens in a little more. )

Seems like it.

sometime after the other Tim

[overlyprecocious]

[Well, that's... certainly a different look from the one Tim is used to. His Bruce is much more prone to the Brucie look than the nearly-homeless couture that this one is rocking.

Tim is just dressed low-key. Jeans, lightweight hoodie pulled over his head, a somewhat slouchy teenager posture. From a glance at his cart, he's stocking up on some nonperishables and dog care items. Shh, don't tell Haley, but she's getting a new squeaky hot dog toy.]

He's trying too hard.

[batsymbol]

( bruce has already paid for his things by the time the other tim gets to him, watching the broadcast from fantastic again on another television when he looks over at the voice and... huh.

the way bruce looks to him is both with recognition and slight confusion. haven't they already been here before? )

You think?

[thwikt]

Yea, he's really something, isn't he?

[ introducing one roy harper who was innocently striding by and promptly stopped by fantastic's name.

he's currently dressed as nondescriptly as humanly possible — a navy blue zipped up hooded jacket with the hood pulled up over a dark grey beanie, black mouth mask, jeans and a pair of sneakers. he has a backpack slung casually on one shoulder, while he holds a basket of miscellaneous goods, starring some essential items like a pack of gum, a lighter, a plier, a tire valve, a plunger and a spool of string. ]

He winked at me once and it gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies. [ he visibly shudders — you know, for emphasis. ]

[batsymbol]

( two peas in a pod when it comes to attire, it seems.

burce barely gives a glance over to his sudden companion here before he slowly looks back to the television broadcasting fantastic's speech. he's done some digging around when it comes to Big Names that are thrown about here, but there's still more to it. he knows there is. it's just a matter of what and something else he has on his list of things to figure out. )

Maybe he likes you.

( dry, dry humor. )

batman.

[batsymbol]

( when night falls, the bat comes out in central city and there's always a few spots to find him. if you look close enough, as he tends to keep to the shadows.

cape wrapping around him, the rooftop of a high-rise is one spot. crouched down on the ledge, binoculars held to his face, he reaches down to his utility belt and adjusts something there. listening. watching. searching. for someone in particular? seems like it. or maybe he's just getting a lay of the land. there's room up here at least for someone else. provided you don't try and sneak up on him.

in his search, the bat ends up in a couple brawls on the streets, typically more in the shadowy parts. punches are hard, kicks are heavy, and thugs are thrown into walls with such a force, it comes with a growl from the bat. this isn't personal by any means, but he's making it be. it's obvious in the way he's going hard on them. there's a few more rounding the corner to jump him, so you're free to come in with an assist. or you can just watch. it's not like he's going to stop either way. )

[torchbearer]

[ well now. green lantern waits until he's finished before descending nearby. he wonders if bruce will know him, so he's careful not to startle. he really hopes he doesn't get a batarang in the face. ]

Still playing rough, huh?

[batsymbol]

( he may not get a batarang in the face, but he'll definitely get a glare— grapple unsheathed and fingers curled into a fist he holds up. there's a lack of recognition there in his eyes, as there often is with everyone he comes into contact with here. )

Looking to find out yourself?

[purplexing]

[Seems like no matter the political climate, there's no shortage of thugs still willing to make trouble for people.

The guy looks like he's got it handled, but Donnie'd feel kind of bad if things turned out the other way. He decides he can use it as an excuse to get back into the swing of things.

Down he drops, the end of his bō catching one guy under the chin just before the turtle teen lands on the shoulders of another, shoving off to send them crashing into the other. Once he's on the ground, Donnie spins his staff, a knife clattering away as he disarms the remaining thug before thrusting the end of his weapon towards the man's gut, swinging it back around over his wrist before cracking it over the guy's head and sending him crashing towards the ground.]

[batsymbol]

( amidst the dance of thrown punches, he catches a glimpse of another dropping down into the brawl and he readies himself to deal with the "new challenger" that's appeared. it's only when he's thrown the last thug off him and against the wall harshly, that he curls a hand into a fist and nearly unsheathes his grapple when he catches sight of just who has dropped down into this violent little party here in the alleyway.

short-lived, however, when he spots one other thug coming up for the other here. movements swift, he swings something towards him — a batarang — knocking it hard into the thug and toppling him over. and out, from the looks of it. )

[hackingyoursensors]

[ Dick is doing something similar. Or at least he'd say he was. Part of it is getting the lay of the land, part of it is that staying in the safehouse all the time would drive him insane.

