We're taking over the world (catch all)

[theknightshift]

WHO: Bruce Wayne and Friends
WHEN: Early July
WHERE: Across Nova City
WHAT: Bruce is doing recon and setting up a safehouse (or two)
NOTES\WARNINGS: None for now, but will edit if that changes

Closed starters below. If you want one you can let me know on plurk @ tapsters or by PM. Or feel free to write your own!

Comments

@brat

[theknightshift]

[ Bruce had been careful about choosing his first safehouse. Not that he'd been overly concerned about someone poking around and finding it before he'd had a chance to set up security measures. He was careful because he wanted a spot that would keep the so called Tower of Justice in view. He had no intention in antagonizing the inhabitants, but they needed to be watched and Bruce needed a space to work unhindered.

The second safehouse would be chosen with the same amount of care – somewhere he could watch potential threats.

He brings in supplies in boxes – medicinal and tools and parts for a pc he intended to build. Furniture he would sort out later.

Bruce had no expectation of company. He hadn't told anyone he would be here. But knowing his children, the likelihood that he had gained a shadow along the way was a high one.

He isn't surprised when someone decides to join him, while he worked through getting everything sorted. ]

If you're going to follow me, then you're going to help me.

[brat]

( damian could have stepped out from the corner he's opted to tuck himself into. he could have gone to offer a hand as bruce carried in multiple boxes, quietly setting up a safehouse he can utilize on the off chance it's necessary. he understands the sentiment: it'd been on his list of tasks to do, too, once he's caught up to what he's apparently gotten behind on. multiple people have come up to him as if they recognize him, telling him he's smaller, younger, different but close enough to the same to be recognizable. and he detests it.

it's partially why he remains in hiding even as his father scuttles about. he knows he's not quite the same, but bruce doesn't fit his expectations either. and it's bruce who has the advantage. damian needs all the information he can gather regarding these - older, more seasoned versions of individuals he knows. he wants to feel less like he's at a disadvantage, as if everyone else knows him better than he knows himself. )

You don't need it.

( comes the response, low and quiet from where he remains crouched low to the ground. his hood is up, covering his face and the massive amount of bruising he'd collected during his fight with - todd. the younger one. at least he is as lost as damian feels. )

[theknightshift]

[ The space Bruce selected isn't very large – an empty room with a row of counters lining a far wall and cabinets above them. And with so much empty space left, there'd be plenty of room for a few pieces of furniture. A small desk and chairs. A bed if he felt inclined enough to squeeze a mattress in here. From the window, he could see the Tower of Justice and near it, Arkham. A perfect vantage point so he could keep close watch on both places and a staging ground to act from if they needed to.

He continues sorting his items, aware Damian's not come out from where he is stashed himself away. From the sound of his voice, he's to Bruce's left, near the only other entrance to this place, besides the door to his right and a bit behind him. If he looks up, he'd be able to see him. But he doesn't. Not until he grabs a box of gauze and bandages and gestures for Damian to come out of hiding. ]

But I'm not going to let you stand there and watch me work. So help me. Or go home.

[ He offers the box to Damian, and points to the row of cabinets on the wall. ]

Put these away.

[brat]

( there are two pathways one could take, here. there is the easier one, which would be to jump down from his hiding place and join bruce as he tries to stock his newest acquisition with as many supplies as necessary especially given the locations it's close to. except the order has him immediately bristling, considering simply following the go home portion of it except - that's also listening to bruce, isn't it.

damian instead opts for neither. he doesn't get down. doesn't move much at all and instead grumbles out an irritated little, )

I am not your Robin, Father.

[theknightshift]

[ He remembers the time it took for them to bond. The work they poured into the relationship so it could work for them and for the lives they lived. Bruce didn't think he'd have to go through it again. All the insubordination and borderline hostility. Etraya seems intent on pushing his buttons, however. Force them to find their footing again. ]

You are my son and I expect you to listen.

