( 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

[mostdangerousbird]

No, one’s so new I haven’t met him yet either.

[ Tim’s going to find Duke, but he doesn’t want it to be where the guilds can see. ]

The other one is the most like you, so he’ll find you when he wants to.

[batsymbol]

( there's something along the lines of a huff there on his lips, though it's laced faintly with amusement. or is that exasperation? either way, again, it's noted. )

Thanks for the warning.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Really, Bruce? Tim’s eyebrow goes up. ]

It’s not a warning. We’re not threats or liabilities.

[ Mm. Debatable. It’s a matter of perspective, and Tim is trying to steer him to a good one. ]

[batsymbol]

It was a joke.

( a dry one, but. a little more sincerely then, if even soft. )

Thanks, Tim.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ His eyes widen slightly with faint surprise. ]

Someone has a big mouth.

[ Jason. It’s Jason. Although there’s an alternative, Tim supposed. ]

Or you’ve already met my parents. I never thought the family resemblance was that strong.

[batsymbol]

( alfred deals more with wayne affairs and personal meetings currently. bruce only shows up when he's forced to... or he needs to go undercover as batman. )

Can you do a favor for me?

[mostdangerousbird]

I’m not agreeing to a favor that I haven’t heard yet.

[ He’s not that stupid, jeez. People only ask for the favor to be done before naming the favor when they think they’ll be turned down. Bruce would make it an order if he could. ]

[batsymbol]

( why do all his kids have such sass?

well, if he wants to talk to batman, then. that's fine. being bruce is still weird for him.

pulling his backpack down from his shoulder, he yanks down the zipper and reaches inside, producing a phone which he holds out for tim to take. it's not the one he'd been given upon arrival here. probably a burner. )

I need you to download everything you know about this place into this. Give it to me when we see each other next.

( because he knows that's going to happen. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ There had been a hope, however foolish, that the favor might be anything besides an information exchange.

But no, when Bruce is in one of his downswings, curiosity takes a backseat to method and drive. Why should it be anything other than Robin, report.

Tim pockets the phone. He’ll debate what to share on it later, but he can at least get him access to WOM.bat. He’s definitely not getting Loki’s multiversal map.

(Tim won’t be responsible for kickstarting new obsessions.)

From another pocket, Tim pulls out what looks like a small Bluetooth earpiece and offers it to Bruce. ]

It’s the definition of bugged, but if you need information while you wait. Or backup.

[ Tim’s going to swing by the nest and limit the shit out of this comm, including preventing direct communication to Jason and Jay until they say otherwise, but it’s the thought that counts? ]

[batsymbol]

( bruce is very much all work and no play.

when the earpiece is offered, he eyes it. then eyes tim. well, at least he's honest about the bugging part, so. reaching out, he takes it in hand. pockets it. )

I appreciate it.

( the earpiece? the setting him up with whatever information he's willing to give? both? who knows with bruce. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Tim is trying so hard to ignore the suspicion. Like he doesn’t have heaps of his own, when confronted with an unknown alternate Bruce Wayne.

Like with Jason, Tim went first. He took the bag. He put the phone in his pocket. He’s not just offering trust; he’s giving it. It’s not total, but it’s enough that he keeps his side eyes to himself.

He’s been keeping Bruce’s secrets since he was nine. That’s still Bruce’s face sizing him up. ]

You can just ask whatever you’re trying to deduce. I know you talked to them.

[batsymbol]

( he's not so sure it's something they should be openly discussing, but. they seem to have a way of talking around things — using names in place of real ones. still, he glances around them. not really checking their surroundings — but also doing that — just more taking a moment for himself. )

Why do you think I'm here?

[mostdangerousbird]

The Confluences seem random, but they seem to pull in exceptional people, with a fair number of metahumans or metahuman-adjacent individuals. There’s very little published on the nature of the anomalies. Likely deliberate with the society’s technological level.

It’s likely something to do with vibration frequencies of your universe. A Confluence uses up a massive amount of energy. The energy has to come from somewhere. It could siphoning it from elseworlds. In which case, Gotham City is obvious. It’s been steeping in metaphysical energies for centuries. Not to bring in quantum theory, but it’s obvious you’re a nexus point.

