it was five minutes before damian began the hunt, not from when he intended on finding bruce. no, by the time he does manage to track down his movements, it's closer to fifteen minutes. twenty and change, taking into account goliath isn't the stealthiest creature, and damian needed an easy way into kwik trip without alerting anyone. he's out of uniform, given bruce doesn't seem to be in anything close to one, but damian wayne was never one to allow clothing to dictate his actions.
because he's still inside the air vents of the building, quietly crawling through them and waiting, until bruce is positioned close enough under one that damian can kick the vent open (swinging open, it's not falling off entirely) and drop straight down from inside to, hopefully, land atop bruce's shoulders. )
[ It is a good thing Bruce already had plans to go out. Nothing extravagant; he's too old for patrolling in the field. But he found himself liking the coffee served in the Kwik Trip. So Damian's message is incentive enough to send him there for a cup. Black, of course.
He didn't doubt Damian figured out where he is holing up, since Damian had enough courtesy to announce a countdown. So it's right here that Bruce responds to the first message. And where he almost anticipates the ambush. Bruce keeps an eye on the entrance and a door he assumes leads to a back room, while he pours his coffee into a paper cup.
Neither of them seem to be the definitive point of entry. Damian is quiet in the vents - to people not trained to listen for that kind of ambush. Anyone else would have had the little gremlin land on their shoulders. Bruce is thankfully not just anyone. So when the cover kicks open just above his head, Bruce has enough warning to step to one side and swing his cane in Damian's direction. ]
( the cane swings out towards him, and damian - well. he's armed, but not visibly so: the soft hoodie, slacks, and sneakers are meant to leave him appearing like a normal child, not a trained assassin.
so he doesn't reach for any of his weapons to block the cane when it comes out towards him, instead raising an arm to block it with his forearm. the impact causes him to slide slightly off from where he'd originally intended on hitting the ground - but he manages to land on the balls of his feet regardless, rocking backwards instead of the preferred roll forward into a somersault, so he's instead knocked back onto his ass on the ground.
damian grins, one hand moving back to press his palm against the floor to keep him sitting up even as he leans back against his hand. )
Good. I would be disappointed, if you slowed down in your old age.
[ He eyes Damian for a moment, mouth tight and brows furrowed. Then he smiles and turns back to the coffee machine to finish preparing his cup. ]
Ambushing me from the air vents would have been clever, [ He takes a sip of his coffee then reaches for a bit of cream. ] if I hadn't heard you coming.
( it's not a question. it's a statement, one damian sounds absolutely certain of and will refuse to accept any alternative answer for.
he does start to get his feet back under him, moving up onto his knees before standing upright and raising a hand to - fuss with his hair that's refusing to stay styled up. the woes of being short a butler. )
And if I had opened it any slower to prevent noise, you would have seen me coming.
[ Subtle enough for their purposes. But Bruce isn't in the business of giving credit where it's due. If Damian thinks he's good and from all appearances, he is, Bruce will let him know he could stand to improve. He picks up his cup when he's satisfied and turns around as Damian gets to his feet. ]
but damian, despite the very irked expression on his face, doesn't argue against him. yet. instead, he grabs onto his own paper cup and shoves into bruce to get to the coffee machine. )
[ Thankfully, Bruce does not lose his balance when Damian shoves him. Thankfully, he doesn't spill his coffee either. That settles Bruce back into unamused. ]
Then you need to go home.
[ He doesn't say and stop bothering me. But the implication is there. He told the younger Bruce he wouldn't be too hard on them so that's how he plans on keeping his word. ]
I would love to go home. Unfortunately, that's not possible.
( he understands what bruce was getting at. unfortunately for his father, damian refuses to abide by his demands. instead, he stays leaned up against him, and takes a drink out of the coffee cup once it's half-filled.
makes a face over how distasteful it is, then reaches for the sugar. )
[ You know what annoys him more about this than Damian's refusal to obey? It's how familiar this feels. He'd been a stubborn, willful handful when he was kid himself. He owed Alfred such an apology. ]
Well if you're going to insist, help me.
[ He lifts his cane and points to the bag beside the coffee maker. It's instant coffee and bottles of fresh spring water. ]
( he looks over to the bag, with his hand still pouring more sugar into the coffee cup. scrunches his nose at the sight of it, as if it's very existence is somehow distasteful. )
»Tt«.
( the lid goes back onto his own coffee cup, and damian picks that up as he takes a step back from the counter, but not the bag. )
You're more than capable of carrying your own groceries. I don't take orders from those who haven't earned the right to give them.
[ Damian isn't wrong. It just takes a little adjusting so he can carry everything. He slips the handles of the bag over his wrist and uses the free hand to carry his coffee. He's done here and he's going back to his apartment. ]
If you're coming with me, keep up.
[ not that he's particularly fast - he isn't - but if he and the boy are going to speak then he'd rather do it while they're moving. ]
( he rolls his eyes, but falls into step with bruce regardless. bruce isn't very fast, and damian - has little legs and is used to keeping up with people who are significantly taller than him, so this is nothing. )
Where have you decided to settle in?
( not that it matters all that much, really. damian doesn't need the answer, he has plenty of ways to find out himself. but he knows that, occasionally, people prefer to actually tell others their plans, rather than be stalked down to find out. )
[ A question Bruce is a little surprised to hear Damian ask. Bruce is careful about his comings and goings but they're not secret. If any of them wanted to find him, it wouldn't be terribly difficult. ]
I thought you would have figured that out by now.
[ But Bruce is kind enough to nod toward the apartment building. ]
( obviously he's figured it out by now. obviously he knows where bruce has been spending his time, given he's been going out of his way to follow his movements. )
( he's quiet, for several moments. left contemplating what would leave bruce wayne on his own, alone, without anyone to keep him from burrowing deeper into his cave. it's not all too difficult to imagine: he doesn't have damian, his experience with his proteges seems to be much more limited than what damian is accustomed to. but. )
What happened to Pennyworth?
( he may already be ancient by damian's standards, and while he's well-aware that no one lives forever, especially not in their line of work, a future without pennyworth feels - wrong. )
[ The answer is short and clipped. Because it still hurts to acknowledge even though it's been years. Though once it's out of his mouth, Bruce realizes how poorly that could sound. Their lives had been fraught with danger for many years, it could be easy to assume something horrific happened. And he didn't want that on the boy's mind, so he adds: ]
( damian doesn't expect anyone in their line of work to have an easy death. a warrior's death, yes. todd died in an explosion, damian died with a sword through his chest, grayson died to save everyone. pennyworth - well. )
That's good. He deserves at least that much.
( to die peacefully, surrounded by those he loves and knowing everything would be taken care of in his absence. )
Grayson?
( they've fought before. grayson leaving the house for an extended period of time isn't - odd, but leaving bruce alone feels off. )
[ That question has Bruce setting his jaw, as if he can still feel Dick's fist connecting with it. He doesn't want to answer that question. So he ignores it. ]
[ For a moment, he stares at Damian. He could go around, continue on his way without having to think about Dick anymore than he already does. But Damian would never let it go. Better to put it to bed now. ]
He left.
[ Now just going to go around him to finish the rest of the walk home alone. ]
Which means you either did something heinous, or you broke off contact and refused to let him back in.
( dick grayson is a universal constant, regardless of if he deserves the responsibility that comes along with that title. damian knows. refuses to accept anything else. bruce should know. )
[ Bruce has to stop at Damian's accusation. Not because he's wrong - he isn't. Bruce was incredibly hurtful and never apologized for it. It's been thrown in his face before. With Dick and Tim and Barbara. And now this kid. ]
[ Look at him, when Bruce would rather look anywhere but. But he does look because this kid. ]
I never told him he couldn't come back. That was a choice he made.
[ Maybe he made Dick feel like he couldn't come back. Maybe not. But the truth was, he left and neither of them ever reached out. But if he wanted to come home, even now, after all these years, Bruce would have welcomed him. ]
No. It was your choice, just like you're currently choosing to walk away from me. You're very good at that - pushing people away when you're afraid.
( regardless of what happened, damian's not going to let it get pushed onto grayson's shoulders. he knows better, and if there's one person damian is overly protective of - )
Just like Grayson is good at pulling you back from your attempts at self-destruction. That's what Robin was meant for, wasn't it?
[ Or any of theirs. It's what he told Terry when he asked for the suit back. It's what he still thinks now. Maybe he was asking too much of them. They'd give their best but it wasn't enough. ]
So, stop trying to make it yours, because it isn't.
Unfortunately for you, I am not a good little soldier who does what is demanded of me. I'm Robin, the blood son of Batman, heir to the League of Assassins, and I'll do what I please.