[brat]

( he considers being obstinate, just because he can be. instead, damian just - sits, seeming to contemplate how to best address that statement before he opts to do the smart thing and drops down out of his hiding place to make his way over to bruce.

reaches out a hand to snatch the gauze and bandages from his hand, so he can go and put them away. )

[theknightshift]

[ Bruce can see the wheels in Damian's head turning and says nothing when the boy finally decides he'll listen to his father and help. It leaves Bruce free to put the tools he's scavenged into separate containers. He glances at Damian while he works. ]

You were fighting with Jason. Why?

[brat]

( it's bruce's lack of demand that has damian listening. yes, his you're my son and i expect you to listen was a demand of itself, but it wasn't - worded in a way that left no room for argument. damian is strong-willed, enough he'd tip his chin up and fight anyone who tried to make him do anything. but bruce had left him the space to decide otherwise.

so he climbs up onto the counter to put the gauze where bruce had gestured to, and - scowls when bruce asks about todd. )

He was coming out of Arkham in civilian clothing. I had asked him why. He refused to answer.

@auderes

[theknightshift]

[ It's almost unsettling how familiar Nova City's skyline is. Gotham architecture wedged in among the familiar surroundings of New York and Metropolis and Central City. Like the AI plucked little bits of city to make something new. Only none of it fit, like puzzle pieces crammed together to make the picture, even though they did not fit.

Bruce didn't bother trying to make sense of it. The AI is a machine. It only knew the information being fed into it and with so many Gotham natives among the population, maybe it made sense to a machine to bring in these little pieces of home. Maybe to remind them what they were fighting for. Or to unnerve them. Bruce hadn't decided which.

As Batman he sits perched high up on the neck of a gargoyle, overlooking the stretch of city in front of him, though his focus remained on a singular target: Arkham. For someone who knew him, it must be a familiar sight. Comforting in the uncertainty of it all. He looks in the direction his guest has landed in and then back at the city, unconcerned. ]

What do you think of this place?

[auderes]

[ Nightwing is close, leaning in the shadow of the same gargoyle, and he doesn't need to look over to know that they're both looking at the same target, even if the question sounds more less specific. He's picked up a lot of information about this place from Barbara, more from Damian before he was suddenly younger, and more again from the notes that he left behind. Some of it would have been difficult to believe if it wasn't coming from two people who he trusts implicitly, and it does somewhat color his perception of an otherwise fairly innocuous cityscape. ]

I think it looks right, but it feels... disjointed. Too empty. Too quiet.

[ Clearly most of the effort went into the facade and very little into the actual function, which makes sense given how and why this is all here, at least to their understanding.

And of all the locations they could have lifted straight out of Gotham, Arkham is far from the one he would have chosen. Even if the building itself was completely empty, which he knows it isn't, it has far too much history tied up with it, and none of it is pleasant. But it's here now, they just have to deal with it.

It could always be worse. ]

It makes for a different kind of patrol, that's for sure.

[theknightshift]

[ If there's anyone Bruce could appreciate having in a place like this? It's Dick. It's easy to fall into old habits when they're together and not fighting. Bruce doesn't feel his isolation so keenly, even if he insists on being alone. And after being displaced, there's nothing Bruce would appreciate more than the comfortable routine of someone he could trust there with them. Dick's a reliable presence and more than anything they could use a reliable presence.

Good luck getting Bruce to admit that though. He keeps his gaze fixed on Arkham, as if he's trying to commit the facade to memory. It's not the one back home, but it feels familiar all the same. Like a memory he's trying to view through a dirty, broken window. Disjointed, like Dick said.

Nova City's sprawling nature makes the quiet of it all feed into that uneasy feeling. It is a city, but it feels like a dead one. And Bruce doesn't think he'll ever feel settled here. Not truly. ]

I've been looking into some of the buildings here. I want to set up a safe house to keep an eye on Arkham.

[ He stands on his perch, sure Dick can see him and he indicates the Tower of Justice. ]

And that place.

@godsandbats

[theknightshift]

[ In the strange jumble of buildings that make up Nova City, this Tower of Justice stands out in its cold sterility. It drew his eye first, even before he took notice of anything else and when he steps foot into Nova City, Bruce makes it his first stop.

