[OPEN] Skulking at Twilight

[godsandbats]

WHO: Kirk Langstrom and you
WHEN: Throughout March
WHERE: Junkyard, S.T.A.R. Labs and maybe various other places in Etraya
WHAT: A Bat search mostly?
NOTES\WARNINGS: See here for general warnings about Kirk and see here for what your character may notice about him.

While Kirk knows that he’s fortunate that the companion bots recreated the Tower of Justice here in Etraya, it’s not a perfect duplicate. Unfortunately for him, this iteration of his home didn’t come with all of the top-notch lab equipment he’s used to. So finding something to fix those deficiencies has become one of several projects he’s decided to take on in Etraya.

1) Junkyard:
It's not glamorous but it’s not the first time Kirk went scrounging in garbage. Doing it near twilight while dressed in his full Batman suit probably makes for a strange sight though. Also probably not helping is the lack of effort he has in throwing aside some of the heavier and bulkier debris, like a whole bike.

Don’t worry. He won’t bite if you get close to him.

2) S.T.A.R. Labs:
Back home, S.T.A.R. Labs was one of many entities the government contracted for Project Fair Play. The weapons that came out of there worked just as they intended. It’s only because of Luthor’s last-second intervention that the Justice League is still alive.

So for Kirk, it feels strange skulking about in any version of S.T.A.R. Labs. But based on his aerial surveys, this was a building that was more likely to have what he needs. He observed that some people use it but it doesn’t look like anyone’s living there. Plus, the building appears to be large enough that it’s unlikely that all of the rooms are occupied.

So like any good bat-themed vigilante, he eventually decides to break into S.T.A.R. through the rooftop shortly before sundown.

Dressed in his full Batman suit, he carefully starts searching unused rooms for equipment or spare parts he could use. Maybe he could even use one of the rooms as a spare lab? The lack of security might be a problem though.

He’s also keeping his eyes and ears open for anyone else who might be around.

3) Closed to Vander:
Regardless of how successful his errands or searches are, Kirk always returns to the Tower of Justice. The companion bots didn’t recreate everything the real one has but it’s damn close enough that Kirk feels no need to live elsewhere in Etraya.

It’s unfortunate though that the Tower’s security systems weren’t also bought over. It would be a shame if someone was to just stroll right in. All they need to do is not feel intimidated by the Tower’s size and cold sterility.

Plus, it’s weird that some figure with scalloped wings might’ve been seen flying around.

4) Wildcard:

((OOC: Got something else in mind? Want to play with my character but can’t work up a prompt? Let’s talk! My contact info is in the journal profile and I'm the game's Discord server))

Comments

[miniroth]

It's hard to be threatening when that small. He'll grow one day, maybe. Until then, he's making inroads in untangling the bike from other miscellaneous trash he can't make use of. "..Yes, actually," he says after considering both the bike and the newest shower of debris sent tumbling away from Kirk. "Anything useful for apartments, and also this now."

The motorcycle. He doesn't know a damn thing about repairing them but it'll give him something to do. "Please don't let me disrupt you, but if you spot any sturdy flowerpots, feel free to toss them in this direction..?"

The story of kids in their first homes everywhere: everything is made out of cardboard and milk crates and other people's curbside garbage. Where better to get it from than a junkyard!

[godsandbats]

Given the response, Kirk wonders if Sephiroth is a new arrival. The request sounds reasonable enough.

"Alright," he replies. "Anything in particular you're growing?"

This time he looks back at the teenager, studying him.

[miniroth]

The reply takes a lot longer than it should. "Completely legal things."

Just in case that's a concern. He doesn't know what that particular suit is for, it COULD mean some kind of alien cop for all he knows. "I don't know much about indoor plants yet but spring's still some weeks away so I have time." And then if it's green it's going inside, if he can find floor space for it.

He looks reasonably normal, gray hair and slightly glowing green eyes aside, but there's a subtle unpleasant chemical-like smell that has nothing to do with the soap choice he's using. No normal blood to be found here. "...And maybe a cabinet." That might be easier to find. Now that the motorcycle's pulled off to one side and probably not likely to be buried again he's going climbing. There's stuff to find. "..Are you after anything in specific?"

