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tushanshu_logs2012-11-10 09:35 am
cowled) wrote in tushanshu_logs2012-11-10 09:35 am
well they call him the Prince of Gotham, anyway... (open)
Characters: Batman, Lina Inverse, and open to anyone else!
Location: 'Batman' will be on the Mainland, but Bruce Wayne/Devin Craig will be available on certain days on the Turtle. Because secret identities. They're a thing.
Situation: He's being the goddamned Batman that's its own situation I promise.
Warnings/Rating: Probable violence/fighting/injuries.
Notes: This log is good for 1-20th, give or take. He'll be available as Bruce Wayne earlier in the month (let's say 1-5th) and from the 12-13, and the rest of the days he'll be off Batmanning it up. Bruce will have his Batsuit from the 15-onward, but until then he'll be dressed in Ye Olde Batzorro get-up. Here.
[It's decades too late for any alien locale to cause particular unease as far as Batman's concerned. The desert landscape is harsh, yes, but it's no Apokolips. Still, there's something about it that he doesn't like.
Though truthfully, the same could be said of anywhere that isn't Gotham. It's the one place in the universe he knows with the complete and total intimacy of long familiarity. It's his home, both a prison in hard times and a refuge in the same. And it was a sign of how well Tim knew him that the simple act of bringing him back from cardiac arrest was to say tell him Gotham needs him.
These last three and a half months aren't the longest he's been away from Gotham, but they are in many ways the hardest. If he had something-- a direction, a clear goal, it'd be easier to endure. But between the secrecy of the Emperor and the clandestine nature of this place, he's come up with nothing time and again.
The architecture of Tu Vishan is seven hundred years old. The written language is as complex as any he's ever seen, though he's been working on deciphering it it's a slow, secondary project to keeping people safe.
But his family is here - as whole as it's ever been at any given time in Gotham. He's... trying with Jason, though every conversation they have feels like going ten rounds with Killer Croc, leaves him bruised and beaten in invisible ways. But Cassandra, Dick, Stephanie-- even Damian. Having them here, as much as it irritates him that they're as trapped as he is, he's... glad of their presence, as he is of Kal's and Lois' as well.
And Kon, if he has to admit it. (Though he'd rather not)
He has allies here, and he's come so far in this life as to be able to admit it without much more than a cursory grimace.
He's not happy.
But he's close, and that terrifies him.
So he shoves everything down and aside, throws himself into his work. It's what he always does when he has an excess of emotion he'd rather not dealing with. Bruce - not Bruce Wayne, but Bruce at his most human and vulnerable - ceases to exist, eclipsed by the Batman. The Landfall is a perfect opportunity, one he plans to spend largely alone.
Though, as has been said, 'no plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength'.]
Location: 'Batman' will be on the Mainland, but Bruce Wayne/Devin Craig will be available on certain days on the Turtle. Because secret identities. They're a thing.
Situation: He's being the goddamned Batman that's its own situation I promise.
Warnings/Rating: Probable violence/fighting/injuries.
Notes: This log is good for 1-20th, give or take. He'll be available as Bruce Wayne earlier in the month (let's say 1-5th) and from the 12-13, and the rest of the days he'll be off Batmanning it up. Bruce will have his Batsuit from the 15-onward, but until then he'll be dressed in Ye Olde Batzorro get-up. Here.
[It's decades too late for any alien locale to cause particular unease as far as Batman's concerned. The desert landscape is harsh, yes, but it's no Apokolips. Still, there's something about it that he doesn't like.
Though truthfully, the same could be said of anywhere that isn't Gotham. It's the one place in the universe he knows with the complete and total intimacy of long familiarity. It's his home, both a prison in hard times and a refuge in the same. And it was a sign of how well Tim knew him that the simple act of bringing him back from cardiac arrest was to say tell him Gotham needs him.
These last three and a half months aren't the longest he's been away from Gotham, but they are in many ways the hardest. If he had something-- a direction, a clear goal, it'd be easier to endure. But between the secrecy of the Emperor and the clandestine nature of this place, he's come up with nothing time and again.
The architecture of Tu Vishan is seven hundred years old. The written language is as complex as any he's ever seen, though he's been working on deciphering it it's a slow, secondary project to keeping people safe.
But his family is here - as whole as it's ever been at any given time in Gotham. He's... trying with Jason, though every conversation they have feels like going ten rounds with Killer Croc, leaves him bruised and beaten in invisible ways. But Cassandra, Dick, Stephanie-- even Damian. Having them here, as much as it irritates him that they're as trapped as he is, he's... glad of their presence, as he is of Kal's and Lois' as well.
And Kon, if he has to admit it. (Though he'd rather not)
He has allies here, and he's come so far in this life as to be able to admit it without much more than a cursory grimace.
He's not happy.
But he's close, and that terrifies him.
So he shoves everything down and aside, throws himself into his work. It's what he always does when he has an excess of emotion he'd rather not dealing with. Bruce - not Bruce Wayne, but Bruce at his most human and vulnerable - ceases to exist, eclipsed by the Batman. The Landfall is a perfect opportunity, one he plans to spend largely alone.