( including but not limited to - standing right here, getting in bruce's way as he tries to walk away from everyone and pretend he's alone, when he's clearly not. )
If I want to make it my responsibility, there's nothing you can do to stop me.
( bruce starts walking away, again, and damian gives the most irritated sigh he can manage before he rolls his eyes and starts trailing after him again. )
You realize this would be significantly easier on you if you would just listen to me, yes?
No, you didn't. But we both know that you off on your own is a horrid idea.
( he's so tired. first there was the younger bruce wayne, and now there's this - older, more jaded one. damian thought dealing with the naive, barely-batman version of his father was exhausting enough, but at least he. . . acknowledges attachments. he's reached out to damian, held onto him, treated him like a son rather than a nuisance.
[ He has attachments. His dog and his new protege, both of whom mean a great deal to him. But he doesn't have the emotional bandwidth to start forming new ones. Not when the only thing these people have in common with his own versions are their names and their faces. There is no shared history and Bruce wasn't about to talk about what happened with veritable strangers. He barely talked about it with Terry. ]
( damian acknowledges that the younger batman may need more support than this aged one. he's new, still adjusting to the mantle, and as much as damian insists bruce needs someone - bruce has been supporting damian just as much. damian would say he can't, his father is back home, but he understands that's not what he means. there is a bruce wayne here who damian has stuck beside since the beginning, who he intends to return to later, because batman needs robin just as much as robin needs batman.
but that also brings him back to the batman in front of him. )
He wouldn't have recognized me if I hadn't told him who I was. He's yet to meet Mother. Yet you were able to discern my identity in mere minutes.
[ Grateful now that the conversation is moving away from Dick Grayson. Though Talia's not any easier to discuss. What happened to her was. Unfortunate and maybe if he hadn't shut himself off from the rest of the world, he could have done something about it. Stopped Ra's before it was too late.
There's no delicate way to put this and Bruce imagines Damian will not accept a nothing answer. If his persistence about Dick was any indication. ]
She's gone. Ra's took over her body when his deteriorated.
ra's had tried to do the same with damian's body just after he'd met his father. his body had been horrendously injured, leaving him in a position where he felt the need to jump ship into a new one - and that had been the purpose of damian's existence, hadn't it? a heir to the league, to ensure the al ghul lineage continued. and given how ra's has often doubted his and talia's capability to continue his work - well. without damian there to take over, his mother would be first choice. )
If you hadn't shut everyone out, it wouldn't have been her. It would have been me, and you would've saved me.
( talia was not a good parent, but damian would argue she didn't deserve being erased. it's almost, almost as upsetting as grayson being - absent. )
[ Funny thing was, Talia wasn't the end goal. Bruce was. So he doesn't mention how he was manipulated into taking a plunge in the Lazarus Pit. How, for a brief fleeting moment, he'd been desperate enough for his youth back that he'd trusted Ra's-as-Talia more than he usually did. ]
I should have stopped him before it got that far.
[ But his heart and his pride stopped him. Thank goodness he had Terry. ]
( it's easy to repeat the obvious. bruce should have been there to save her. he shouldn't have let ra's destroy his daughter, damian's mother, to complete his quest. )
Grandfather's concern with legacy will ultimately be his downfall.
[ It's Ra's so of course there's always a possibility he survived. But that explosion had been pretty decisive. And so had Ra's insistent he remain with his equipment. ]
No body means you cannot confirm he's gone. Either he killed mother and died along with her, or he survived with her. Grandfather needs a suitable host, and he needs to be alive to get one.
( he's hoping that, regardless of whose world it is, that talia managed to survive regardless of ra's presence in her body. that she managed to wrangle control out from under him in time to survive, because damian's mother would not be erased so easily. because she deserves better. )
She loved you, and you couldn't even manage to save her.
[ There's a bitter feeling in Bruce's gut. He would have saved Talia if he could have. If he'd know what Ra's was planning. He would have been Batman one more time for her. ]
No, of course you don't. I'm just the illegitimate child another you had with a different Talia al Ghul. There's nothing you have to justify to me. None of your decisions, your failings, everything you've clearly failed at accomplishing. Everyone you've lost. Everyone who you have watched die, because something in you broke, and you've simply chosen not to face it.
( if the flat tone doesn't give away how little damian believes any of that, the blank look on his face will.
he's trying to get a rise out of him. trying to find batman under the layers bruce has used to hide himself. )
[ An accusation he's heard before. Something happened to you, didn't it? And it wasn't just that you got old. The problem was, there wasn't a single moment in his career that was the something that broke. It was all of it - losing people again and being unable to stop it. The final straw, the one that made it all too much to bear was the gun.
Damian wants a rise out him? He very nearly gets it, because Bruce turns to look at the boy, to stalk closer to close the gap between them. Bruce told the younger one he wouldn't be so hard on them. But he was never very good at keeping promises. ]
You're right. You are the child of another Bruce Wayne. Not me. I am not your father and you do not know anything. Now go pester someone else.
[ A judgement this spoiled, undisciplined, entitled little shit doesn't have the right to make. Alfred's approval isn't his to give or take; Bruce isn't even going to acknowledge that. He glares. ]
( but his expression. . . shifts. for a moment, he looks almost sad before damian manages to get himself under control once again and shifts the small, sad frown into an outright scowl again.
and turns around on his heels, to head in the opposite direction of bruce. )
He's in costume when he arrives, the much younger version of the Batmobile tucked away within the shadows outside as he makes his way up. The suit, much like the car — much like him — is younger as well. It lacks the finer details most of the suits the others here wear in terms of lenses especially; hence the thick grease paint beneath the cowl. Regardless of it's infancy in terms of types he'll [eventually] come to wear, it's still built with strength and mobility in mind and still wears the bat across the chest that actually is a hidden tactical knife.
Kind enough to wait there outside the door, he gives a few knocks with the back of his gloved hand and waits. Staring to the ground as he does. )
[ Fundamentally, Bruce knows that this version of himself is young; he met the kid not too long ago and knew his face nearly as well as he knew his own. But it does not really dawn on him how young until he opens the door and finds Bruce standing there in the suit. There's a pang of. Something. Nostalgia? He lets his eyes linger on the symbol and then back up to the cowl before he steps back into the apartment so Bruce can enter. ]
Shut the door.
[ The apartment is nothing remarkable. But it is, for the most part, dark, except for a corner of the room lit by a single table lamp. ]
( Steps are heavy and slow when he makes his way in, blue eyes beneath the grease paint gently taking note of everything there in the room. Gloved finger touching the edge of the door, he closes it, a soft click filling the silence between them. He stands there, cape gently resting around him and stares to the single lamp there in the room. This... is ideal. Having spent so much of his time the past two years in the dark — in the alleys of Gotham, light often throws him to the point where he needs a moment to adjust to it all, having become the nocturnal animal that he is.
When he finally regards the other man, his voice is soft albeit in a way that's very much Batman and not so much Bruce. )
[ He also prefers darker spaces. So he after his arrival, he didn't waste time in turning this place into a Batcave in miniature. Certainly not sophisticated like his Cave back home, but it works for him.
he glances over his shoulder at Bruce's question then he sits before answering. ]
No. My last suit is in the possession of a new Batman.
( A new Batman. From what he's gathered, the others here are their own thing. Nightwing, Red Hood, Robin, Red Robin. Damian's made it very clear that he intends to inherit the cowl when his father's time has come to an end with it, but. Damian's mentioned that this older version of himself doesn't seem to recognize him beyond a strange familiarity; he knows he looks familiar but he doesn't know him and that, like when they'd met, had been difficult for the young Robin despite his saying otherwise. )
Didn't come with an extra one myself.
( A gentle attempt at a joke for not having one for him to spare.
Reaching into his utility belt, he pulls out a USB drive and, coming over to him there, holds it out for him to take. )
This has everything regarding this place thus far. Events, names of people, past and present, things of interest mentioned.
( Because of course he keeps track of it all, even if he doesn't make his presence entirely known on the networks. )
[ At one time, maybe Bruce thought Tim would have been the one. Dick had expressed no interest and Tim had taken to the Robin role with the kind of exuberance you'd only find in someone too young not to know any better. But things change it seemed. He just hoped it wouldn't be too hard on this young man in front of him.
Bruce isn't so humorless that he can't appreciate the younger's attempt at a joke. He smiles, even if it's a small one. ]
Don't think I'll be needing it.
[ He reaches for the usb drive, nods at the thorough description Bruce gives him. ]
Much faster than gathering on my own. I'll have to find a computer to put it to use.
I can locate one for you, unless you'd rather procure one yourself.
