etrayalogs | ( closed ) bred, born, and raised to kick your ass

My workspace.

( his batcave.

he watches as damian wanders around — as he touches walls here and there. silent. cape just barely tucked around him. )

I can take care of myself you know.

( he's not scolding him for following, just. letting him know. )

No, you can't.

( his tone leaves no room for argument, even though damian knows well bruce would try to. batman is a capable fighter. he's fine on his own, when it comes to fighting crime, investigating buildings, detective work and the like. he's not fine for all the other pieces that come with being batman, which is what damian's here for.

and there's also, )

Would you prefer it if I went out on patrol by myself?

( damian's more than capable of handling himself in combat, he's shown bruce as much. but he also knows - bruce held onto him tight when they'd woken up from their shared dream, he's has developed an. . . attachment of sorts to him, and damian is a child as far as bruce is concerned. not one who he's watched take out gotham's worst either. as much as he dislikes playing the child card, he would prefer a nonviolent method to convince bruce to cease the i can take care of myself commentary when damian follows him. )

( he knows what he's trying to get at. what he's trying to do and it has bruce stare at him out of the corner of his eye. )

You seem capable.

( and he'll just leave it at that as he starts to walk again.

steps are slow and heavy as they often are when he's not making an attempt to hide within the shadows. focused on a particular area of the lobby he's making his way towards. stopping there, he looks up — looks to the chittering bats that are moving about. some fluttering. some stretching their wings. some still feeling lazy from the looks of it.

a glance back to the wall, he reaches out, feels around, and presses a hidden button that opens a hidden elevator that bruce steps his way into. )

( capable enough to dig a blade into bruce's flesh through the batsuit, enough to have almost beaten him down if they had continued their fight. damian's a little concerned at how easily it had been to cut flesh, but he supposes - this bruce isn't used to sparring with robins, yet. and he dislikes fighting children, especially ones who clearly aren't intending on actually causing harm. or, no more harm than what bruce can handle.

the taser was an excellent choice. if damian had been anyone else, he would have been down. he'll give praise where it's due.

but bruce doesn't agree with him, not really, and he isn't complaining about having a tail, so damian stays on him. presses his hand against the back of a chair, vaulting himself over it into a backward somersault that he lands on his hands and arches his back enough that his legs towards his front rather than bending backward like most would.

he's stretching. and keeps on walking that way, hands on the ground, until bruce steps into the hidden elevator. damian drops his feet down onto the ground and trails after him on into it. )

Your workspace. So, your cave.

( a statement, not a question. and he's dropping back down onto his hands, hooking his heels over the arm railing of the elevator, knees bent, and - hangs upside down on it. )

( he doesn't know what he expected when damian decided to follow him in but... the way in which he does is not anything he could have predicted. it has him stand there. stare. watch and wait for damian to get himself in and then... hang upside down like he does.

again. there's silence. a slow turn of his head towards him. )

Thought you were a bird, not a bat.

( hanging upside down and all.

closing the gate of the elevator, he presses a button and they start to go up. )

( he's still upside down as the elevator starts to go up, weight balanced carefully on his heels, and damian - raises his arms to cross them over his chest, watching bruce. )

I completed my Robin training under an aerialist. Being Robin is about being flexible. ( a hand raises, reaching out to gesture towards bruce. ) To cover Batman's weaknesses.

( the elevator slowly makes its way up and bruce stands there, staring at the closed gate. )

I don't have weaknesses.

( as if batman would ever say otherwise. )

( right. of course he doesn't. damian rolls his eyes and drops his hand, to press his fingers against the ground below him. unhooks his heels from the railing and drops his legs forward so he can land back onto his feet. )

Batman is built for brute strength. To be large and intimidating, to terrify Gotham's ruffians to cease their idiocy. Robin doesn't need brute strength, but flexibility.

( with more meaning than one, but damian's getting there. maybe. )

My size and muscle build are meant to cover your blind spots. You can't fit into air vents, I can. I can easily find ways to sneak into facilities you would not be able to. I can blend into crowds you cannot.