Though, as has been said, 'no plan of operations extends with certainty beyond the first encounter with the enemy's main strength'.]
For Lina
What worries him is the third creature he sees, occasionally attaching itself to the mated pair. It's small, scaled. Vaguely humanoid, and it can mimic the voices of other people to an uncanny degree. That is going to cause trouble down the line.
He's been tailing this pair for about six hours when suddenly they perk up in tandem. Bruce freezes, but the wind hasn't shifted and he's hardly made enough noise to draw their attention -- and he watches as they swing their massive heads around towards Tu Vishan. From there, a sort of linguistic exchange passes between the two creatures and they lope in the direction they'd shown interest in, at a pace far greater than Bruce can sustain.
But their reaction can only mean one thing. They scented someone on the wind. And given what he's seen these creatures do casually, he doubts there are many who would be able to hold their own against them in a fight. He doubts even his own ability to do so.
Still, that's no excuse to stay where it's safe and it never has been. He sprints after them, armed and damn well ready for a fight.]
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Still, this is not her favorite trip she's ever taken. The land is just an endless stretch out to the horizon, and it's not exactly easy on the eyes. And good lord is it hot. The mausoleum is an area of interest, for sure -- she knows that when she sees it -- but she decides to save that for another trip. She's not nearly equipped right now for something like that -- those kinds of things are usually booby trapped to hell, and Lina is not wandering into another situation like that unprepared.
So she presses on for a while, letting herself fly for a little while at first, but honestly, there's no need to use up magic energy like that, and she decides to hoof it for the rest of the way, conserving her energy. She can tell that something's off after a while, that something doesn't quite feel right, but it's hard to tell if that's her intuition speaking or just the heat making her miserable.
Lina knows the place is dangerous, that it has its own brand of nasty monsters if you venture far enough, but she's not worried. Hell, she's taken out pieces of Shabranigdo. Two of them, even. She's sure she can handle a few ugly monsters.
Except, of course, when two of them rear their ugly, ichor-dripping heads, and the only thing that comes from Lina's hands is the most pitiful excuse for a Fireball she's ever cast. It makes Sylphiel's Flare Carrots look menacing by comparison. And of course, that's when it clicks. That weird, nagging feeling Lina's been getting dimly in the back of her mind -- that's her magic being closed off. Oh, this is bad.
Lina runs through her options in a heartbeat. These things are more Dragon Slave worthy than anything, but if she can't even manage a decent-sized Fireball, then something taking that much magic is off the table. She tries to fire off a Ray Wing, to get herself some high ground and some distance from these things, but all she manages is a little flutter of wind that might not even have been her before it fizzles out. Okay, scratch that. This is so much worse than bad.
These suckers are ugly and huge, and they look fast to boot. Lina takes one cautious step backward as they approach, their eyeless sights clearly set on her, and she reaches carefully for the short sword at her hip. She's not sure she'll stand a chance if she makes a run for it. ]
Oh, you have got to be kidding me. O-okay, nice giant disgusting monster thing...c'mon, you don't wanna eat little old me, right? I'm just gonna --
[ And then that's when the guy with the domino mask jumps in, armed with his own weapons, and all Lina can do for a long moment is boggle, her hand still closed around the hilt of her short sword. ]
Wha --
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[It's equally an order and a very strong suggestion, his voice is the low, rough cadences of Batman. He has three Batarangs already primed, slotted in between his fingers and aimed at the Llothi. Escaping this scenario would be preferable, as he can assume that the only reason someone so heavily reliant on sorcery is reaching for a sword is that said sorcery is somehow unavailable to her.
Their landscape won't be particularly helpful in an offensive maneuver. There's almost no variation here to be had - a slight hill to their right, but no vegetation to cover their tracks and no natural formations they can use for defense. He has a small charge of plastique, several darts of the knock-out drug he's been using on the kedan but that's far too small a dose for the llothi, a small hypersonics device adapted from the one he used to summon bats when he was new to the vigilante world, half a dozen regurgitant capsules and a taser, but his study of the llothi hasn't yet extended to combat takedowns.
He doesn't like relying on variables, but his battle strategy will hinge on what Lina's capable of with that sword of hers.]
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Except that there's real danger here now, and Lina can only spare a moment's thought to being the damsel in distress. Besides, the guy might look like he can handle himself just fine, but there's no telling if he's just putting them in more danger by jumping into the fray. Hey, stranger things have happened, right?
Still, Lina stays close, sword at the ready, though she has no idea how she's even going to get close enough to strike. This is definitely the sort of monster she'd prefer to attack from afar. Damn this place, sealing off her magic like that! She wonders if she could try a magic amplification spell, if that'd even work, but alone she wouldn't stand a chance, not if she can't fly. ]
Hey! Who are you?
[ Maybe the battlefield's no place for questions, but how does Lina know he's a good guy, anyway? She's never met him before, and the voice doesn't sound familiar. ]
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[And this is maybe Bruce shoving her (somewhat roughly) out of the way of a llothi rather than answering her question properly.