He surveys the grounds before he attempts any kind of approach, looking for security measures – alarms to disable or potentially hazardous traps to disarm. He spies none and has to wonder why they hadn't bothered to secure the place. Maybe the Kryptonian living here really thought very highly of himself.

He's quiet as he travels the corridors and checks the rooms for signs of life. When he discovers the room housing the Kryptonian's ship, he takes a moment to access the files, reviews the footage he finds there. When he's certain there's someone behind him, he speaks up, eyes still fixed on the screen – watching Zod prevent Clark's birth. It makes his jaw tight. ]

If you don't want me in here, you should lock your door.

[godsandbats]

[God, they really do need to do something about the Tower’s lack of security. Once again, Kirk had sensed a stranger’s scent when he stepped out of his lab. Once again, he had to follow it.

There’s no mistaking what the stranger’s pointy-ear cowl means. Kirk is not used to being on the receiving end of a break-in. But clearly these alternative universe Gothamite vigilantes care about respecting other people’s privacy as much as he does.

He also sees what record the newly arrived Batman had pulled up.

His voice takes on a cold monotone as he lurks in the dark behind Bruce]

It’s rude to come in without knocking. Looking for something?

[Kirk has some ideas on why this Batman is here and none of them put him at ease. But first he wants to assess him]

[theknightshift]

[ Bruce doesn't acknowledge Kurt anymore beyond the greeting. He replays the footage, rotating it back to the point Zod entered the scene. It's nearly imperceptible, but Bruce could make out the faintest of cuts in the footage. It's been tampered with. Which means, this footage isn't telling him the whole story. He frowns, but powers the console down, since he imagines Kirk is getting antsy about this stranger in his home. He has what he needs regardless.

He turns and takes a moment to consider the cowl and goggles and Kirk's deathly pale skin. Batman is accounted for. Superman is accounted for. ]

There should be at least one more of you.

[ And since he's not looking at an alternate version of himself, he imagines whomever Wonder Woman turns out to be, she is not Diana Prince. ]

[godsandbats]

[The way this other Batman studied the last Kryptonian file makes Kirk even more antsy. This... human is looking for something and he's not sure if it's good. While Kirk can logically understand why anyone would consider Hernan a serious threat, emotionally Kirk still doesn't like that it keeps happening here]

And why does that matter?

[With how large the Tower is, there isn't much use hiding that there are more than two Justice League members. Kirk still feels protective though. So far, these other Gothamite vigilantes have been annoying at best and violent at worse]

[theknightshift]

[ it wasn’t necessarily that Bruce thought of them as a threat. He did, but he was only trying to assess how concerned he should be about them.

He had not been assured by what he’d read on the network from Superman. And if this Batman is complicit, then he would need to be watched closely too. ]

Because the Justice League rarely comes in pairs.

[godsandbats]

[Of course this Batman would be part of his own Justice League. Kirk finds it strange how much his world has in common with the worlds of these alternate vigilantes. Perhaps being too similar is part of why relations have not been the most amicable]

So far you’ve walked into my home without asking, snooped through our files, and now you’re asking questions as if I owe you anything and you’re not the invader.

[And more galling is this isn’t the first time a Gothamite vigilante has done that]

[theknightshift]

[ Bruce is unmoved. ]

Then lock your door.

@her_own_rules

[theknightshift]

[ For all of the excitement of the Tower of Justice, Bruce is almost grateful for the stillness in Nova City. It's a moment of respite Gotham never afforded him on even her quietest nights, but especially after a brutal showdown. He hadn't had the time to examine the files he'd managed to pull from the Tower's databases, but he thinks in the quiet of Nova City, he just might find it.

Reaching out to Barbara had been automatic. As simple as tapping the earpiece to raise her and explaining he had information. Maybe not something she's been able to get her hands on yet. Or maybe he's the one a step behind. Etraya's learning curve is steep after all. He cuts a path across the city in a matter of moments, stopping only when the pain from being kicked by Kirk flares up in his side again. He has the space to wait it out and gives himself just a moment to take it. Ease and breathe his way through the worst of it before he's on the move again.

