tushanshu_logs | Bat-nanigans

Characters: Batman and ~~his next Robin~~ Stiles. CLOSED.
Date: After the Late October Teen Wolf Invasion
Location: Roof of Stiles' suite.
Situation: Stiles has finally been told that his father was kidnapped - and then saved from - a certain baddy. As a result, he has a very public panic attack on the network.
Warnings/Rating: Spoilers for Teen Wolf season 3A. Bat-stalking. Daddy angst.

***

Stiles has a feeling that this time, being at the turtle head wouldn't help. He's beginning to suspect he spends way too much time up there anyway, wallowing in the peaceful vibes. Was it possible to become addicted to the inner peace a giant turtle can bring?

Better than Klonopin. Which was what Stiles was rocking today. Three full tabs. His head felt a little floaty, but he kinda needed it, thanks. It kept his heart from turning his chest cavity into a drum circle.

He's sitting on the roof of his suite, having climbed up there free-style. (How do you think he got on Scott's roof all the time? He was a house-climbing expert by now.) He's reeling from the triple whammy of the last few days. Lydia. His dad. And Derek telling him about Scott's Alpha status.

But the thing that's haunting him is his dad. Kidnapped by the Darach. Nearly sacrificed in her (her? the Darach is a her?) insane lust for power and revenge. His dad. Who he worked so hard to keep safe, to keep out of the supernatural bullshit that plagued Beacon Hills. And he's honestly furious with Scott and Isaac for not telling him sooner. He can't stay angry, of course. Not with Scott, and not really with Isaac anymore, either. But tonight, he's turned off his computer, called out sick from work, and is hiding. Sure, he can't hide from werewolf senses...but he can certainly try to grab some alone time.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Then prove it. Learn my way." It's an ultimatum and a chess move all at once. Stiles knows better than to question his judgements or his experience in this regard.

The admittance of the morbidity - while not unexpected - does make Bruce's mouth settle into a slight frown. He'll have to work on that in his capacity as Bruce Wayne. Oh, he's not a trained therapist, but he'd been to one, after Jason. He knows enough psychology (studied it for years) to possibly be able to help without seeming to. If he plays his cards right.

This is a kid who dragged his best friend with a life-threatening medical condition into the woods late at night to go see if they could find a dead body.

Yeah. He's a morbid little shit who's way too preoccupied with death and its aftermath. There might not be much to help, honestly. It's just part of who he is now, has been since the day he heard that uninterrupted drone from his mother's heart monitor, watched her blood oxygen count bottom out.

Pressing his lips together, and breathing pointedly through his nose, he sets his jaw and forces himself to shut up. Mouthing off to his hero is going to accomplish exactly squat. So he bends over slowly, and puts the hood back on without a word.

And the training resumes. Bruce doesn't speak from that point onward, except to give instructions. His words and actions are starkly utilitarian. They train with the hood for a time, and then with other senses as necessary. Stiles' nightvision isn't bad. Could be better.

That consumes most of the first hour hour. Then it's on to the physical training. Stretches, callisthenics. Nothing to overdo it. Pushing muscles too hard, especially in a young body, can have damaging long-term effects on growth and development. He's firm in his direction, but careful, too.

Combat training is a little different. He drills Stiles in the beginning forms of three different types of martial arts, explains the situations in which they're useful and how to utilize them in a fight. As with Tai Chi, he makes Stiles go through the motions slowly. There's no point in further straining his musculature.

Then, at the end of the session, Bruce gives him a look. "Now we talk about homework."

God. He's sore in places that he didn't even know he had places. He thought Coach Finstock was a crazy mofo; Batman is worse. At first, he'd tried to mouth off again, say stupid things and get a reaction.

That was about as pointless as throwing Nerf darts at Fort Knox and hoping it'd crack. Never happening. Besides, he was literally wasting his breath, which he desperately needed to keep up. Even the Tai Chi is hard on his system. He's used to running, moving around, playing Lacrosse. But he's also been fairly non-athletic since arriving in Keelai. So it's showing.