( He knows how he is and so can only imagine how the other man is. Still, it's an offer made, like the stick with all the data of this place he's collected over the nearly... year he's been here. Really is coming up to that in a few months.
Again, he takes a look around the place — notices the scarcity of it all and how much it mimics his own living idea. Granted, Wayne Tower came with everything he'd had back in his own Gotham— well. Almost everything. Alfred hadn't tagged along here. But even so, with all the things littered about the penthouse, so much of his time was spent beneath it in the cave he's made for himself. He wonders what this Bruce's own cave looks like and if it's similar to the one beneath the Manor here. )
Consider it an early birthday present. If you want.
( To which he looks back to the other man, curious about that date and if they share it. )
[ Bruce preferred keeping his independence. He wouldn't have others feeling responsible for him. And from the looks of it, this Bruce had his hands full with the other Bats. This one, he wouldn't have to worry himself over.
At the birthday quip, Bruce gets to his feet to put the usb away. He didn't like thinking about his birthday. He couldn't believe it was nearly that time again. 81 years old. ]
He watches the other man in silence as he moves about — countless things running through his head. It's still difficult to really accept that this is some other version of him, albeit much older and who has had countless years of experience wearing the cape and cowl. He's never encountered anything like this before, here or back in his own Gotham. It has him wonder just how mundane his own Gotham must be to him or even the other bats around. Granted, maybe like him, his own Gotham is in its infancy and there's still a great deal to come. For both it and him. )
Clark was here. For a bit.
( A namedrop he's curious to see the other man's reaction to. )
[ If he ever gave voice to that thought, Bruce would tell him that there was nothing mundane about Gotham. Especially not at her quietest, as he imagines this Batman's Gotham must be like. She was just biding her time.
There's no visible reaction to the mention of Clark. He hadn't spoken to Clark in years - shocking. ]
( He hadn't had much to work with in making one for him. Gaze dropping, he stares to the floor. Quiet. )
He was young, from what I gathered, yet he recognized Batman, though I was considered young to him.
( Despite his reservations regarding the Kryptonian, they shared that in common: being new and inexperienced to the weight that came with the legacy their other selves carried. The legacy they might eventually come to carry themselves. )
He's been gone for about one hundred and eighty-four days.
Get one. Clark is a good man, but he's a dangerous one.
[ He doesn't scold. Doesn't condemn. Clark is a good man deep down. And before Bruce had closed himself off, he had considered Clark one of his dearest friends. But he's powerful and despite all of that power, in Bruce's experience, he was easily susceptible to mind control and could be turned in an instant.
He doesn't want to tarnish this young man's view of Clark however, so keeps the little tidbit about Justice Lord Superman to himself. ]
( Lifting his gaze for only a brief moment, he stares back to the floor there. Falls quiet again. To perhaps no one's surprise, he doesn't exactly go out of his way to make friends, but. Clark had begun to be that for him... the first in a very long time. Losing him still hurts every now and then, but Bruce has never been one to handle loss of any kind well. )
There's a Superman here. Though he's not Clark. If he's just as dangerous as Clark is capable of being, might be best to keep an eye on him.
[ Which isn't exactly a shocking revelation. Bruce didn't trust anyone. Not even his own children. It was partly why each one of his relationships broke down. But there was an undercurrent of hostility from this Superman. A flippant attitude that does little to put him at ease. ]
( Things he would have done differently. Two years into it himself and he doesn't think he has any of those regrets just yet. There are moments he knows Alfred wishes he would do differently — where he would be Bruce Wayne more than The Batman. Where he wasn't filled with such a vengeance so raw and palpable that he takes it out on those he ends up crossing paths with in Gotham's darkest corners. Maybe one day he'll have that regret of putting on the cape and cowl. For now, he sometimes feels it's pointless. That he's not doing enough. That maybe he's only making things worse.
Standing there in silence, he turns some — looks as if he's about to walk away, but. He doesn't. Instead, he stares down to the floor and, despite his back slightly turned, there's an expression there on his face that can almost be felt. One that's filled with a bitter hope. )
Did you find out who killed our parents? ( A beat. ) Did you catch them?
( Do we catch them? Because every criminal he comes across — every one he beats down to the cold, hard cement, he hopes is them. )
so it's unclear whether or not he gets caught so im going with a bit of headcanon
[ What he doesn't tell this young man is that it's a feeling that persists. That's he's not doing enough. That he's somehow failing to keep the promise he made. It hasn't gone away just because he had to stop. It just lives vicariously through Terry now. He doesn't think it would go away for the man in front of him either. ]
Eventually. He didn't remember me at first. But by the end, I made sure he'd never forget.
( The way he turns back to face him is both slow and hopeful somehow at the same time. That to think, some day, he may actually catch the man who'd murdered his mother and father and left him with so much trauma, so much anger, so much pain and misery over the years. At least... this version of himself has. Whether or not he will is still uncertain, much as the events that may or may not happen for him and his Gotham upon his return.
But he stares to him with those blue eyes through the grease paint beneath the cowl and he's left feeling a hundred different things all in the span of a few mere seconds. )
[ He's met other Batmen before and for the most part their lives were similar enough to be near indistinguishable. Especially that singular moment that would spiral their lives into vigilantism. ]
It could be either for you. For me? He was just a man with a gun in a dark alley.
[ He wishes he had more to offer. He spent a long time trying to put more meaning behind their deaths than reality permitted. In the end, it wasn't a grand conspiracy, no matter the angle Bruce looked at it from. In the end, it was just human cruelty in its purest form. ]
( His gaze drops. All this time he thought there might be a connection and maybe there is for him... or maybe there isn't. Maybe that's simply another thing they have in common to some extent across their Gothams. Across their lives. )
I go out every night... hoping that maybe, this time, it'll be the one.
( That it will be the murderer of his parents he's throwing up against a wall or beating down into the ground. )
[ Because there's always a crisis. There's always a fire to put out. Batman is always needed. That's why Bruce finally accepted the need for a new one.
The crisis he's left behind in his own Gotham has Bruce wanting to warn him. To tell him Arkham would never contain the Joker. That his reach his long and he'd use it to warp his life maybe beyond recognition.
He wants to. But he doesn't. He just looks away instead. ]
( From the sounds of it, he never will and, despite it only being two years for him now, he can’t ever see himself stopping. All this, everything he’s doing… it’s his family’s legacy, isn’t it? Doing what he can to help and protect Gotham. To make a difference. To change things. That’s all that matters. Because someone has to. Someone who isn’t corrupt.
Glancing up, he looks over to him and sees the way he looks away. )
And you haven't even met Jervis Tetch yet, have you?
[ It's only down hill from here. ]
They're all infuriating.
[ The sentence trails off. He knows he's broadcasting. That there's more. It's just whether he wants to give it words. So he'd at least have some idea of what he's getting into, even if he might not remember it back in his own Gotham. In the end, he decides to hell with it. If someone had warned him, maybe things could have been different for Tim. For all of them. ]
But none of them will be more dangerous to you than the Joker.
( He’s heard something similar. Damian had said something about how Joker will be the one to break him time and time again… how he should just kill him and not leave him in the hands of the incompetent guards at Arkham. That he always finds a way out and makes it his purpose almost to be so involved in The Batman’s life in the worst ways he can be.
But it doesn’t have to be like that. What’s happened to the Bruce Damian has for a father or this one before him now, doesn't mean it will happen for him. There’s no proof or guarantee it will. Still, it’s not as if he doesn’t take some things into consideration. Doesn’t listen to what he’s given. )
It’s been a year almost since I put him in Arkham. Since we first met.
( One year since The Joker and The Batman began. )
[ It's something he couldn't tell Terry. The memories are painful and he'd rather they stay in the past where it belongs. But this man hasn't had to live it and if Bruce could prevent it from happening, even in some small way, why wouldn't he? ]
Back home, he's dead. Tim shot him, after weeks of torture. I am not saying you should kill him. Just be aware that his reach is long and the shadow he can cast over you can stretch even longer than that.
[ He's cut out some important bits of the story, but the broad strokes are there. He did not kill the Joker, but it was the closest he'd ever come to breaking his no kill rule. 40 years of that eating away at him. Is it any wonder he's been alone and bitter this whole time? ]
( He barely knows The Joker from his own Gotham and yet, already he can feel an entanglement between them happening. Almost our anniversary he'd said with a lazy grin on his lips when he'd visited him in Arkham for information. You're so much more fun he'd whined when his antics had been ignored. The way he'd been able to read him — to know how he felt about the murders deep down... it unsettled him. Had caught him off guard even. How he could read and see him when so many others can't.