[godsandbats]

Kirk nearly raises an eyebrow at the reply. The smell is strange too. Perhaps Sephiroth is used to getting interrogated? Kirk was only curious about what plants he was thinking about growing. It's not as though there's real law enforcement here.

"Just spare computer parts. Curious to see if there's anything still viable here," he replies calmly. "Perhaps there are people who could give you gardening tips."

Based on all those Chirper posts, something's bound to be in there.

[miniroth]

There could be real law enforcement. There could be actual laws. He's seen evidence of neither but that didn't mean there wasn't a reasonable chance! "Almost certainly, there's at least two gardens so far I've found here." Not in the junkyard presumably.

Computer parts means computers, and right where he's at it's mostly cardboard.But while he's looking for things he's interested in, it's not difficult to keep tabs out for anything that looked like it could be stripped for computer parts. When he begins moving discarded things around, it's with slightly more care, as he's looking for ANYTHING he can make useful. Or just looks neat.

"Where is all of this coming from? There aren't enough people here to cause this much refuse." A bright orange, though now stained couch is slowly unburied; there's a few electronic-ish looking things he can't quite get at yet but he's going to keep an eye on them.

[godsandbats]

Kirk kicks aside an old tire as he keeps searching. He's also still wondering what is that strange chemical scent from Sephiroth.

"Some of them were generated by the companion bots," he replies. "Others might be refuse from other worlds."

It's a guess based on how so many other things have been pulled into Etraya.

[miniroth]

That makes him pause mid-work on the couch, considering it for a long moment and then the junkyard around him with a more suspicious eye.

"Are you saying this place is a multiversal dumping ground?" Now, saving various planets is harder to really grasp, it's on a scale that's simply unimaginable, but he's IN a junkyard, so it's far more plausible that junk is in fact, required.

...Actually he might be able to use the couch. It's carefully dragged to one side. How hard can stains be to remove? "But if that's true then I'm going to have to come back. Who knows what's in here."

That's why Kirk is here, isn't it?

[godsandbats]

"It's possible," Kirk says, untroubled by the idea as he watches the couch getting dragged. "We're not a large enough population to create this much garbage."

[miniroth]

He's making decent headway with the couch. The weight of it isn't a problem it just constantly gets snagged on everything; that small, getting the leverage to simply pick it up is difficult. But he's managing! "..Have you been here long? Not the junkyard, but.. all of it."

That thing is getting shoved on the trolley later. "This entire place seems set up for a far greater population than the few dozen who are here."

[godsandbats]

"I've been here for only a a couple of months so far," Kirk replies. "The trolley expansion is of some use but there's still a lot of empty space on this island."

Then a pause.

"Are you going to be able to drag that back?"

[miniroth]

A couple of months. "..Before or after the magic library with the wizards?" It's his sense of time by way of the missions and assignments that come and go, and that was the first he'd encountered.

If Kirk didn't know about the library, that'd presumably make him afterward, and the train being the first mission assigned.

His roommates are going to have a stroke when he brings back literal garbage. "..Oh. Yes, I think I can get it onto the trolley with minimal effort, once I'm free of the debris field."

It is not going to fit on the trolley.

[godsandbats]

"Before the magic library," Kirk replies. He arrived when the bots decided to hold a cooking competition.

Kirk starts to help Sephiroth with clearing some of the debris while also still eyeing for any useful machine parts.

[miniroth]

"Before my arrival then." He missed the cooking competition. It's probably for the best, the things he knew how to make were basic and perfunctory. A competition would have required doing BETTER.

There's a lot of trash to get through though, and with the prize of couch set aside, it frees him to look for more things. Including electronics. "..If I may be so bold, with so many empty buildings found all over this place, would it not be a better source of machinery to look there than here?"

That'd be breaking and entering and stealing, as opposed to just scavenging.

[godsandbats]

"It's on the list," Kirk admits. "I wanted to check the junkyard first since it's the easier spot to explore."

Kirk has a long history of doing B&E so he's certainly not adverse to doing it again.