By the end of the session, he's a sweaty mess, exhausted, panting. But also feeling oddly...good. Of course, that's when the 'homework' part pops up.

"...Seriously?"

"Homework," Bruce reiterates, in the tone he's used throughout the day's training. It's the one that brooks no argument, and Bruce produces a photograph from... somewhere best not examined by present company. (Utility belts are very handy.)

"This is a man named Matches Malone. He's one of the Foreigners, he's been here for eleven months. He's involved in several of the Fire Sector gangs, but he's harmless. He mostly buys and sells information. Tomorrow, he's going to make a deal with this man." Another photograph, this one of a kedan mafioso who looks to be roughly fifty with a handlebar moustache (that kind of looks like tentacles).

"This deal is going to effectively topple one of the top Lieutenants of the Shatter Rocks, it's a matter of blackmail and extortion. What I want you to do is follow Malone to his house. I know he doesn't live in one of the Suites. I've been trying to track him for a while, this is the only window of opportunity, and I will be occupied elsewhere when it happens."

"...Whoa."

This, he wasn't expecting. He'd been expecting to be told to do eight hundred sit ups and ponder his life choices. But to be told to track a bad guy. Awesome.

"On it," he says immediately, taking both pictures and studying them intently.

"No network ID either, I'm guessing. So if he's been brought here, and he's not staying in a suite, and he's blackmailing a Kedan..."

Already his brain is running, running a million miles a minute, as he tries to piece this all together. And in the back of his head, he has a very sneaking suspicion that Batman might very well be setting him up. A test. Absolutely a test. Especially when it comes to the gangs. Batman wouldn't send an unarmed, untrained kid into the mix. Purely observational.

He wonders if he should bring Scott or Isaac along as his backup.

...No. Derek. Derek would be a perfect backup. He grins slowly, a very calculating look on his face.

"Do you know where the meeting is going down?"

At that, Bruce crosses over to a small workbench in the corner of the warehouse, clears it of debris and slaps a map down on top of it. He points out the location on it. "Here. I don't need to know what the meeting entails, I have sources within Delan's gang that will relay it to me later, and security will be too high for you to observe safely. Malone will leave by this route." He traces a line through the Sector. "It's the only way that won't be blocked by Delan's gang."

Now for the tricky part.

"You are to follow him, observe his movements. But if he spots you, the game's over. Malone isn't dangerous, he's a coward. But he has powerful friends. You are to follow him at a distance, and not interfere with anything that happens. Do you understand me?"

He studies that map, taking a long mental picture of it. He's familiar enough with the Fire sector, due to spending some living time there in Isaac's suite, visiting Allison and Lydia.

"Got it. Follow, don't be seen, get his hideout location, report back to you."

And he looks up at Batman, his big doe eyes sparkling with excitement, and the desire to figure it out. God, if Stiles' dad were here, he'd have a heart attack.

Bruce's look remains stern, but the excitement is... refreshing, almost. Bruce has always enjoyed being a teacher. In another time, place, life, perhaps it was a career path he would have chosen for himself. But now, he has only this.

After a moment, he holds out a small device. It's nothing fancy, a small cylinder with the circumference of a ballpoint pen, with a clear plastic case over one end, and a button visible beneath that. The entire thing is less than an inch and a half long. "This is a homing device. When you find where Matches is staying, hide it somewhere on the building and press the button. I'll handle the rest. Understood?"

"Totally understood."

Holy crap this is amazing. Even if it is just a test, it's a perfect test. He'll be great at this. Except he's got the tracking and hiding skills of a concussed slug, i.e. none to speak of. But that's what Derek's for! He'll come along, if only to make sure Stiles doesn't get himself killed.

...Scott's gonna kill him. But it'll be so worth it.

And on that note, Bruce effectively pulls a Bat Vanishing Act and 'disappears' from the Warehouse.

Because he does that to people.

Bat-nanigans

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

stiles you may not call Derek 'Robin'

hahah no he doesn't fit the trope

no subject

no subject

no subject