So the thought of him being dead is one that gets him to look over to the other man — to stare in silence before he's dropping his gaze again momentarily. He can't claim to know Tim in the way he knows Damian or even Dick here. But he knows he's the third Robin and that he wouldn't train him to murder anyone they ever came up against. But to have been tortured at the hands of The Joker for weeks... )
[ Once again he's forced to confront the notion that in all these years, Bruce had not once reached out to ask if Tim was okay. At any other time, he could put it away. Lock it up with all of the other years of unaddressed issues. But he cannot here. Because whenever he sees them - any of them - it drags all of it up again.
The honest answer is I don't know. ]
I refused to let him continue as Robin so he left. As far as I know, he's fine.
( He left. He hasn't dealt with any of them leaving yet — hasn't even been through the things the other man has and yet, he knows, deep down, that neither of them handle a loss of any kind well. The thought of losing Damian here bothers him in ways he tries not to dwell on. Where if Damian's actual father from his Gotham appeared here and he would have to let him go, he... doesn't know what to think or feel about that. Tries not to, for the most part, but. Doesn't always work.
Staring to the other man, he's quiet again — gaze dropping for only a moment in thought before he's looking back up to him. )
[ The difference - Bruce has learned - is that they come back. All of them, even after Bruce pushed them away. They did not for him. And maybe it makes a little jealous. Maybe it makes him wonder what he did to so drastically change his outcome.
The other Bruce's question lands heavily. Because in the end? Bruce couldn't protect them. Not back then and especially not now. He couldn't even protect himself. Not really. Not like he could when he was 40 years younger.
He wants to say no. But that feels hopeless and Bruce is...not completely devoid of that. Not yet. ]
( Keep them close. Something that, for any Bruce Wayne, can be difficult to do at times, simply because of how they are.
His gaze drops, silence to follow as always is typical of both Bruce Wayne and The Batman. He can't say he tries his best to keep them close, but he also doesn't go out of his way to avoid them either. Not like he first did when he found himself here anyways. Were it not for Damian's relentlessness in seeing to it that he wasn't left alone, he doesn't know where he'd be with the young Wayne, let alone the others. But he still finds himself, every now and then, leaning back into his reclusive tendencies, especially after Clark had disappeared. Someone he had thought of as a friend. )
They're curious about you. Like they were me. We're not the man they've known throughout their lives, but they still feel drawn to us. I guess because we're familiar.
( Even if they're different in their own ways. )
So try to do the same. ( Keep them close. ) Even when you don't want to.
[ That's something that separates them. Bruce doesn't want to see them. Because it means a confrontation he's not ready for yet. He was alone for 20 years; he could endure more of it here if it meant keeping these people at arm's length.
He takes what this younger Bruce is saying - it sounds idealistic. It sounds foolish. Bruce isn't going to do it - and puts it away. ]
( A look over to him, he remains quiet for a moment longer, still finding it strange to be here, face to face, with some possible older version of himself that he may or may not come to be in the future. He still can't claim to be an expert on all of this... on multiple versions of selves and worlds, but. It's not as entirely jarring as it had been when he first found himself here. )
Yeah.
( The word comes soft and simple, a turn made to take his leave before he stops. )
Be careful with this place. It has a way of twisting things as a means to break you.
I was just telling you the situation. Even if they’re not ours or we don’t have the same relationship with them here as we did or do or might have some day, I figured you’d want to know.
[ He did want to know. He noticed when Dick's username was missing. Even if he never reached out, missing an opportunity to even just say hello kind of stung a bit.
[ Wooow, so about this partnership Gorgug proposed.... ]
Hey. I don't know if you saw but Aurora asked people to go to Solmara to help the AI there. I volunteered to go and she accepted and it's during the mission. I won't be back until the end.
[ It's going to be bullet points and so simple in its language. May include a note somewhere letting Bruce know he got sand in his lungs at one point. ]
Your Robin's identity is already compromised, which you didn't seem to know. If Kirk Langstrom is even a half competent Batman, then he's likely already figured out who the rest of us are.
Or he could have simply had his Superman do it for him.
( it isn't particularly serious, but it isn't something small, either. bruce gives him a location, which damian sees as permission enough to show up. there's the sound of sneakers hitting the ledge below the window, before damian dislodges any security measures set up to prevent break in robins, and slides the window open so he can let himself in. he isn't in his robin gear, but a boy wearing jeans and a hoodie bursting through the window probably isn't all too odd for those staying in the apartments; accelerator and laura are staying in the same building, after all.
once he's got his feet inside the building, damian shoves the hood off of his head with a huff, and pulls a full-grown tuxedo cat out of his shirt, too.
because clearly he needed to show up with a friend for ace. the cat yowls and begins sauntering through the apartment like he owns it, while damian - makes his way to the kitchen. he'll get to the reason behind his visit in a minute. )
[ Bruce was never under any illusions that his location would stay secret for long. While the other Bruce had been the only person he ever confirmed an apartment number with, he had no doubts the other Bats had likely worked out which one he was set up in, probably in a matter of days after his initial arrival.
So he isn't alarmed when the window opens and Damian drops inside. Ace is alert, until he spots Damian and the yowling cat he produces from his hoodie. The cat keeps him from laying back down.
The apartment is dark, save for a table lamp in the corner with the recliner and another small lamp on the table where Bruce works. The kitchen is sparse. There's a coffee maker on the counter and a bit of food and tea in the cabinets, but the fridge is mostly empty. ]
( so, yes, he did need to bring the cat. who seems entirely unbothered by the presence of ace, especially given how many other animals alfred the cat has gotten used to over the last few years.
the coffee doesn't interest him, given how bitter it is. damian searches through the tea and - wrinkles his nose when he doesn't find what he's actually looking for, but he'll put some water into a pot and turn on the stove to bring it to a boil regardless. )
[ The cat's name gets a reaction out of Bruce, muted as it is. He glances back to get a look at it before turning back to his work. It's nothing fancy. Just bending scraps of metal into workable batarangs. He doesn't have the grip strength to make them look nice, but they're serviceable. At least until he can ask the AI for some from home. ]
( while the water boils, damian pulls out a mug and a herbal tea bag, setting them on the counter for now while he - turns his attention to bruce. )
Someone here has a dangerous gemstone they're using to power a gun. A gun which, with this power source, can dissolve someone into mere particles. If that isn't dangerous enough, the person who had previous custody of it does not want to bring any more of these into existence in Etraya, but wants to experiment with the gemstone that already exists planet-side. Yet the girl who currently has it has been described as "on a crazy amount of drugs" and the person who originally had possession of it is afraid to confront her due to her fighting capabilities.
[ That...is enough to make Bruce stop his work and turn to look at Damian completely. The context is limited. Bruce would have to comb the network so he might piece together a clearer picture of what Damian is talking about.
But, simply based on this alone? ]
Find it. Disable it. Put the gemstone out of reach of either parties. If the gun's original owner cannot get it back himself because he is afraid then he can't be trusted to keep the gemstone safe.
[ Simple. And yet...]
I'm sure you already knew what my answer would be. Why are you really asking me this?
Because that is the only reasonable response, and yet Todd is arguing with me over it.
( see, he knew bruce would agree with him. of course he would. finding and disabling the weapon is the most reasonable action to take here, especially given what information they do have. what if they leave it out there, and it ends up killing someone? what if they manage to amp up it's power, and this girl takes them all out? what if he were to return it to talis, and the tinkering ended with the entire thing backfiring on them all?
damian knows what he's talking about. it's todd who doesn't. )
[ Bruce never worked with Jason and had really only known him a short time. He seemed level headed, but if that other version of him was any indication, he could be prone to letting emotion overrule his training. Bruce didn't want to dismiss him outright, not without more information.
But so far, he is not disagreeing with Damian. ]
The situation might need his kind of nuance. But that can be considered when the dangerous weapon is disarmed.
I asked, nicely, for permission to observe the weapon in question. I was denied, not only by the girl but by her father. I reached out because I assumed it would have been what Grayson would do, had he been in a similar situation.
( he regrets asking now. it would have been a lot easier to take it if they hadn't had warning. damian puts the tea back into his mug, leaves the pot of water on and walks his way over to bruce and his work. )
Now Todd is conversing with the girl's father, as if my request itself was wholly unreasonable. I hadn't even threatened to remove it from her directly, I wanted to see if I could find a way to disable it.
[ Damian is probably well aware he's messed up announcing his intentions to the girl and her allies. He shouldn't need to remind him of that. But would this really be Bruce if he didn't? ]
How do you plan to regain the element of surprise? If the girl is an addict, it shouldn't be hard.
