catch-all log

[bolthead]

Characters: Barry Allen + various
Date: throughout November
Location: misc. places
Situation: misc. situations
Warnings/Rating: nnnnnothing crimefighting!! bats being grouchy. barry wanting to touch shockwave's equipment—i mean what.

(ooc: you're more than welcome to drop a starter if you want to tag in, or shoot me a pm/pp me and we'll get something set up!)

Comments

SHOCKWAVE

[bolthead]

[As neccessitated by his long-term role as Hal's nanny and babysitter, today finds Barry standing in front of an unfamiliar house with his hands resting gently at his sides as he prepares to apologize yet again for the less-than-stellar behavior of his very good friend.

The doorbell has been rung, and while he waits he takes in the decor and additions to the place.



....

He doesn't remember there ever having been a hangar installed in this part of the sector.]

[tomemyoutliers]

( There are some aspects of pretending to be an organic that Shockwave has mastered - one of them being that it's highly suspect to have the holoform answer the door instantly after someone knocks. So instead of instantly answering, Shockwave takes a moment or two to adjust the fashion on the holoform - the cold whether had brought forth any number of options that Shockwave had previously been unaware of - before opening the door.

Which means Barry is greeted by a smiling blonde woman dressed in a deep red skirt that fell to the floor in heavy waves of fabric, complimented by a cream colored blouse. )

Hello. ( If it's possible for Shockwave's smile to widen, it does. ) Can I help you with anything?

[bolthead]

[Despite the fact that he's seen her on the network, meeting Shockwave in person is a decidedly different experience. If he, happily married as he is, can take a quick moment to appreciate the human form in front of him, he can definitely see where Hal might have been led astray.

It also doesn't hurt that she has a plane. Or so he'd been told, in very vivid detail.

His returning smile is friendly, if a little rueful.]

I apologize for showing up at your door out of the blue like this. [He'd thought about saying sorry over the network, but it'd felt less personal. (Also he'd wanted to confirm the plane thing.)] I'm actually here on behalf of a friend. His name is Hal Jordan.

[Hopefully that name is familiar to her....]

[tomemyoutliers]

I've met him, yes. ( Shockwave's expression doesn't dim, instead it subtly shifts into something more amused than anything else. ) Please, come in.

( Opening the door further, and standing aside for him. It's clear that even with the expansive space of the suites in Metal, the building is clearly two suites neatly combined. Well, construction-wise. The first floor is filled with various computer screens, set up in a design that only the user would recognize or even begin to know how to work. There's no small number of boxes and tables with more chairs than possibly needed. And, in the back - but with a cleared path to a garage door, the main part of a truck painted red and blue. It certainly doesn't look like it came from Earth, but that's a minor detail. )

[bolthead]

[At the invitation he starts to protest but thinks better of his decision when he catches sight of all the equipment inside and meekly steps inside. Barry might be a great deal more composed than Hal on any given day but under the right circumstances he's just as hands-on as his pilot friend, if not more so. And there's no denying the fascinated light in his eyes over all of Shockwave's screens.

.....Maybe he can put off the apology a touch longer.]

That's a lot of equipment. Are you starting up a business?

[tomemyoutliers]

No, my-- ( Hmm. Only Tony got the 'husband' line, and Shockwave had no idea if it carried over to anyone else. Better not mention it. ) Orion and I are in the process of setting up a system we're more comfortable with. For whatever we please, honestly.

( Shockwave pauses at one of the tables, one hand brushing the screen and calling up a display. After taking a second to memorize something or another, Shockwave shoots Barry a contemplative look. )

My lab's on the third floor, if you'd rather talk there.

[bolthead]

[Don't think he doesn't catch that 'my', Shockwave, but he does refrain from commenting on it in typical Barry fashion. (Idly, he wonders if she's mentioned the 'my' thing to Hal. Not that Hal would probably let it stop him.)

For the second time in as many minutes, the urge to be polite does battle with the urge to see more. For the second time, curiosity wins out. Almost.]

Only if you're all right with it. I don't want to disturb you if you're in the middle of something.

[tomemyoutliers]

Not at all.

( Shockwave leads him up the stairs, passed the closed off second floor and into the third. It's a completely open floor plan - spacious and full of as much light as possible. There is, sitting in front of the hanger doors, a plane. It's clearly nothing created on earth - blue, white, and red - with no easily determinable cockpit. But it is still a jet.

The rest of the lab, however, is a well-organized mess. Tables full of electronic parts and equipment, one or two books in the native language, and various other things. Including a glowing pink cube that Shockwave hadn't managed to pack away yet. Ah well. )

Please, have a seat.

