metalogs | ( open-ish ) dedicate and sacrifice my everything

( there's a look there on bruce's face which, unbeknownst to him, diana has probably seen a number of times from her own bruce. that look of begrudgingly considering the words — the suggestion of another where, his kneejerk reaction is to just not.

a couple slow taps of his finger there to the sugar packet they both lay claim to, he lets his gaze drift off for just a second or two. )

Three hours. You're even a minute over—

( words end up interrupted with the arrival of their food and bruce pulls his hand away from the sugar packet and diana's finger, licking over his lips, their plates set down before them. )

[ She thanks the waitress and waves off a top-off for her tea, then draws her hand back from the sugar packet to reach instead for her fork, content with the compromise. That expression on his face, all too familiar to her from tense meetings with the League and arguments with Kal, leaves a quirking half-smile on her own lips. ]

I assume if I am, you'll take whatever you've managed to cobble into a Bat-plane and come to find me.

[ There's a mischievous glint in her eyes as she calmly cuts a bite of her omelette. ]

Why don't I just go early in the morning? None of you will be awake until I'm back, anyway.

( leaving his food untouched for a moment, he still regards her with that same look — still genuinely frustrated on the inside before he reaches out for a fry. pauses. then brings it up to his mouth. taking a moment to chew. )

I'll be up. In case anything happens.

( and to make sure she keeps to the three hour agreement here. )

If no useful information comes of it, you are free to tell me that you told me so.

[ She meets his frustration serenely with the ease of long practice... and no small amount of sympathy. After all, he'd said it himself: he won't lose anyone else. It's why he'd come back to this time to begin with. ]

And if there's any sign of either Chaos Gate or the Shining God in Sunset Falls, I'll bring information back.

( eyeing her for a moment longer, he lets out a sigh under his breath and reaches for the bottle of ketchup there, pouring some out on his plate for his fries. none of this is how he thought this endeavor would go and with every little thing that makes him feel frustrated, he makes a mental note to not work with others again after this. )

Fine.

( dipping a fry into the ketchup, he shoves it in his mouth, looking around them for a moment before he helps himself to another one. )

[ He isn't yet the man who helped found the League, who knows everyone's abilities almost as well as they do themselves. He'd already been under stress in the other time, and there's the potential for far greater strain here. ]

It will be alright, Bruce.

[ Saying it would jinx it, but she very seriously doubts there's anything in this world capable of keeping her from returning. ]

Three hours. And I'm sure you'll have work of your own to do in that time. Will you go to find Starstruck?

I don't know yet.

( they all need to be on the same page with what they intend to do here — what the best course of action is.

reaching for his sandwich, he helps himself to a bite of his sandwich then, taking a moment to mull over his thoughts while chewing. )

I'll figure something out.

[ She cuts another bite of her omelette and takes a sip of her tea to wash it down. ]

What do you know about Chaos Gate and the Shining God, so far? What was Chaos Gate like, before all of this?

Not much. What I do have is from searching various databases and articles online. Dick probably knows more from personal experience. He’s been here longer than me.

( what he does have, as mentioned, is located on his laptop amidst plenty of other files and findings of things pertaining to this place.

taking another bite, he allows himself a moment to chew and swallow, glancing to diana as he does. )

This is all because of what happened to Fantastic. The meta Chaos Gate seemed to have a thing with and what the Shining God ended up doing to him. ( looking down to his sandwich, he pauses for a moment. ) It’s vengeance she wants. But at the cost of everyone else.

[ Vengeance. That's a desire she and Bruce share, it seems. Diana toys with the food on her plate a moment, thinking. When she speaks again, her voice is soft. ]

It must have been terrible for her, to see that happen to someone she loves. And anger... anger is far easier to feel, sometimes, than grief. But if she was not evil before, perhaps she can coaxed to look past her anger, and see that destruction is not the answer.

[ The difficult part, of course, is that Chaos Gate will have to be able to make that decision herself. They can try everything possible to coax her in that direction, but her grief may be too oceanic, too raw.

Diana understands. It's the same feeling she has every time she thinks of Themyscira. ]

It seems to me the Shining God must also be dealt with, in some fashion. Perhaps she could be persuaded to... restore Fantastic? If that's even possible.

I’m not sure.

( words he genuinely means as he stares out the window beside them to their motel they’re currently staying in. part of him… he can understand the pain chaos gate is feeling. he’s been there with the loss of his own parents and going out as batman, night after night, beating down criminals in hopes he might get the ones who murdered his parents all those years ago. it’s his own sort of revenge fantasy, really. so he can understand that need — that drive to seek vengeance and how incredibly easy it is to fall into that mindset.

however. despite that, bruce still has certain lines he can’t cross. that he won’t let himself cross. even if he sometimes wonders. )

Killing the Shining God could have consequences we can’t see yet. Something worse could happen with her death for all we know.