( when what would dick grayson do? works against them, there's not really much one can do to throw off the other party again.
damian reaches into his hoodie, pulling out a few thin batarangs to drop them into the surface of the table beside bruce. they're sharp, well-made, and sturdy. it's an offering, given what the man seems to have been attempting to do. )
Now that Todd is working against me, I'll need more than to just surprise them. I'm assuming that now that I've warned them, they'll be attempting to replicate the gemstone and temporarily replace it until after I pocket the false one. And with Todd on their side, they'll have an extreme advantage over me: he's aware of what tools I would be using to examine it. If I want any chance of retrieving it, I would need to immediately approach them. Go in before they have time to prepare.
[ A sound enough strategy, especially if Damian thinks Jason is working against him. But he also did not like the thought of Damian doing this alone. Dick is gone (and it wasn't like he had any right to make demands of him, even if that would not have stopped him). The younger Jason is too much of a liability. There was the other Bruce, but they weren't on speaking terms at the moment. If Damian wants anything from him, he'd have to get it himself.
Instead, he turns away, picks up the perfectly balanced batarang, then sets it aside to continue working on his own. ]
When you get your hands on it, I'll help you figure out how to dismantle it.
( rude of bruce to blatantly drop away a gift damian was giving to him. he clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, but doesn't offer any additional commentary. instead, he moves back toward the kitchen and the boiling pot of water. )
I have a... friend, here, whose abilities would be useful in dismantling it and discerning what, exactly, it's capable of. That part I wasn't concerned about.
[ He appreciates the gift, but he also values his independence. He could not and should not rely on anyone else to protect him. But Damian's batarangs will be put in reserve. Bruce continues to work. Ace is still staring at that cat. ]
Good. I really rather you didn't attempt something this foolish and reckless by yourself.
[ Bruce knows when someone is taking a jab at him. Even a subtle one. Damian seems to have trouble accepting Bruce had truly been alone for over 2 decades prior to meeting Terry. He doesn't do well alone, Damian says, but that doesn't change the fact that he was and that was how he'd preferred it for a long time. ]
I wouldn't have needed a partner in this situation. It's something I would have handled myself. You, on the other hand? [ Probably shouldn't be doing it at all. But, he figures Damian's not going to listen to him regardless. ] Should have someone with you.
You wouldn't have requested access to the weapon, either. You would have simply gone in and taken it.
( damian wouldn't have needed help, either, if he'd opted to do this the batman method of take first, ask questions later. but that would have caused enough chaos that damian opted to not go that route. if he'd been given access, he could have studied it. could have come up with contingencies for the gemstone. instead, he's going to have to fight for it.
damian gets a spoon to scoop a few spoonfuls of sugar into the tea, then climbs up onto the counter to make himself comfortable. alfred, being the cat he is, leaps up onto damian's shoulders to wrap himself around his neck comfortably while damian takes a few sips out of the mug. )
[ He's right. The second Bruce knew it was dangerous, he'd have taken matters into his own hands and fixed the problem before it became a problem. Sometimes it was easier to ask for forgiveness than it was permission, so to speak. If the Zaunites didn't like it, then maybe they'd reconsider having dangerous people wielding dangerous weapons unsupervised.
He finishes the batarang he's been working on and polishes it. He picks up another piece of metal and gets to work again. ]
What do you plan to do if you can't get your hands on it?
( there's multiple ways he could answer. ingrained training says to not accept no for an answer and get his fingers on the weapon regardless of what it costs. the little voice in his head that asks what would dick grayson do leans more towards finding an answer in between: if the zaunites don't want to hand it over, use a more peaceful resolution to develop a contingency plan against the weapon or ensure that they've put it into the hands of someone who isn't described as crazy. )
Considering your physical state, I don't see how that's relevant to you. It's not as if you could assist regardless.
( he has friends, here. companions who would lend a hand, who have capabilities beyond his own limitations. and beyond those friends, damian knows several who would lend a hand to ensure they're all safe regardless of how they feel about damian. if he doesn't get his hands on it? there are other options. )
[ That. Gets him to stop working. He sets the tools down and swivels his chair around, not to face Damian directly, but toward the open part of the room. Ace is still settled by his feet and finally looks away from the cat at Bruce.
He never liked being reminded he's in no condition to do much of anything. A sharp mind trapped in an aging cage. For a moment, he thinks about that stupid Lazarus Pit and how desperate he'd been. He'd accepted his condition then. Didn't mean he cared to have it thrown in his face.
None of the other Bats here particularly needed him. So it beg the question: ]
Then why are you here? You don't need my permission to do this. Were you just looking for someone to agree with you?
( bruce stops working. looks over to him, and damian, for a moment, considers answering the question honestly: he was looking for someone who would approve of his plan, who would justify his decision to try and get ahold of the weapon because it shouldn't just be in anyone's hands. he knew that this bruce has significantly more experience than the other, that he understands why damian would want to make sure it wasn't in the hands of someone dangerous, even if it meant angering a few other individuals.
instead of answering, damian just throws bruce a sour look, and sets his cup down so he can jump off the counter. )
[ He reaches for his cane, hauls himself upright and heads for a different part of the apartment. Somewhere that put distance and a wall between them. Damian could see himself out the same way he got in. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
text » un: d.wayne
( this version of bruce is ancient, clearly he could use the handicap of getting a warning before he's attacked by drop robins. )
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[ the warning lets him know to make himself scarce. ]
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You do realize this only makes finding you more entertaining, yes?
( they're playing hide and seek, and damian intends to win. )
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If you have something to tell me just do it.
[ good luck, Damian. ]
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I don't need to have a reason for my visit.
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[ even if it's just to flush him out of hiding. Which he is totally, absolutely not doing. ]
I'm fine. I don't need supplies and there's nothing I need to talk about.
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There is nothing beyond my reach.
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Good luck.
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it was five minutes before damian began the hunt, not from when he intended on finding bruce. no, by the time he does manage to track down his movements, it's closer to fifteen minutes. twenty and change, taking into account goliath isn't the stealthiest creature, and damian needed an easy way into kwik trip without alerting anyone. he's out of uniform, given bruce doesn't seem to be in anything close to one, but damian wayne was never one to allow clothing to dictate his actions.
because he's still inside the air vents of the building, quietly crawling through them and waiting, until bruce is positioned close enough under one that damian can kick the vent open (swinging open, it's not falling off entirely) and drop straight down from inside to, hopefully, land atop bruce's shoulders. )
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He didn't doubt Damian figured out where he is holing up, since Damian had enough courtesy to announce a countdown. So it's right here that Bruce responds to the first message. And where he almost anticipates the ambush. Bruce keeps an eye on the entrance and a door he assumes leads to a back room, while he pours his coffee into a paper cup.
Neither of them seem to be the definitive point of entry. Damian is quiet in the vents - to people not trained to listen for that kind of ambush. Anyone else would have had the little gremlin land on their shoulders. Bruce is thankfully not just anyone. So when the cover kicks open just above his head, Bruce has enough warning to step to one side and swing his cane in Damian's direction. ]
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so he doesn't reach for any of his weapons to block the cane when it comes out towards him, instead raising an arm to block it with his forearm. the impact causes him to slide slightly off from where he'd originally intended on hitting the ground - but he manages to land on the balls of his feet regardless, rocking backwards instead of the preferred roll forward into a somersault, so he's instead knocked back onto his ass on the ground.
damian grins, one hand moving back to press his palm against the floor to keep him sitting up even as he leans back against his hand. )
Good. I would be disappointed, if you slowed down in your old age.
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Ambushing me from the air vents would have been clever, [ He takes a sip of his coffee then reaches for a bit of cream. ] if I hadn't heard you coming.
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( it's not a question. it's a statement, one damian sounds absolutely certain of and will refuse to accept any alternative answer for.
he does start to get his feet back under him, moving up onto his knees before standing upright and raising a hand to - fuss with his hair that's refusing to stay styled up. the woes of being short a butler. )
And if I had opened it any slower to prevent noise, you would have seen me coming.
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[ Subtle enough for their purposes. But Bruce isn't in the business of giving credit where it's due. If Damian thinks he's good and from all appearances, he is, Bruce will let him know he could stand to improve. He picks up his cup when he's satisfied and turns around as Damian gets to his feet. ]
Now that you've found me, what do you want?
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but damian, despite the very irked expression on his face, doesn't argue against him. yet. instead, he grabs onto his own paper cup and shoves into bruce to get to the coffee machine. )
I never said I wanted anything.
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Then you need to go home.
[ He doesn't say and stop bothering me. But the implication is there. He told the younger Bruce he wouldn't be too hard on them so that's how he plans on keeping his word. ]
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( he understands what bruce was getting at. unfortunately for his father, damian refuses to abide by his demands. instead, he stays leaned up against him, and takes a drink out of the coffee cup once it's half-filled.
makes a face over how distasteful it is, then reaches for the sugar. )
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Well if you're going to insist, help me.