( out of the corner of his eye, he watches as damian flips himself upright. listens as he goes on to explain his role of robin alongside the batman. yet he doesn't comment on any of it. doesn't even seem to acknowledge that he's taken anything into consideration. he just stands there. silent. staring at the closed gate until the elevator jostles to a stop and he steps forward to open the gate.

when they step out it's on the highest two floors of the tower. the penthouse. where bruce lives with alfred. at least... back in his gotham.

he stands there. not necessarily reluctant but... just taking a moment before he's slowly making his way through it. the elevator is located away from everything — a secret only he and alfred know — and the time it takes to make his way to the main room. everything is where it should be. everything is how it should be and that alone has bruce carefully looking around as he goes. wondering.

where the large round table is, he stops. stares down to the floor in a way that shows he's bothered by something. it wasn't like this last he saw the place. the last he'd been in it. it's missing the spray painting he'd done to the floors in his anger and frustration for what had happened to alfred. )

( bruce stands there, silent as he inspects the penthouse. damian opts to take a different approach, and grins as he grabs onto his grapple gun, getting a running start towards the very bruce-like rafters on the ceiling, and - launches the grapple gun up into them, his body following moments after with a laugh.

he lands with a foot up against wood, and takes a running start across the rest of them - jumping from rafter to rafter, hands gripping onto wood when he drops a little too low to land on his feet. once he's made his way into the main room where bruce pauses, his knees hook into the rafters, dropping himself upside down once more as his thumb and index finger form 'binoculars' over his eyes.

looks over the area. )

The aesthetic suits you, Father.

( looks like the manor, really. )

( damian goes about having his fun throughout the main room while bruce stands there and stares to the hardwood flooring. the fact that it's clean and not defaced with white spray paint as he'd done without the supervision of alfred has him wondering how or why the... bots around here... constructed all this. surely they must have done so from memory — an attempt to make those here feel at home with familiar objects and places. it's just... strange and a clear reminder to him that, while this is his tower, it's also not. a replication. now he has to wonder what it all looks like underneath. if there's even anything at all.

he slowly throws a glance damian's way. sees the way he continues to hang upside down and make binoculars for himself out of his hands. seeing him like this... how can he not picture him as just a kid running around in a costume? a kid capable of stabbing him, mind you, but. still just a kid. or as much of one as he lets himself be. )

The Manor. ( he turns more towards damian. ) Is it exactly as it is for you?

( he's swinging a little, cape floating about under him as he turns his hand-binoculars bruce's way. drops them down, so he can lift himself and grab onto the rafter by his legs and sit himself back up. )

No. There are subtle differences, excluding the obvious resource-related ones. ( and, well, there's also the fact of, ) There are three of us here, all of whom had been to the manor last at different times. That may be related. But the picture you had found shouldn't have been present either.

( todd hadn't come to the manor in quite some time. drake's been occupied, damian. . . was with jon and their fathers before he'd ended up here, but he still lives in the manor. he isn't there every night, but he is there often enough. )

Edited 2024-04-16 23:24 (UTC)

( hm.

again, he looks down to the flooring where the table is. )

It wasn't like this when I left it. ( this room, he means. ) So I wonder if that was purposeful or not.

( it's associated with an impulsive moment of fear and anger and not how the room usually looks, so. it's possible they'd simply chosen to go with how it normally is as opposed to any drastic and sudden changes made prior. something to think about, he figures.

that being said, he slowly makes his way for one of the two staircases, going up. )

( right, next area to inspect.

damian drops off the rafters, and starts following bruce up the staircase - a good couple paces back. gives him space but not too much. he never knows when he might need to leap in front of him. )

It may have been intentional. How did you leave it?

( they'll need all the data to discern the potential whys, and damian - has none. he lived in the wayne tower penthouse, for a while, but it was significantly different than the way bruce has stylized this one. )

( he doesn't need to look behind him to know that damian is following along. why wouldn't he be? )

Disheveled.

( one way to put it.

reaching the middle of the stairs where it breaks before another flight is to be taken, he stands there in front of two large black doors. glances to the handles and notices the chains and lock there. hm. that remains the same.

staring to it a moment longer, he continues up the stairs then, heading for what would be his room within the penthouse which, upon entering, is very much bruce's room despite its slightly unkempt appearance. a few steps in, he looks around — looks for anything that might be out of place, then turns back around to face damian. )

( he's assuming that means bruce had either been throwing a tantrum, or someone had broken in. both are equally possible, so damian doesn't question why or how, just leaves it be as he tails bruce into what's clearly meant to be his room.

damian looks to the furniture, the bed, marking similarities between his father's bedroom and this one.

he was right before: the aesthetic is fairly on point. bruce looks to damian, and damian returns his gaze. )

Would you like some privacy?

No.

( the word is soft, mind wandering some as he stands there. gaze dropping for a moment, he starts again, intending to check beneath the tower. where wayne terminus would or should be. though he’s curious with what may or may not be there, given the fact that it isn’t as if this tower sits atop an abandoned train station as it does back in his gotham. )

How similar is this to the tower you know?