( A gesture to the one chair on the entire floor, as Shockwave goes to deal with the energon cube. )

[bolthead]

[.....Shiny.

Despite being in his mid-thirties, Barry still has a great appreciation of all things technological, as well as an attention span only slightly longer than that of his grandson's. While his eyes do pass over the jet - I can see why Hal was raving about it - most of the attention is focused on the equipment still scattered everywhere.

But he doesn't sit, electing instead to stand where he is some feet away from Shockwave, hands gently clasped in front of him.]

It's alright; I don't mind standing. [More freedom of movement that way.] Actually, I wanted to apologize for his behavior. Hal's, that is.

BRUCE WAYNE

[bolthead]

[You can take the boy out of the Midwest but you can't take the Midwest out of the boy. Or his closet. Unfortunately, Barry's closet has taken on a decidly Asian flair of late, one he's not sure he likes, so naturally he turns to the one person he knows has impeccable taste when it comes to all things haute couture.

He doesn't bother with a courtesy call, not when he can simply show up at the front door of Wayne Manor Turtle Edition at 10 am in the morning smiling cheerily as he knocks on the door to announce (when it opens):]

I was hoping you could do me a favor.

[cowled]

[Bruce, in the manner of playboys everywhere, is not used to hauling his ass out of bed before at least noon when he's been up the night before doing his sundry extracurriculars. So while he opens the door, (he recognizes that damned knock) his hair's ruffled and it's obvious he hasn't shaved by the persistent shadowing of his lower jaw.

He's dressed only in a housecoat, and it's with his hands in his pockets that he gestures Barry (almost sullenly) inside. It's not until the door's closed behind them both that he allows himself a scowl.]

What?

[bolthead]

[There's practically a spring to Barry's step as he follows Bruce inside, smile not slipping an inch despite the scowl beating down upon him. (It's the puffy blue jacket. Repels both rain and Batscowls.)

Serenely:] You really should get more sleep.

[Never mind that he'd been the one to interrupt said sleep in the first place.]

[cowled]

[His scowl deepens as he heads into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Barry, you are so not getting any of this blend. He makes it in absolute silence, and doesn't speak until after he's had the first sip.]

You don't say.

[bolthead]

[That's alright, Barry will entertain himself by taking in the decorations while patiently waiting at the table. (HurryituphurryitupBrucewhyareyoutakingsoloooooong—)

There's the sound of coffee being sipped at, followed by a flat statement. Barry refocuses.]

You could use a break. And I do need a favor.

[cowled]

[A long, exaggerated sip (at least it'll seem that way to Barry) as Bruce looks at him over the rim of the cup. He doesn't say a word, simply waiting for Barry to spit it out.

He has several guesses as to what it is. It's clearly a social call, and he's guessing that Barry's here for 'Bruce Wayne' rather than Batman. There are far better ways to get his attention for the latter. He and Barry don't generally claim to know each other publicly, as Bruce and Clark do, but they've never had much reason to, living in different cities and involved in entirely different work as they've been.

And in Keeliai, it doesn't much matter, he supposes. Anyone from their 'universe' could reasonably gravitate towards Bruce Wayne, media juggernaut, without arousing suspicion or scrutiny.]

[bolthead]

[Bruce can play connect-the-dots all he wants, Barry is here simply because he, for reasons unbeknownst to most of the world, actually happens to like Bruce as a friend and enjoys spending time with his friends out of costume.

That and he still needs new clothes. Which he'll state aloud.]

I need a few changes of clothes. I'm not nearly as familiar with the local shops as you are and I'd prefer looking presentable every time I show up [late] for work.

[cowled]

[Don't even admit that outloud, Barry, you'd make him paranoid. More paranoid.]

Clark's been here almost as long as I have, Barry.

[WHY DIDN'T YOU ASK HIM. No, actually, don't answer that, Clark's fashion sense is deliberately atrocious.]

I'M GUESSING WE CAN DO OUR THING HERE...

[corage]

[Yeah, so. The whole not being able to feel anything at all thing that has been going on with Hal?

It actually isn't that all bad, he supposes. After all, it makes being a superhero much easier. There's no need to flinch or draw back from a weapon anymore when it doesn't faze him in the slightest - these days, all he had to do is charge forward and end things in record time.

In fact, that's pretty much what he's doing now - ending things quickly as possible as he takes care of some goons who tried to do some random bad deed of the day. It's not hard at all, especially when he doesn't feel any pain. Maybe this thing isn't as bad as he first thought it to be.]

WE CAN TOTALLY DO OUR THING HERE

[bolthead]

[Barry doesn't patrol often. It was never a habit he'd picked up in Central City, largely because he'd always had his radio on and it'd just seemed far more productive to head straight to the source of the problem once location instead of aimlessly wandering around, hoping to stumble across trouble.