[ He lifts his cane and points to the bag beside the coffee maker. It's instant coffee and bottles of fresh spring water. ]
Carry that.
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»Tt«.
( the lid goes back onto his own coffee cup, and damian picks that up as he takes a step back from the counter, but not the bag. )
You're more than capable of carrying your own groceries. I don't take orders from those who haven't earned the right to give them.
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If you're coming with me, keep up.
[ not that he's particularly fast - he isn't - but if he and the boy are going to speak then he'd rather do it while they're moving. ]
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Where have you decided to settle in?
( not that it matters all that much, really. damian doesn't need the answer, he has plenty of ways to find out himself. but he knows that, occasionally, people prefer to actually tell others their plans, rather than be stalked down to find out. )
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I thought you would have figured that out by now.
[ But Bruce is kind enough to nod toward the apartment building. ]
I'm in one of the units there.
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Is there a particular reason why?
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[ Plus that avoidant attachment style. ]
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What happened to Pennyworth?
( he may already be ancient by damian's standards, and while he's well-aware that no one lives forever, especially not in their line of work, a future without pennyworth feels - wrong. )
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[ The answer is short and clipped. Because it still hurts to acknowledge even though it's been years. Though once it's out of his mouth, Bruce realizes how poorly that could sound. Their lives had been fraught with danger for many years, it could be easy to assume something horrific happened. And he didn't want that on the boy's mind, so he adds: ]
Peacefully.
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That's good. He deserves at least that much.
( to die peacefully, surrounded by those he loves and knowing everything would be taken care of in his absence. )
Grayson?
( they've fought before. grayson leaving the house for an extended period of time isn't - odd, but leaving bruce alone feels off. )
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I can manage the rest of the way.
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( he knows this is bruce trying to get rid of him. damian - just isn't going to let him do it that easily.
so he takes several quick steps forward, turning around in front of bruce to block his path. looks at him. )
What happened with Grayson?
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He left.
[ Now just going to go around him to finish the rest of the walk home alone. ]
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he steps around damian, but damian stubbornly refuses to let him go alone. instead, he starts following him, again. )
Grayson wouldn't just leave.
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Maybe the Grayson you know. I haven't spoken to Dick in years.
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( dick grayson is a universal constant, regardless of if he deserves the responsibility that comes along with that title. damian knows. refuses to accept anything else. bruce should know. )
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You don't know what you're talking about.
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( bruce stops, and damian stops too, head tipped up to look right at him. )
Look at me. I am a direct result of your inability to communicate well with others. Perhaps not yours, but Bruce Wayne's.
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I never told him he couldn't come back. That was a choice he made.
[ Maybe he made Dick feel like he couldn't come back. Maybe not. But the truth was, he left and neither of them ever reached out. But if he wanted to come home, even now, after all these years, Bruce would have welcomed him. ]
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( regardless of what happened, damian's not going to let it get pushed onto grayson's shoulders. he knows better, and if there's one person damian is overly protective of - )
Just like Grayson is good at pulling you back from your attempts at self-destruction. That's what Robin was meant for, wasn't it?
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[ Or any of theirs. It's what he told Terry when he asked for the suit back. It's what he still thinks now. Maybe he was asking too much of them. They'd give their best but it wasn't enough. ]
So, stop trying to make it yours, because it isn't.
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( including but not limited to - standing right here, getting in bruce's way as he tries to walk away from everyone and pretend he's alone, when he's clearly not. )
If I want to make it my responsibility, there's nothing you can do to stop me.
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[ Doesn't know when he's being pushed away. When it's for his own good. Let this grumpy old man, be old and grumpy in peace. ]
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( damian will fight him regardless of how ancient bruce is, don't think he won't. )
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You realize this would be significantly easier on you if you would just listen to me, yes?
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I didn't ask you to follow me.
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No, you didn't. But we both know that you off on your own is a horrid idea.
( he's so tired. first there was the younger bruce wayne, and now there's this - older, more jaded one. damian thought dealing with the naive, barely-batman version of his father was exhausting enough, but at least he. . . acknowledges attachments. he's reached out to damian, held onto him, treated him like a son rather than a nuisance.
granted, damian is used to it both ways by now. )
I'm not going to leave you alone.
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Go back to your father, Damian.
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( damian acknowledges that the younger batman may need more support than this aged one. he's new, still adjusting to the mantle, and as much as damian insists bruce needs someone - bruce has been supporting damian just as much. damian would say he can't, his father is back home, but he understands that's not what he means. there is a bruce wayne here who damian has stuck beside since the beginning, who he intends to return to later, because batman needs robin just as much as robin needs batman.
but that also brings him back to the batman in front of him. )
He wouldn't have recognized me if I hadn't told him who I was. He's yet to meet Mother. Yet you were able to discern my identity in mere minutes.
( which reminds him - )
How is Mother?
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There's no delicate way to put this and Bruce imagines Damian will not accept a nothing answer. If his persistence about Dick was any indication. ]
She's gone. Ra's took over her body when his deteriorated.
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ra's had tried to do the same with damian's body just after he'd met his father. his body had been horrendously injured, leaving him in a position where he felt the need to jump ship into a new one - and that had been the purpose of damian's existence, hadn't it? a heir to the league, to ensure the al ghul lineage continued. and given how ra's has often doubted his and talia's capability to continue his work - well. without damian there to take over, his mother would be first choice. )
If you hadn't shut everyone out, it wouldn't have been her. It would have been me, and you would've saved me.
( talia was not a good parent, but damian would argue she didn't deserve being erased. it's almost, almost as upsetting as grayson being - absent. )
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I should have stopped him before it got that far.
[ But his heart and his pride stopped him. Thank goodness he had Terry. ]
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( it's easy to repeat the obvious. bruce should have been there to save her. he shouldn't have let ra's destroy his daughter, damian's mother, to complete his quest. )
Grandfather's concern with legacy will ultimately be his downfall.
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[ It's Ra's so of course there's always a possibility he survived. But that explosion had been pretty decisive. And so had Ra's insistent he remain with his equipment. ]
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( he's hoping that, regardless of whose world it is, that talia managed to survive regardless of ra's presence in her body. that she managed to wrangle control out from under him in time to survive, because damian's mother would not be erased so easily. because she deserves better. )
She loved you, and you couldn't even manage to save her.
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I don't have to justify myself to you.
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( if the flat tone doesn't give away how little damian believes any of that, the blank look on his face will.
he's trying to get a rise out of him. trying to find batman under the layers bruce has used to hide himself. )
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Damian wants a rise out him? He very nearly gets it, because Bruce turns to look at the boy, to stalk closer to close the gap between them. Bruce told the younger one he wouldn't be so hard on them. But he was never very good at keeping promises. ]
You're right. You are the child of another Bruce Wayne. Not me. I am not your father and you do not know anything. Now go pester someone else.
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You are unworthy of the name Batman. Pennyworth would be ashamed.
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Your validation means nothing to me.
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( but his expression. . . shifts. for a moment, he looks almost sad before damian manages to get himself under control once again and shifts the small, sad frown into an outright scowl again.
and turns around on his heels, to head in the opposite direction of bruce. )
text. b.
Which room number are you in the apartments?
un: b.wayne | text
[ He's never in the mood. ]
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Wasn't a request. I have something for you.
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309.
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He's in costume when he arrives, the much younger version of the Batmobile tucked away within the shadows outside as he makes his way up. The suit, much like the car — much like him — is younger as well. It lacks the finer details most of the suits the others here wear in terms of lenses especially; hence the thick grease paint beneath the cowl. Regardless of it's infancy in terms of types he'll [eventually] come to wear, it's still built with strength and mobility in mind and still wears the bat across the chest that actually is a hidden tactical knife.
Kind enough to wait there outside the door, he gives a few knocks with the back of his gloved hand and waits. Staring to the ground as he does. )
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Shut the door.
[ The apartment is nothing remarkable. But it is, for the most part, dark, except for a corner of the room lit by a single table lamp. ]
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When he finally regards the other man, his voice is soft albeit in a way that's very much Batman and not so much Bruce. )
I take it you don't wear a suit anymore?
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he glances over his shoulder at Bruce's question then he sits before answering. ]
No. My last suit is in the possession of a new Batman.
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Didn't come with an extra one myself.
( A gentle attempt at a joke for not having one for him to spare.
Reaching into his utility belt, he pulls out a USB drive and, coming over to him there, holds it out for him to take. )
This has everything regarding this place thus far. Events, names of people, past and present, things of interest mentioned.