( he asks that as he leaves the room, heading back to the elevator to go down now instead of up. )

( right. back out of the room they go. damian waits until bruce has passed him to start trailing after again, a couple steps behind. he's not here to check out anything in particular, at least not this time. damian can investigate when he comes around after bruce has left. )

The penthouse was given a more modern renovation. The number of floors and shape of the building are identicial. The inside thus far looks entirely different.

( he also hasn't used the penthouse in quite some time, but that's not important. )

( at the elevator, he pulls open the gate again. stands there. waits for damian to enter first before he makes his way in after him and shuts it, pressing the button for down. )

The pictures of my parents in what’s considered to be their room in the manor are the ones that are on the dresser in their room here. ( the locked one which bruce walked by. ) I don’t know if that was intentional or a mistake.

( if they had accidentally been placed there or, they simply thought that was where it went, given bruce was still here regardless. )

The intention behind rebuilding our . . . homes hasn't been made clear yet. I suspect it's to lull us into a false sense of security, giving us things we want to make us more comfortable with our situation as they describe it.

( he's following after bruce, letting himself into the elevator and walking far enough back to leave the door, and the buttons, clear for bruce's use. this is his home, he's the one running through rooms, damian is merely here to keep an eye on him. )

It may have been intentional. Given it's your home, even if it wasn't currently by your memory. Pulling you back to your roots.

Considering why they've brought us here, my guess is making us feel comfortable by whatever means necessary is what they're aiming for. Or to simply be reminders of what it is we have to fight for.

( landmarks. places. things. all which hold some sense of familiarity or even sentimentality to them depending on the person. he wouldn't be surprised if that were the intention— the tactic they're using with places and things like wayne manor and wayne tower.

the elevator stops at the bottom and, like before, he pulls open the gate. steps out. stands there. it's not... exactly wayne terminus — he didn't think it would be what with there being no means of underground transportation he's been able to locate, but. it still holds the space. still has his little setup along train tracks that go nowhere — into a wall — and his small computer setup that, like at the manor, is more for show than anything else.

slowly, he makes his way inside — flicks on a light — and stands there as he takes a moment to see what is and isn't right. )

Their location choices could use some work if it's meant to be a reminder.

( he could clarify what he means by that, how wayne manor may hold significant meaning to damian, but he could think of at least a half dozen other places that would be a more effective reminder of what he's working to defend. and several others that would work better for drake and todd, too.

instead, he's looking out the elevator when the door opens, noting the station that - well, belongs there, even if the one he's familiar with has, )

No Bat-Trains?

( granted, he doubts bruce would be able to come up with bat-trains as good as drake's had been, even if damian won't admit to it out loud. because that'd be complementing tim, which is unforgivable.

still, he quickly lets himself out of the elevator and begins looking around what he's considering to be this bruce's cave. )

( The Look says it all, really. )

It was used as a private train station back in the sixties onward. In the eighties, my grandfather closed it down and it wasn't spoken of again.

( a slow turn of his head, he looks around the place — at how familiar it is and tries to remind himself that this isn't really home. )

I found it years after my parents murders. Decided to make it something... more.

( just as he's doing to himself. being the batman. )

Robin the Third used the space to develop something similar to bullet trains under Wayne Tower. They could travel through Gotham twenty times faster than the Batmobile was capable of. He employed several bots to continue digging tunnels where Gotham's architects wouldn't get in the way.

( tim is impressive, too clever, even if he's also one of damian's sworn mortal enemies. maybe not to the same extent as the likes of deathstroke, bane, or any of gotham's rogues, but. mortal enemy regardless.

the grapple gun gets shot up into the area above what he's assuming is bruce's main workstation, and damian zips off into the air - landing on the railing above with his weight balanced on the balls of his feet. squints down at the area below him. )

We should discuss your Rogues, in case we end up with more visitors from similar universes.

( he watches as damian zips off — as he steadies himself on a railing above. quiet. contemplative. then, after a moment, he makes his way over to that workstation. slowly. steps not as heavy as they could be.

standing there in front of the table, he looks down. spots something. a notebook. the gotham project. he can't help but wonder...

reaching out, he opens it. flips through a few of the pages and... his words are there. all of them. from the past two years that he's been this. that he's been the batman. blue eyes scan the pages carefully as he slowly turns them, making sure they're things he's written, even if so many times, they all bleed together.

looking up to damian above, he closes the book. )

Problematic ones.

( since he doesn't exactly keep track of unknown thugs and criminals who are just out to rip a store off or vandalize gotham city bank with their graffiti. )

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