I don't mean killing her. Leaping straight to killing is not the Amazon way.

[ If they even could... although she's killed gods before. ]

I'd rather we come out of this with no killing at all, on any side. If the Shining God could be persuaded to listen to us... if Chaos Gate is willing to set aside her grief and anger... we may yet come out of all of this whole, together.

[ She touches her fingers lightly to the lasso at her waist. ]

The lasso might help. It allows me to see into the core of another, to speak with them there, in their truest self.

( he was referring to chaos gate wanting to kill shining god, but. he leaves it. especially with diana going on about how killing isn’t the amazon way. at least right off the bat. something to file away.

dipping a couple more fries into the ketchup, he takes a sip of his coffee after, eyeing diana there as he does. )

If you’re even able to use it on a god.

( or closest thing to one. )

I have before.

[ Many times. More times than she can easily recall. It's tiring, sometimes, thinking of how long she's been fighting. ]

The lasso is god-made, a gift from my patrons. It is unbreakable and impartial.

[ Her smile is slight and a little wry. ]

It's worth a try, I think.

( the look on bruce’s face says it all really. how he remains skeptical of that, especially in a place like this and with going against the types of metas they are. still, he doesn’t argue with her. just gives her that typical bruce look of skepticism mixed in with an “uh huh…” to it. )

Maybe.

( finishing half of his sandwich, he takes another sip of coffee. )

Provided everything goes smoothly with Eros.

[ She can't help grinning at that: both his statement and the accompanying expression. ]

Really, Bruce. Of all the gods who could be here, Eros is one of the least likely to harm me.

[ What will he do, flirt at her? ]

I'll pay my respects, ask politely if he knows anything, and leave.

Let’s hope it doesn’t cost much.

( which… that might possibly be said with a bit of a raised brow around his mug before he takes another sip. )

We’ll come to something more concrete with Dick and Harper.

[ Setting down her fork, she reaches across the table to briefly curl her fingers around his wrist, warm and gentle. ]

You worry about enough already. Let me worry about this. Whatever the cost is, I will manage it.

[ After a second, she lets go and retrieves her fork to turn back to her food. ]

Will we? What are their plans?

( her fingers wrap gingerly around his one wrist there and, like always, he falls quiet at the touch. allows for a brief moment of his blue eyes lifting their gaze to meet hers before she’s pulling her hand away, and he’s looking back down to his plate. )

I’m sure we’ll find out.

( because that’s the whole point of this teamwork thing here. for now though, he intends to finish the rest of his meal before they head back to the motel. )

I'm sure we will.

[ For the moment, she applies herself to her meal, until she's finished the omelette and is sipping at the remainder of her tea, content to wait until he's finished with his own meal before she asks: ]

Ready to go back?

( with his own meal more or less finished, he nods as he leans to the side some, pulling out his wallet to wade through the bills in there for the meal. he knows he has enough. he’d made sure to bring what could be considered enough to this time. so, signaling for the check, he looks back over to diana. )

Three hours tomorrow. Any longer and I’m coming to find you.

I understand.

[ She isn't surprised. It's typical of Bruce to chose to rush into a situation even knowing that if it were dire enough to slow her down, it would be extremely dangerous for him. ]

I won't be late.

Perhaps he'll have a phone I can use to call and let you know I'm on my way back.

( brow raised, there’s a huff on his lips and before the waitress comes over with their check, he manages to get out a low: )

Funny.

( with the check in hand, bills are laid out as well as some extra for a tip and he slides himself out of the booth, wallet tucked in his back pocket while hands stuff themselves into his jacket pockets. he waits long enough for diana to slip out of the booth as well before he starts for the exit of the diner, knowing he has a lot to think about throughout the night now. )

I have my moments.

[ She follows him through the diner, making sure to wave and smile and thank the waitstaff as they go, until they're back outside in what is now true night. She tips her face up to the sky, looking for familiar constellations, as they walk. ]

Have you ever been to an area like this before? Is there anything like it near Gotham?

[ The motel. The diner. The quiet, all around them. ]

( he glances to her out of the corner of his eye as they go, the walk to the motel not at all far given the diner is across the street. still, the short distance somehow has a way of feeling much longer than it actually is. at least it does to bruce. )

There’s pockets here and there. I mostly just pass through them.

( on his bike when he’s playing the drifter role throughout gotham. )

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