( Because of course he keeps track of it all, even if he doesn't make his presence entirely known on the networks. )
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Bruce isn't so humorless that he can't appreciate the younger's attempt at a joke. He smiles, even if it's a small one. ]
Don't think I'll be needing it.
[ He reaches for the usb drive, nods at the thorough description Bruce gives him. ]
Much faster than gathering on my own. I'll have to find a computer to put it to use.
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( He knows how he is and so can only imagine how the other man is. Still, it's an offer made, like the stick with all the data of this place he's collected over the nearly... year he's been here. Really is coming up to that in a few months.
Again, he takes a look around the place — notices the scarcity of it all and how much it mimics his own living idea. Granted, Wayne Tower came with everything he'd had back in his own Gotham— well. Almost everything. Alfred hadn't tagged along here. But even so, with all the things littered about the penthouse, so much of his time was spent beneath it in the cave he's made for himself. He wonders what this Bruce's own cave looks like and if it's similar to the one beneath the Manor here. )
Consider it an early birthday present. If you want.
( To which he looks back to the other man, curious about that date and if they share it. )
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[ Bruce preferred keeping his independence. He wouldn't have others feeling responsible for him. And from the looks of it, this Bruce had his hands full with the other Bats. This one, he wouldn't have to worry himself over.
At the birthday quip, Bruce gets to his feet to put the usb away. He didn't like thinking about his birthday. He couldn't believe it was nearly that time again. 81 years old. ]
Better than the musical.
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He watches the other man in silence as he moves about — countless things running through his head. It's still difficult to really accept that this is some other version of him, albeit much older and who has had countless years of experience wearing the cape and cowl. He's never encountered anything like this before, here or back in his own Gotham. It has him wonder just how mundane his own Gotham must be to him or even the other bats around. Granted, maybe like him, his own Gotham is in its infancy and there's still a great deal to come. For both it and him. )
Clark was here. For a bit.
( A namedrop he's curious to see the other man's reaction to. )
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There's no visible reaction to the mention of Clark. He hadn't spoken to Clark in years - shocking. ]
Did you have a contingency for him?
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( He hadn't had much to work with in making one for him. Gaze dropping, he stares to the floor. Quiet. )
He was young, from what I gathered, yet he recognized Batman, though I was considered young to him.
( Despite his reservations regarding the Kryptonian, they shared that in common: being new and inexperienced to the weight that came with the legacy their other selves carried. The legacy they might eventually come to carry themselves. )
He's been gone for about one hundred and eighty-four days.
( Not that he's been counting or anything. )
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[ He doesn't scold. Doesn't condemn. Clark is a good man deep down. And before Bruce had closed himself off, he had considered Clark one of his dearest friends. But he's powerful and despite all of that power, in Bruce's experience, he was easily susceptible to mind control and could be turned in an instant.
He doesn't want to tarnish this young man's view of Clark however, so keeps the little tidbit about Justice Lord Superman to himself. ]
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There's a Superman here. Though he's not Clark. If he's just as dangerous as Clark is capable of being, might be best to keep an eye on him.
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[ Which isn't exactly a shocking revelation. Bruce didn't trust anyone. Not even his own children. It was partly why each one of his relationships broke down. But there was an undercurrent of hostility from this Superman. A flippant attitude that does little to put him at ease. ]
If you have kryptonite, keep it within reach.
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Is it always going to be like this?
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Not always. But most of the time, yes.
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Do you regret it?
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There are things I would have done differently. But, no.
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Standing there in silence, he turns some — looks as if he's about to walk away, but. He doesn't. Instead, he stares down to the floor and, despite his back slightly turned, there's an expression there on his face that can almost be felt. One that's filled with a bitter hope. )
Did you find out who killed our parents? ( A beat. ) Did you catch them?
( Do we catch them? Because every criminal he comes across — every one he beats down to the cold, hard cement, he hopes is them. )
so it's unclear whether or not he gets caught so im going with a bit of headcanon
Eventually. He didn't remember me at first. But by the end, I made sure he'd never forget.
👍
But he stares to him with those blue eyes through the grease paint beneath the cowl and he's left feeling a hundred different things all in the span of a few mere seconds. )
Then there's a possibility.
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[ He's met other Batmen before and for the most part their lives were similar enough to be near indistinguishable. Especially that singular moment that would spiral their lives into vigilantism. ]
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I won't remember if I leave here.
( But.. )
Who?
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[ Regardless. If the roles were reversed, Bruce would want to know too. ]
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( Given the things he's heard concerning the two mob bosses, he needs to know. )
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[ He wishes he had more to offer. He spent a long time trying to put more meaning behind their deaths than reality permitted. In the end, it wasn't a grand conspiracy, no matter the angle Bruce looked at it from. In the end, it was just human cruelty in its purest form. ]
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I go out every night... hoping that maybe, this time, it'll be the one.
( That it will be the murderer of his parents he's throwing up against a wall or beating down into the ground. )
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[ No body armor. No gadgets. No cape or cowl. Just a young man with too much and too much anger. When he was still learning how to be Batman. ]
If you catch him? It won't be enough. You won't stop.
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( Words that are soft and tired, yet still hold such conviction behind them. )
Joker’s in Arkham. Penguin is around. The Riddler is who I’m dealing with now when it’s not corrupt cops and the mob.
( Another day in Gotham, in other words. )
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You never will.
[ Because there's always a crisis. There's always a fire to put out. Batman is always needed. That's why Bruce finally accepted the need for a new one.
The crisis he's left behind in his own Gotham has Bruce wanting to warn him. To tell him Arkham would never contain the Joker. That his reach his long and he'd use it to warp his life maybe beyond recognition.
He wants to. But he doesn't. He just looks away instead. ]
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Glancing up, he looks over to him and sees the way he looks away. )
What is it?
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[ Not what he wanted to say. ]
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He's more infuriating than anything if you ask me.
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[ It's only down hill from here. ]
They're all infuriating.
[ The sentence trails off. He knows he's broadcasting. That there's more. It's just whether he wants to give it words. So he'd at least have some idea of what he's getting into, even if he might not remember it back in his own Gotham. In the end, he decides to hell with it. If someone had warned him, maybe things could have been different for Tim. For all of them. ]
But none of them will be more dangerous to you than the Joker.
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But it doesn’t have to be like that. What’s happened to the Bruce Damian has for a father or this one before him now, doesn't mean it will happen for him. There’s no proof or guarantee it will. Still, it’s not as if he doesn’t take some things into consideration. Doesn’t listen to what he’s given. )
It’s been a year almost since I put him in Arkham. Since we first met.
( One year since The Joker and The Batman began. )
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[ It's something he couldn't tell Terry. The memories are painful and he'd rather they stay in the past where it belongs. But this man hasn't had to live it and if Bruce could prevent it from happening, even in some small way, why wouldn't he? ]
Back home, he's dead. Tim shot him, after weeks of torture. I am not saying you should kill him. Just be aware that his reach is long and the shadow he can cast over you can stretch even longer than that.
[ He's cut out some important bits of the story, but the broad strokes are there. He did not kill the Joker, but it was the closest he'd ever come to breaking his no kill rule. 40 years of that eating away at him. Is it any wonder he's been alone and bitter this whole time? ]
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So the thought of him being dead is one that gets him to look over to the other man — to stare in silence before he's dropping his gaze again momentarily. He can't claim to know Tim in the way he knows Damian or even Dick here. But he knows he's the third Robin and that he wouldn't train him to murder anyone they ever came up against. But to have been tortured at the hands of The Joker for weeks... )
Is he alright?
( A beat. )
Tim.
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The honest answer is I don't know. ]
I refused to let him continue as Robin so he left. As far as I know, he's fine.
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Staring to the other man, he's quiet again — gaze dropping for only a moment in thought before he's looking back up to him. )
Are we ever able to protect them?
( Dick, Jason, Tim, Damian. )
Or is nothing we do ever enough?
( Because it's beginning to make him wonder. )
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The other Bruce's question lands heavily. Because in the end? Bruce couldn't protect them. Not back then and especially not now. He couldn't even protect himself. Not really. Not like he could when he was 40 years younger.
He wants to say no. But that feels hopeless and Bruce is...not completely devoid of that. Not yet. ]
Don't do that to yourself. Just keep them close.