He's not shocked to see Batman in a street brawl, but his movements are more aggressive than they've been in years. Instead of being efficient, he seems to be taking out anger on them. Dick sighs to himself.

He spots the thugs coming around the corner and decides to give Bruce a hand... and perhaps save them from an unnecessarily severe beating.

Silently, he jumps down from the fire escape he's been hanging out on and slams his entire body weight onto the back of two of them. They crumple and hit the ground with a groan. A third lunges at Dick, who just sighs and side-steps. The third thug tries to dart at him again, but Dick just disarms him this time. The knife clatters to the concrete and Dick uses the man's momentum against himself, throwing him to the ground.

Dick grabs their weapons in case they try to get up anytime soon and tosses them in a dumpster. He dusts his hands off dramatically. ]

You know, I think they got the message, Batman.

[ Dick's dressed in all black with the hood of his hoodie up and dark glasses on his face. His voice is pitched a little lower but still maintains that playful lilt to it. ]

[batsymbol]

( it takes a second for him to notice the assist dropping in but, when he does, it's met with a fleeting flash of surprise on his face. his assist is young, small... and not at all dressed in ways that could protect him from being shot at or stabbed unexpectedly. )

What're you doing here?

( his voice is low — a growl, grabbing one of the thugs by the back of the collar there in the floor and dragging him off to the side, throwing him atop another already down and out for the count. )

[reneger]

( after the jailbreak, heron's identity had to be burned. which unfortunately also means jason's fancy gear has also been burned. he can't wear the same shit heron went out in, not visibly. so when he approaches bruce from behind while he's brawling some idiots, jason's not wearing the same shit he had when he'd been playing at being heron, at least not visibly.

there's a brown leather jacket layered over a red sleeveless hoodie, hood pulled up over his hair and there's still the red domino mask under it. he'd never lay claim to being creative, jason leaves the making shit up to other people.

instead of cargo pants, he's just got the thin but strong bodysuit covering his legs, and the same combat boots as before. because shit costs money, and jason doesn't have wayne money to steal. he's careful to keep his steps silent, doesn't interrupt the fight any, not yet. he spends a good few minutes just watching, before jason even opens his mouth, )

Damn, B, your form is garbage.

( it isn't. he's just an asshole. )

[batsymbol]

( he's a little busy with the dance he's involved in with the group he's decided to take misplaced anger out on, so even if jason weren't being careful to keep quiet, he probably wouldn't even notice right off the... bat.

one ends up flipped to the ground, another's head cracks painfully hard against the brick wall when he's thrown, the other coming towards bruce is slammed in the face with an elbow, then grabbed and tased on the neck with the taser he has built into his gloves.

when jason finally speaks, a quick swish of the cape, and a batarang is forcefully and swiftly thrown in jason's direction before bruce gets back to the two he's dealing with. )

the ghost of you — jason.

[batsymbol]

( cw: this thread will have themes of death, murder, zombies, body horror, dark thoughts.

there's no mistaking the engine angrily growling through the streets of excelsior that it belongs to the batmobile — that batman is around amidst the chaos.

the beasts that make themselves and their terrorizing of others known are handled with as swiftly as bruce can. most being hit angrily with the batmobile, shaking any off who happen to grab to the hood or rear of the car with angry swerves and maneuvers. like batman, it's only a year two model and isn't yet fully equipped with all sorts of gadgets and surprises to unleash on unsuspecting enemies, but still packs a hell of a punch with how heavily armored and modified it is.

still, at some point, he exits the vehicle, tries to remember that the shadows around him are his allies when punching his way through whatever monster comes for him isn't an option. it's draining. every time he does it. so he tries not to — relies more on his skill and how he typically handles things as batman: with his fists.

but there's a break in the fighting — in the chaos happening within the streets where a black hole closest to bruce suddenly shifts, bruce catching it out of the corner of his eye. batarang in hand, he twists to toss the batarang at the movement... but stops. there so close to him, thomas wayne. his father.

