tushanshu_logs | well they call him the Prince of Gotham, anyway... (open)

Entry tags:

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'.]

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[There's not really much more Zatanna can say to that. Batman called her an ally. Well, not her specifically, but a version of her. Close enough. Even the lack of implicit trust was to be expected. She wouldn't think him to trust her so soon after re-meeting for the first time. She came from a different world, and was barely a few months' older than Robin.]

[Even the Batman from her world didn't. Which was why she was still in the dark about their identities.]

I figured as much. [In her mind, there weren't many people he would. No offense taken.] There aren't too many people I would probably trust here yet, either.

Good.

[Of course Bruce would be an advocate for being eternally paranoid and not trusting other people.]

[Of course he would. If this was anybody other than him, Zatanna would've rolled her eyes.]

Any other names you think I could add to the list?

[Aside from the obvious.]

[And yes, she's asking your advice on who she can trust and who she can't. Use this opportunity wisely.]

[Almost, he says 'Steve Rogers'. Despite his disdain for the man's principles (or the lack of them in some aspects) there's no denying he's trustworthy. His lips thin.]

In our line of work?

[That is to say, vigilantism.]

Batgirl. The other Robin. Nightwing, who is currently active under the Batman name.

[Obvious names aside. He's hardly going to tell her to trust Superman, because in their worlds there's not a single name that inspires trust and respect more than that one word. He leaves Cassandra off the list because she currently has no code-name, and... as much as he cares for his daughter, she's easily identifiable in a way that tracks back to everyone else's identities if he simply says 'Cassandra'.]

Favrielle nó Eglantine has proven a trustworthy civilian contact. She's a clothier in the Water sector.

Robin, I've met. [Yes, she means Damian. It was a very pleasant conversation. Not.] Batgirl, I haven't, and...okay, wait, say that last one again for me?

[Wally mentioned something about this. "Their" Robin eventually becoming Batman in a different universe. Except he neglected to mention the thought of BatRobin actually being here]

Nightwing. I'm sure you've heard.

[Probably from Wally, because god knows the speedster has trouble keeping his mouth shut regardless of universe.]

Kid Flash mentioned that Robin would eventually take on the Batman title. [Oh, Batman, you know him so well.] But Nightwing? ...that's new.

Are you telling me he's here too?

He didn't go from being Robin to being Batman overnight.

[Oops his tone is just the slightest bit chiding.]

He is. Scouting the desert.

I never said he did.

[And hers gets a little more defensive.]

Would I know him if I saw him? [Because she's curious now. So very, very curious.] And, for that matter, would he even know who I am?

He's an adult. But... in a lot of ways he's very similar to the Robin you know. Mostly in attitude. You'd recognize that, if you were looking for it. And yes, he's also familiar with the Zatanna of our world. It might take him speaking to you, but he'd recognize you.

[And Bruce is going to have to talk to Dick about what he's not allowed to tell Zatanna.]

A grown-up Robin, hmm? It'd be like looking into the future...sort of.

[And now she's just plain amused.]

Don't get any ideas.

[She's nowhere near old enough for Nightwing, but if she knows that's what the younger Robin grows up into--

Everyone on the turtle could be in for a lot of trouble.]

What's that supposed to mean?

[He just gives her a flat, 'figure it out' look.]

Are you returning to Keeliai today?

[She's just going to give him a look right back. She can get all the ideas she wants, thank you. How do you even know what she's thinking anyway? ~~Don't answer that~~.]

In a bit, yeah.

I only brought enough to last me another couple of hours. And this place makes me feel weird.

[It was the speculative 'hmm'. Sorry, Zee. You aren't that different between universes, and Bruce knew you when you were only a couple years older.]

Weird how?

[Wow, Batman. Maybe she was just curious as to what her friend would look like when he was older? So she could go back and tell him herself...with commentary....]

Like...tired, I guess. Weaker. My head was staring to hurt for a while, too. Though it could just be the depressing atmosphere.

[... Bruce frowns.]

Zatanna. Use a spell.

[The request surprises her for a moment, but she complies. Something small. Maybe summoning an extra bottle of water she had back in her room.]

Evig em retaw.

[The wind and smoke swirl around her for a brief moment...then nothing. Except the slight wave of vertigo that overtakes her.]

Whoa...

What just happened?

[he reaches out automatically to steady her.]

A dampening field. Nothing I'd notice, since I don't have any metahuman abilities to be dampened. We're twenty-four kilometres from where Tu Vishan made landfall.

Oh. That's just great.

I wish somebody would've told me about that before I headed out here.

I doubt anyone knew.

[He sure as hell asked around and wasn't told.]

I need you to head back to Keeliai.

...yeah, okay.

[She might've been stubborn, but even Zatanna knew when to back down. And having all her major defenses stripped from her was definitely a time to back down. She just hoped they'd be back by the time she reached Keeliai.]

Take this.

[He pulls a communicator out of his belt. Not a Starkphone, thank you, but something a little more... Gotham chic.]

Everyone I mentioned you could trust has one of these, they're linked together. If you need help, it will tell you which contact is closest, estimated travel times, et cetera. I shouldn't need to tell you not to let it fall into enemy hands. Keep track of your magic. If it begins to return at any point, I want to know the exact coordinates.

[She's slightly overwhelmed when he hands her the communicator. Turning it over in her hands a few times to make sure it was what she thought it was. Direct linkage. Close contacts. Coordinates.]

[Nice; she glances back up at him and gives a nod.]

Thanks.

I will.

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cowled - 2012-11-22 16:24 (UTC) - Expand

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