These things are fast, agile. Probably more-so even than Dick, and that's a feat that doesn't exactly make him excited. Bruce tosses off a handful of smoke pellets - these things may not rely on their senses in a conventional manner, but he bets they can still be thrown off by the smoke.
They have six seconds before the one now flanking them re-orients on them. He hopes that's enough to take the first one out of the fight.]
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[ Lina doesn't exactly go down gracefully -- she stumbles, throwing her free hand out in front of her to try and catch her balance, which she does at the last second. She rights herself, her cape whirling around her as she pivots sharply on one hell, just as the smoke pellets explode into enormous clouds around the llothi. It looks disoriented, and Lina knows there isn't much time. ]
Man, how do I always wind up in these situations?! Where's Gourry when you need him...
[ Still, she's the one with the sword, and even without magic, she's fast. This is a risky move, sure, but they don't have a lot of options, either. She springs forward immediately, sword held aloft. These things are ugly, but if she can just get a good stab in, somewhere where it's weak. ]
I'd better get a name after this!
[ She grinds the words out as she jumps, sinking the point of the sword in just under one of the llothi's freaky inverted joints, and it lets out a wild howl, its limbs thrashing in response. ]
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Still...]
Don't kill them.
[He snarls that out in a low voice pitched to carry, and sidesteps neatly as the second llothi leaps at him. He catches the thing around the neck and although it tries to throw him off, Bruce is nothing if not possessing of an indomitable will.
Choking these creatures out isn't his best or brightest idea, but with someone else to watch out for it's the only one he has at the moment (Well, one of three, but the easiest of those three to implement).]
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[ But that's all she has time to get out before the llothi thrashes in her direction, and Lina hurriedly pulls her sword out of it, jumping nimbly back, but it's almost not far enough. She stumbles back a few steps, staring at Bruce like he's crazy. ]
They're gonna kill us, if you hadn't noticed! What do you mean don't kill them?!
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[He says, as he stands. The llothi he'd tangled with is unconscious on the ground. Oxygen starvation. It'll pass, but the thing will wake up with one hell of a headache.
What's scarier, Lina. The crazy, skinless creature with inverted joints or the masked man getting all snarly Batbro in your face.
Actually, don't answer that.]
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Are you crazy?! We're totally outmatched here, or hadn't you noticed!
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[Well, he has to admire her tenacity at least. That she's a competent fighter is the only reason she is at present still breathing. But when an unstoppable force meets an immoveable object...]
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[ OKAY she's still kind of grumpy about this whole thing, and having her magic sealed off never puts Lina in a good mood. She darts forward again, trying to sink her blade into the injured llothi before it can lash out at her. She manages another strike, but she only just barely gets away, nearly tumbling down onto the ground. ]
Damn it! What do you want these things for, anyway? Hey -- they're not worth any money, are they? Is there a bounty?
[ and suddenly Lina's enthusiasm has increased 500x at the prospect of money. ]
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[His voice remains a low snarl as he bends down to zap-strap the unconscious llothi's limbs. It won't hold it for long when it wakes, but it should keep it off balance and disoriented enough not to pursue them directly.]
They're sentient creatures. They don't deserve to die.
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We aren't arguing this point.
[SO THERE, GODDAMN. Bruce walks over to the kedan Lina had been tangling with, snaps the heel of his boot against its cranium where the bone is thickest. It'll concuss the thing, but it won't kill it (any more than Lina's swordplay did).]
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What, you're not even going to study them? Going to all that trouble to incapacitate them and then just leave them here seems like a waste. I bet there's a lot we could learn from one of these things, and that information could be valuable!
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['and you are not going to start' seems to be the implication here.]
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Well, good for you! Now what about the rest of us, huh? Why aren't we allowed to participate in your grand enlightenment?
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[Not that he'd share everything, but, you know. Enough.]
Now we leave.
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Do you have a choice?
[because he's not going to give you one
like a douchebag]
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No, I guess I don't. Because my magic's just about sealed this far out, and I'm basically helpless out here without it, am I right? So of course I don't have any choice but to listen to you. For now. But when we get back to the city, I've got a few questions you're gonna have to answer.
[ Okay, yeah, he's a little intimidating, especially when she's without her magic. But compared to her big sister? Batman, please. She's suffered worse. ]
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Threatening me will get you nothing. Keep that in mind.
[His tone is sharp, curt. As the Batman, he speaks in absolutes.]
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Still, she smiles sweetly at him -- a little too much so, probably, but she's showing teeth. ]
I wasn't threatening you. In fact, you totally saved my butt! I should be thanking you. And I will. I'm just letting you know that you won't be able to count on pushing me around forever.
[ LINA INVERSE DOES NOT STAND FOR BEING PUSHED AROUND, MR. BATMAN ]
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except for the part where so many of the women he meets just completely own his balls.]Fine.
[WELL HE IS GOING TO WALK TOWARDS THE MAINLAND NOW are you going to follow him or not.]
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