I don't know how to find peace ( catch all )

[theknightshift]

WHO: Bruce Wayne and Friends
WHEN: During the mission, post canon update
WHERE: Nova City + Arkham
WHAT: Bruce has come back carrying a potentially contagious infection. So he's setting up contingencies.
NOTES\WARNINGS: Illness and injuries, will up date as needed.

Comments

jason todd ( leastdramatic )

[theknightshift]

Bruce doesn't know when it happens, but when it does, it almost feels like waking up from a dream. Etraya comes back into focus by inches, slow and deliberate. And with it all of the days he lived in Gotham for the moments he was gone. He brought with him a fracture in his face and broken ribs and a disease he can feel ruining his perception by the minute. But it doesn't stop him when it should have. It only makes him work harder, faster because while the others have not noticed, Bruce had to put barriers in place.

Staying at the manor would be out of the question. Not while he's on the verge of spreading a contagion. Safe houses were also not viable, considering his children came and went through them. He needed some place he could use to catch his breath, out of the eye of anyone else. And let the infection take him without his children suffering too.

Arkham isn't his first choice, but it is the only one that makes sense. He would not need much to set up there. Just a room to keep himself contained once the infection reached it's contagious conclusion. It would have to do.

The AI is benevolent enough to at least give him a suit that's without any dents or ruptures to the armor plating, unlike the one he came here with. The cowl is lead lined too - useful when he eventually reached out to Clark.

For now, he slips out of Arkham when night has fallen and the shadows are at their peak. Easy enough for him to disappear and reappear in his safe house to gather supplies and get back to the little room in Arkham he's going to ride out this quarantine in.

[leastdramatic]

When Damian first texted him about keeping an eye on the older Bruce Wayne, Jason wasn't expecting much. He had gotten used to the colder version of his adoptive dad and figured the latest bit of drama will come from the younger Bruce instead. So he's surprised when he realizes Bruce isn't where he should be.

He's quick to change into his Red Hood suit and it doesn't take long before he manages to track down Bruce. Adding to the confusion though is where Jason manages to track to him to.

He keeps his distance for now to see where this could all lead up to. Bruce is always thinking, always goal-oriented.

[theknightshift]

Bruce is coming out of the safe house when he realizes he's gained a shadow. It's not anything Jason is doing in particular. Just an unfortunate amalgamation of circumstance. A healthy knowledge of the people in his life and how they might react to seeing him behave strangely. His children are perceptive. Paying attention to their surroundings is not only how they resolve their cases, it's also what keeps them alive.

So it doesn't surprise him at all that someone is following him. But he's long past the hour he had left before he needed to quarantine and now it was imperative he get back to his room in Arkham. He spots Jason at a distance and thinks he can outrun him. Broken ribs would slow him down, but not enough to be a problem.

So without a word, he turns and does just that. He runs.

[leastdramatic]

To the untrained eye, Bruce would've slipped away easy. But Bruce trained all of his kids to be better than that. When he sees Bruce making a run for it, Jason also picks up speed and follows after him. The strange change of pace motivates Jason even more to keep investigating. Just what was Bruce planning?

[theknightshift]

Jason has the advantage of being in Etraya longer. He's had time to learn the rooftops and what parts of it lead to dead ends or circles around on itself. But Bruce is determined and the courage tells him he can still lose him in the maze. The infection twists and coils inside of him. The courage tells him that the pain in his side is negligible. That he can make this jump without the grapnel.

He doesn't stop.

Doesn't even hesitate to gauge the distance.

He jumps.

[leastdramatic]

The lack of gauging before jumping startles Jason. Or maybe it's been a while since he watched Bruce in action like this? Was this normal? Jason doesn't have the same so-called courage as Bruce so he does have to pause and gauge before using his grapnel. He's just barely as Bruce in his sight as he keeps following.

[theknightshift]

The landing is. Not good. Where Batman had once been a sure, unstoppable force, tonight he seems to waver under the weight of his own body. The jump is misjudged, too far for him to make comfortably so he must stretch to keep from falling.

He lands hard against the gravel rooftop, not on his feet or even his knees. But on his side breathing hard and labored against the fire burning him from the inside out. Jason's hesitation is enough time to collect himself, haul himself upright and continue the chase.

[leastdramatic]

Years of watching, working with, and fighting against Bruce has made Jason attuned to how Bruce moves. This isn't fluke. Something really is off. Was he hurt? But that doesn't explain the way he's running. Jason continues to keep following.