[ Don't be like him is what he's saying. ]
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His gaze drops, silence to follow as always is typical of both Bruce Wayne and The Batman. He can't say he tries his best to keep them close, but he also doesn't go out of his way to avoid them either. Not like he first did when he found himself here anyways. Were it not for Damian's relentlessness in seeing to it that he wasn't left alone, he doesn't know where he'd be with the young Wayne, let alone the others. But he still finds himself, every now and then, leaning back into his reclusive tendencies, especially after Clark had disappeared. Someone he had thought of as a friend. )
They're curious about you. Like they were me. We're not the man they've known throughout their lives, but they still feel drawn to us. I guess because we're familiar.
( Even if they're different in their own ways. )
So try to do the same. ( Keep them close. ) Even when you don't want to.
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He takes what this younger Bruce is saying - it sounds idealistic. It sounds foolish. Bruce isn't going to do it - and puts it away. ]
Is that all you wanted?
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Yeah.
( The word comes soft and simple, a turn made to take his leave before he stops. )
Be careful with this place. It has a way of twisting things as a means to break you.
( Like the image of their mother. )
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[ Bruce doesn't sound dismissive or flippant. Just tired. ]
But I take your warning. Take care of yourself, Bruce.
text. b.
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[ The Dick he knew had long since left. He's used to that. ]
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I'm sure he's aware people leave. He doesn't need me to hold his hand.
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( protective father side gently showing?? )
I was just telling you the situation. Even if they’re not ours or we don’t have the same relationship with them here as we did or do or might have some day, I figured you’d want to know.
( because they’re both still batman. )
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It was probably for the best though. ]
Damian will be fine. So will you.
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Go take care of your son.
un: gorgug, text
Hey. I don't know if you saw but Aurora asked people to go to Solmara to help the AI there. I volunteered to go and she accepted and it's during the mission. I won't be back until the end.
Sorry.
[ F-for ditching an old man a second time?? ]
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[ He has his kids and baby Bruce around and his dog! So he won't be alone. ]
Do you think you'll be able to document what you see over there?
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[ It won't be thorough enough for Bruce's standards, but he's in no position to go himself. So he'll have to make do. ]
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Okay.
I can get pictures too.
[ Just like a vacation! ]
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Good. Get as many as you can.
text. b.
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There's something you should know. I met Dr. Langstrom while we were there.
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But I will not admit to anything.
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But back home, people will find out and you need to plan for it.
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[ Were you feeling judged, Bruce? ]
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Your Robin's identity is already compromised, which you didn't seem to know. If Kirk Langstrom is even a half competent Batman, then he's likely already figured out who the rest of us are.
Or he could have simply had his Superman do it for him.
You are not as prepared as you think you are.
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text » un: d.wayne
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Please?
( as in, tell him where you're hiding out, bruce. this isn't a conversation to be had where eyes can see it. )
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[ must be serious if Damian is saying please. ]
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once he's got his feet inside the building, damian shoves the hood off of his head with a huff, and pulls a full-grown tuxedo cat out of his shirt, too.
because clearly he needed to show up with a friend for ace. the cat yowls and begins sauntering through the apartment like he owns it, while damian - makes his way to the kitchen. he'll get to the reason behind his visit in a minute. )
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So he isn't alarmed when the window opens and Damian drops inside. Ace is alert, until he spots Damian and the yowling cat he produces from his hoodie. The cat keeps him from laying back down.
The apartment is dark, save for a table lamp in the corner with the recliner and another small lamp on the table where Bruce works. The kitchen is sparse. There's a coffee maker on the counter and a bit of food and tea in the cabinets, but the fridge is mostly empty. ]
Did you have to bring your cat?
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( so, yes, he did need to bring the cat. who seems entirely unbothered by the presence of ace, especially given how many other animals alfred the cat has gotten used to over the last few years.
the coffee doesn't interest him, given how bitter it is. damian searches through the tea and - wrinkles his nose when he doesn't find what he's actually looking for, but he'll put some water into a pot and turn on the stove to bring it to a boil regardless. )
I wanted to ask for your opinion on something.
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What is it?
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Someone here has a dangerous gemstone they're using to power a gun. A gun which, with this power source, can dissolve someone into mere particles. If that isn't dangerous enough, the person who had previous custody of it does not want to bring any more of these into existence in Etraya, but wants to experiment with the gemstone that already exists planet-side. Yet the girl who currently has it has been described as "on a crazy amount of drugs" and the person who originally had possession of it is afraid to confront her due to her fighting capabilities.
How would you address this potential threat?
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But, simply based on this alone? ]
Find it. Disable it. Put the gemstone out of reach of either parties. If the gun's original owner cannot get it back himself because he is afraid then he can't be trusted to keep the gemstone safe.
[ Simple. And yet...]
I'm sure you already knew what my answer would be. Why are you really asking me this?
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( see, he knew bruce would agree with him. of course he would. finding and disabling the weapon is the most reasonable action to take here, especially given what information they do have. what if they leave it out there, and it ends up killing someone? what if they manage to amp up it's power, and this girl takes them all out? what if he were to return it to talis, and the tinkering ended with the entire thing backfiring on them all?
damian knows what he's talking about. it's todd who doesn't. )
You understand. I am surprised he does not.
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But so far, he is not disagreeing with Damian. ]
The situation might need his kind of nuance. But that can be considered when the dangerous weapon is disarmed.
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( he regrets asking now. it would have been a lot easier to take it if they hadn't had warning. damian puts the tea back into his mug, leaves the pot of water on and walks his way over to bruce and his work. )
Now Todd is conversing with the girl's father, as if my request itself was wholly unreasonable. I hadn't even threatened to remove it from her directly, I wanted to see if I could find a way to disable it.
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How do you plan to regain the element of surprise? If the girl is an addict, it shouldn't be hard.
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( when what would dick grayson do? works against them, there's not really much one can do to throw off the other party again.
damian reaches into his hoodie, pulling out a few thin batarangs to drop them into the surface of the table beside bruce. they're sharp, well-made, and sturdy. it's an offering, given what the man seems to have been attempting to do. )
Now that Todd is working against me, I'll need more than to just surprise them. I'm assuming that now that I've warned them, they'll be attempting to replicate the gemstone and temporarily replace it until after I pocket the false one. And with Todd on their side, they'll have an extreme advantage over me: he's aware of what tools I would be using to examine it. If I want any chance of retrieving it, I would need to immediately approach them. Go in before they have time to prepare.
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Instead, he turns away, picks up the perfectly balanced batarang, then sets it aside to continue working on his own. ]
When you get your hands on it, I'll help you figure out how to dismantle it.
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I have a... friend, here, whose abilities would be useful in dismantling it and discerning what, exactly, it's capable of. That part I wasn't concerned about.
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Good. I really rather you didn't attempt something this foolish and reckless by yourself.
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( it's a dig at bruce - or at least a little bit of one. given how the man seems to prefer working alone and all.
damian turns off the stove, tips the pot over the mug he'd put one of the tea bags into, and pours it until it's almost full.
and then starts sifting around cabinets for the sugar. )
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I wouldn't have needed a partner in this situation. It's something I would have handled myself. You, on the other hand? [ Probably shouldn't be doing it at all. But, he figures Damian's not going to listen to him regardless. ] Should have someone with you.
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( damian wouldn't have needed help, either, if he'd opted to do this the batman method of take first, ask questions later. but that would have caused enough chaos that damian opted to not go that route. if he'd been given access, he could have studied it. could have come up with contingencies for the gemstone. instead, he's going to have to fight for it.
damian gets a spoon to scoop a few spoonfuls of sugar into the tea, then climbs up onto the counter to make himself comfortable. alfred, being the cat he is, leaps up onto damian's shoulders to wrap himself around his neck comfortably while damian takes a few sips out of the mug. )
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He finishes the batarang he's been working on and polishes it. He picks up another piece of metal and gets to work again. ]
What do you plan to do if you can't get your hands on it?
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Considering your physical state, I don't see how that's relevant to you. It's not as if you could assist regardless.
( he has friends, here. companions who would lend a hand, who have capabilities beyond his own limitations. and beyond those friends, damian knows several who would lend a hand to ensure they're all safe regardless of how they feel about damian. if he doesn't get his hands on it? there are other options. )
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He never liked being reminded he's in no condition to do much of anything. A sharp mind trapped in an aging cage. For a moment, he thinks about that stupid Lazarus Pit and how desperate he'd been. He'd accepted his condition then. Didn't mean he cared to have it thrown in his face.
None of the other Bats here particularly needed him. So it beg the question: ]
Then why are you here? You don't need my permission to do this. Were you just looking for someone to agree with you?
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instead of answering, damian just throws bruce a sour look, and sets his cup down so he can jump off the counter. )
I'm leaving.
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[ He reaches for his cane, hauls himself upright and heads for a different part of the apartment. Somewhere that put distance and a wall between them. Damian could see himself out the same way he got in. ]