[ A beat. ]

Or did you mean here, at the store?

[batsymbol]

( that's a little more thorough of a thought than he's had about it. granted, superpowered villains and individuals aren't exactly a thing in his gotham at the moment. that's not to say they won't be at some point. but for the moment, that's another adjustment he's had to make and navigate here... having abilities of his own suddenly. )

You know why I was here.

( at the store, he means, a gentle nod towards it. it's obvious he needs things to set up shop, starting from scratch and all again. )

You know what I do.

[mostdangerousbird]

You know you can say that you were shopping.

[ Young Bruce was always on wasn’t he. He has to be exhausted. ]

I won’t be disappointed that you weren’t looking for me.

[batsymbol]

( he's very tired. paranoid. stressed. angry. he's a lot of things all at once. )

Well when two of you have tried to stab me, one actually succeeding, I'm a little more cautious about who I approach here.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ What the hell. Of course they did. Tim doesn’t need to ask who. There’s only two lunkheads that would immediately get into a fight with Bruce, even if they hadn’t already told him about the fight.

Jay left out the stabbing. He only said he patched Bruce up because he was injured. ]

Are you still hurt?

[ Tim’s hand twitches towards Bruce. He could heal him. Should. ]

The Confluence gave me the power to heal.

[batsymbol]

( hm. healing. that's handy to have. especially given what they do. still, he gives the slightest shake of his head at the offer. )

I've had worse.

( and he has the scars to prove it.

slight turn towards the crosswalk, he looks back to tim, reaching for the inside pocket of his jacket as he turns completely. )

Walk with me to the next street.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ It’s certainly useful. Tim’s not sure it’s a gift.

But he doesn’t like this response. It’s self-punishing. ]

That doesn’t mean you can’t be better.

[ Because he is still hurt. Tim will walk with him to get an opportunity to heal him anyway. He falls into step beside him. ]

What’s on the next street?

[batsymbol]

Coffee.

( which he desperately needs at the moment.

as he walks, he pulls out a pad of paper from his inside jacket pocket, as well as a pen, scribbling as he goes. when he's finished, he hands the paper, slightly folded, over to tim. )

Do you know these names? They've been brought up to me.

( the names written on that piece of paper being: superman, aquaman, wonder woman, the flash, martian manhunter, green lantern, plastic man. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ That's the best thing Bruce has said all day, and Tim brightens at the opportunity. ]

I'm buying.

[ The spycraft is great. There's no one within 30 feet of them, and they're both staying soft-spoken. He doesn't need to fold the sheet just to hand Tim the names of the Justice League. The half-smile on his face doesn't fade as he tucks the paper into yet another pocket. If Bruce keeps handing him samples (fingerprints, handwriting), Tim's going to run out of pockets. ]

I know all of them and more from home. Some of them of them are here, so you can't assume that knowing 1 of the names means a person's from our corner of the multiverse. Who brought them up?

[batsymbol]

( if tim wants to buy, he's not about to stop him. stuffing the pen and pad of paper back into his inside pocket, he sniffles a bit, brushing his nose with the back of a finger as they cross the street for the diner he'd spotted. )

The sixth one on that list.

( green lantern. )

I ran into him here.

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Kyle Rayner. Green Lantern Corps. Justice League member. Former Titan. Key known associates: Flash (III), Green Arrow (II), Donna Troy, Red Hood. Tim Drake's personal favorite Green Lantern.

Yes, he knows him.

He said hi enthusiastically, possibly with an element of the fantastic, and now you want me to tell you about him. Did you ask him who he was?

[batsymbol]

He told me who he was.

( that he was green lantern, that is, and that they knew each other... are coworkers at times, as he put it. )

I don't know any of these names on here. If you do, I'd appreciate it. I don't like being blindsided.

( a disadvantage he's at with others knowing [of] him, but him not knowing them. )

[mostdangerousbird]

[ Tim shakes his head at the open-ended request. ]

I told you I know them. I could write an entire dissertation, and you still wouldn't be satisfied that you knew enough. Knowing who they and what they can do is nothing without knowing them.

[ There's a difference between explaining small details and handing Bruce the burden of knowing that there are people who are essentially gods who consider him friends. That's not going to make him feel less blindsided. ]