his father who begins to decay at a rapid rate. skin sallow and pitted, eyes sinking back into the skull. and all bruce can do is just stand there and stare at his father falling apart right before his eyes. completely unaware of the couple of beasts slithering their way towards him. )

[reneger]

( bruce stops. hesitates. and jason, from the rooftop above him, can make out why. he can see the shape of thomas wayne, recognizes the man from the portraits around wayne manor--at least before the guy starts melting. bruce doesn't move, and that's--never a good sign, because batman doesn't hesitate. batman can't stop, can't let himself be caught off guard, can't leave himself open for a moment because the moment he lets his guard down is the moment everything gets fucked over.

jason catches it. and he jumps.

leans into the ability he's very rarely used, but seems to lean on so much when he's around bruce. he takes a step back into the closest shadow, just to step straight out of bruce's shadow. he'd laugh at the irony, but this isn't really the time. )

On your six. ( voice quiet, but it's definitely jason's, which is all he's going for. bruce knows how he sounds, how he holds himself, and jason's hoping he won't freak out and try to fuck him over for appearing out of nowhere. especially because he's raising up a gun, forearm going over bruce's shoulder so he can aim straight for the monster impersonating thomas wayne. there are others, more shit to take care of--but this is the one that's pulling all of bats' focus and he needs to go. )

[batsymbol]

( this shouldn't happen — he can't afford to let it happen, but. he's never had to see his father like this — see his father falling apart before his eyes as he slowly shuffles his way towards him, arm stretched out, boney fingers reaching for him. he feels like he's ten years old suddenly. paralyzed with fear. a fear he'd thought he'd mastered over the years.

bruce...

he swears he can hear his name on his father's lips— hear his voice just as he remembers, but. maybe it's all in his head. this can't be real... can it?

fingers grip tight at the batarang he holds and he's still unable to throw it. that's when he hears jason's voice behind him, soft and close, and it's enough to have those blue eyes covered in black paint to blink a couple times. he's still unable to move — unable to process what exactly is happening right now and that's when the large snake-like creatures slither in fast. teeth bared. ready to take a bite out of both jason and the batman there. )

After the Downburst

[forceforlight]

Kyle said that Bruce was in Excelsior and needed a hand. That Bruce had shrunk. None of which are great things to hear.

So he leaves a note for Tim, makes sure Haley has plenty of water and food before he heads off to get to Excelsior and following the tracker. Which is where Bruce's tracker has been most of the time recently, so he knows where he's going.

So, given everything, it's still a couple of hours before Dick pulls up at the dorm building, turning off the motorcycle and pulling off his helmet to look up at the facade before putting the kickstand down and heading for the door. Trying to steel himself for whatever it is he's going to find as he raises his hand and...knocks.

Which isn't how one normally enters a dorm, but circumstances are a bit weird all over.

[batsymbol]

Unless Bruce invites someone, he never expects company. So for there to be a knock at the door, it'd be unusual and he'd be on his guard even at this age. But given the fact that he spoke to Kyle — that Kyle is aware of the... current situation, there's only one other person it could possibly be, but. To be sure, he checks from one of the windows above looking over the front of the building.

Dick. The one person Kyle suggested might be able to help with this.

It takes a moment before the sound of the door unlocking can be heard and it pulls itself open... only for there to be a much smaller and much younger Bruce standing there. He's wearing goggles that are painted black, a black long-sleeved shirt that's obviously too big for him despite the way he has the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and shorts that were once pants given the fraying at the 'ends' of them from the legs being cut off. Lifting the goggles up, he rests them on his head, blue eyes bright and very much Bruce as he looks up to Dick.

"Kyle said you were the most likely to keep a cool head about this." Though he's still not so sure about that.

[forceforlight]

For a long moment, Dick doesn't say anything. There's not much reaction beyond a couple of long blinks as his brain tries to catch up with what he's seeing.

He's seen the pictures of Bruce at this age before. Everybody in Gotham has. Hell, he knew a few of the gossip rags had placed his own picture at that age alongside Bruce's, wondering if there was some more salacious reason for Bruce to be taking in a circus brat.

But it still takes a second for him to put all of that together and let out a low whistle. "I should have asked Kyle if he could guess your sizes," he finally says, looking Bruce over again. "May I come in?"