He wouldn't let himself get too used to it. It would breed complacency. And he did not need to be complacent. Nova City may be quiet tonight, but he does not imagine it would always be.

Bruce lands at the Clocktower minutes after speaking to Barbara and slips inside to greet her. ]

I went to the Tower of Justice and gained access to their database.

[ No hello, Bruce? Some greeting. ]

[her_own_rules]

[ If Barbara were going to wait on pleasantries with Bruce—especially while in costume, and not in some suit he was counting down the minutes to getting out of again?—she probably would have died in a huff years ago.

She can still throw him an arch look that calls him on it, even though it shifts quickly enough given the words he decided to open this with (as well as the fact he's listing just slightly enough she can't entirely miss it; consider it a hazard of the job of following this family's vital closer than anyone ever thought to before her). She doubts either of the two that can be found there just agreed to that. ]

Just like that?

[theknightshift]

They don't lock their doors.

[ It may as well have been an invitation. And Bruce was curious enough to accept it. If they weren't going to bother to secure any of their personal files, what was the harm in taking a peek? Besides, if it gave them valuable intel, then Bruce would not turn down the chance to have it. ]

I've uploaded the footage I captured. Including my confrontation with their Batman.

[her_own_rules]

[ He's an idiot. But one that's still standing. She's all but kicking herself for not predicting this; things have just been so very different in this place, and all over the place between three of them arriving at once. Batman kicking down a door because he wanted to know something? It's only half-hypocritical to want to roll her eyes at him. How many backdoors has she summarily demolished in the last year? However, delicacy and anonymity weren't shared aims in that same way.

Barbara turns in her seat, tapping buttons and starting to access his data.
Talking easily even as she's starting to throw up extra screens with that, preparing for it. ]

You managed to walk away, so I'm guessing it was just one of them, and not both, who found you.

[theknightshift]

Yes. Just the Batman. Not the Kryptonian.

[ With the state the boys were in, Bruce hadn't trusted any of them to come. Not when they would be a liability, one more variable on a field of unknowns. He couldn't afford the volatility, the unpredictability. An inability to follow orders. So, it'd been better to go in alone. Handle it alone. It wouldn't be the first time. He's quiet, for a moment as the data begins to populate. ]

Clark doesn't exist in their world.

[ A sad, grim assessment. There's a flicker of something beneath it. But Bruce keeps it buried. ]

Zod is his father.

[her_own_rules]

[ If Barbara parses the second line there as what is, a universe without Clark Kent—as well as a commentary on the fact Clark isn't here in this world, this situation with him either—most of that doesn't show through. Unlike the words he says after it, and the momentary pause of Barbara's typing, entirely, that happens right after it.

Her mind racing through so many possibilities connected to those four words. Most of them each worse than the last. She will need to re-examine several files. She doesn't start typing again; one deft movement of one foot on the bottom of her chair turns her halfway to face him. (Behind her, floating digital screens are starting to fill with his data, and one with the single-pov fight. ]

And your plan for when his partner tells him about your little visit?

[theknightshift]

[ A universe without Clark Kent sounded like a bleak one. Even with all of the danger of someone like him even existing, Bruce had never wanted to think there might be a world out there that did not have him in it. It quiets him again, leaves him to brood out the ripple effect Zod being the Kryptonian's father had on the rest of the world.

What kind of man was Hernan? And more importantly, would they have to stop him? ]

I'll improvise.

[ He sets his gaze on the playback of his fight with Kirk, eye critical as each move he makes plays back in his memory, alongside the footage on the screen. Every mistake he catalogues. Every delay. Every missed opportunity. Too slow there. Should have pivoted. He left himself open and I didn't take it. It was sloppy, sloppy work. But at least he could see the pattern in how Kirk fights clearly. It's a rhythm he hadn't quite made out in the moment, but it was there and it was exploitable. Kirk was good, but he wasn't perfect. Next time, Bruce would be ready. ]

Their third member is missing. He wouldn't elaborate on who she is.

[ Likely cause Bruce broke into their house and demanded answers. But that's semantics, really. ]