But the radios here aren't nearly as reliable despite Clark's and Lois's advancements and he has too much time on his hands not to go out and patrol. Sometimes he doesn't come across anything major. Other times he comes across stuff like this.

Hal might notice out of the corner of his eye a blur of red, and then notice in front of him a body flying past.]

Need a hand?

YEAAAAAH

[corage]

[It's not too much of a secret that Hal - this Hal, specifically - isn't that all fond of the Justice League. Well, to be more precise, he doesn't like the League for the sole reason of his counterpart. The counterpart who everybody else expects from him and assumes him to be. It's entirely petty and childish, but Hal honestly doesn't like it at all - doesn't like it because there's no him at all. It's all about the other Hal and there's no better way to feel worthless than to be constantly compared a counterpart who you didn't even know exist until now.

But those are all things for another time. At least its comforting to let out his irritation through goon-bashing, and when Barry shows up, Hal is half-tempted to say that he can handle it alone. But Barry is a nice person, and after the last time he talked with his counterpart, he doesn't really want to show any sign that something is off with him either. So:]

If you don't mind. [Glances over with a shrug.] I'm just about done though.

[bolthead]

[There's a small nod at the acquiescence.]

We can make clean-up a little faster.

[If nothing else, he's got experience and speed on his side. Neither of the two are things he brings up though, because even though he doesn't know this Hal, he does recognize a little bit of the look on his face. It's the look Wally gets when he tells Barry about his first few years as Flash; it's the look Kyle gets sometimes when he's in the room. Hal's might not be the same legacy the other two had to go through, but it's still a kind of legacy all the same.

He's contemplative enough - and busy enough with his own kedan attacker - that he nearly misses the glint out of the corner of his eye. Metal. A knife.]

Hal, look out!

[corage]

[Being able to clean up faster is always good in Hal's book. Finishing up things faster means that Hal can quickly move onto the next bit of stuff to do, and doing stuff is a good distraction from all the things that have been plaguing his mind these days. It's nice to be busy with crime fighting, especially when now its hard to see any drawbacks. When you don't feel pain, there's no reason to hold yourself back after all.

And that applies as well to when Barry shouts the warning to him. Normally people would evade such an attack, but after spending enough time without feeling anything Hal doesn't even bother to dodge it. He simply takes it head on. Hal raises an arm first to take the knife, making sure it doesn't hit any vital areas. The blade sinks in, not too deep to cause lasting damages but enough to have hurt if Hal could feel it in the first place.

The goon is of course, taken aback and confused as to that strange display, and Hal uses that moment of confusion and shock to easily take him out with the standard green fist. And even after that Hal just keeps on fighting, taking out the rest of the goons with little regard for everything else.]

[bolthead]

[The goon isn't the only one taken aback; the upstretched arm is completely out of left field, enough so that Barry's own assailant manages to knock him one in the stomach before being rudely knocked out himself.

With the way Hal's going at it, it's only a short while later until the two of them are the only ones left standing. Barry dashes off and grabs a rope from a nearby shop - leaving some change from Mysterious Pocket #1 - so he can tie up the offenders lying around them. It doesn't much matter since half of them are unconscious but he figures it's better safe than sorry. He also wants to get a better look at Hal's arm without interruption.]

We need to get you to a doctor. [Even if it's not that bad.] But why didn't you use the ring?

[That, out of everything, is what's puzzling him the most.]

[corage]

[Through the whole fight Hal pays little attention to his wound, or even the fact that there's now a knife sticking out from his arm. It doesn't hurt, after all, and while the blade is still there he's not going to bleed to death as well. He'll be fine in the meantime--although of course it would be good if they can finish this up quickly.

Barry - or rather, Flash - lives up to his name and helps Hal clean up double time, including tying the goons up which is something Hal doesn't really do. Usually all he does is just punch them out and leave them in a spot where people can call the authorities.

All of it is done with minimal fuss, and once its over Barry is looking at his injury and being all worried, so Hal does what he does best and shrugs it off.]

Might give them a chance to escape if I protected myself. I just took a chance to get them ASAP.

[Its all a pretty logical explanation.]

[bolthead]

[There's the tiniest, pettiest part of Barry that wants to retort that the bad guys won't get away while he's around, but he's aware of where he - and the rest of the League - stands in this Hal's eyes and so he doesn't comment, instead making his way over to where Hal stands, blood seeping from his arm wound.

Also sorry Hal, but you - any version of you - aren't exactly known for your cool, logical explanations.]

If you say so. [His words are doubtful.] How much does it hurt? Can you still move your arm?