maskormenacelogs | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

WHO: Batman and... Batman
WHERE: De Chima
WHEN: Wednesday, January 24th
WHAT: Bat teamwork
WARNINGS: None, but will edit if necessary

[It's a quiet evening for patrol when he picks up the alert-- an alarm at a technology services warehouse on the outskirts of De Chima-- usually closed by now. Batman drops onto the rooftop, and slowly walks his way over towards a closed skylight. He kneels down to try to get a better look inside, but it's too dark, and towering equipment prohibits his vision.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Terry had heard the alarm shortly after Bruce did, and as such it takes him a few seconds longer to arrive. No sooner does he land does he spot the other Batman already on the scene. Fora moment, he considers just diving off the building and moving on--it isn't like Bruce is ever one to ask for help--before ultimately changing his mind and approaching quietly.]

Fancy meeting you here.

[Though, he seems to know already that Terry is there, even though he doesn't acknowledge him until he's just about next to him. His eyes are down on the inside of the building for a long moment before he turns his head.]

You picked up the alert, too?

I had to put something in my ear.

[He's growing to like having something that doesn't complain and nitpick his every move all the time.

Terry kneels down beside Bruce and places his thumb, index, and middle fingers of his left hand on the glass of the skylight. With his right free hand, he taps his cowl to bring up infrared before going completely still to just watch and listen.

After a minute or so, he finally moves.]

There's someone down there, unconscious. Can't hear or see anyone else, but that doesn't mean they aren't there, just means they're out of my range.

Edited 2018-01-25 05:29 (UTC)

Security, maybe. [He considers it for a moment before opening the skylight. Alarm's already going off, he's certainly not alerting anybody.] Come on.

[And then he hops down onto the rafter before Terry can even think to protest.]

[Of course Terry isn't going to protest, he's right there behind him, only gracefully gliding to the ground with the aid of his wings rather than using ropes. Landing near the guard, he holds out his left hand.]

Pulse is steady. [He looks around.] This place is some kind of warehouse for an electronics company, right?

[Bruce is crouched behind a large shipping crate, eyeing the room suspiciously, and more importantly, the unconscious body on the ground. From a distance, he can't tell if he's breathing yet.]

That's right. Reitnouer, Incorporated. Wayne Enterprises contracts to them, on occasion. They have some of the best combustion engineers in the US.

So basically they're the reason your cars go as fast as they do. Here anyway.

[Terry wanders over to a nearby box, examining the labels.]

Well, it's a little bit why. [A pause.] I'll take point. Cover me.

[And once again, without confirmation, he moves out into the open towards the body, eyes seemingly focused on the body, but everywhere around him as he's no longer in the safety of cover.]

[Just once he'd like slightly advanced notice of these things, but then again it wouldn't be Bruce if he did. He slides a batarang into his hand--just in case--as his eyes sweep the surrounding warehouse. With a free hand, he switches to infrared just to be on the safe side.]

[He eyes narrow as he kneels down to check his pulse. He doesn't look like he's breathing. Something feels off, but...]

[Luckily for Bruce, Terry takes his job of lookout very seriously, noticing the movement before his alternate-dimension mentor.]

Batman, move! It's a trap--!

[He's moving before the words fall out of his mouth, dashing towards the other Bat in an attempt to push him out of the way in time.]

[His eyes widen, and he realizes too late that the unconscious guard is just a dummy. His head jerks towards Terry, and he yells, too late.]

Don't!

[The "movement" Terry's sensors pick up is the electrical charge building from the decoy before it goes off, an electromagnetic pulse that goes off in both of their faces. It knocks the both of them unconscious, Bruce himself struggling to stay awake himself, the last thing he sees before the world goes black are the feet of his assailant stepping towards them from the darkness.]

Argh!

[The warning comes too late as Terry falls backwards, the suit temporarily locked as it goes through an emergency reboot. He blacks out soon after.]

Terry...

[He'll wake to Bruce's voice, the other Bat leaning over him, shaking him gently to wake him up, sounding unsteady.]

Nn. Terry, wake up. Are you alright.

[Terry lets out a low groan as he comes to. He slowly lifts his hand, balling it into a fist to check the suit's interface. Good, he can move.]

Are codenames not a thing anymore...?

[Reaching back to rub the back of his head, he grunts as he forces himself into a seated position.]

Or are we about to have a conversation about changing my name?

We're alone. Besides, we have a bigger problem.

[As his vision comes back to him, he may notice a round object covering the bat symbol on Batman's chest. A numbered timer ticks down, with five red LED lights below it, currently unlit. You have one, too, Terry.]

[Terry's fingers hover over the round object, before he thinks better of it and lets his hand drop.]

Awww c'mon! What, did Mad Stan show up when I wasn't looking?!

[Okay, that... takes him off of his train of thought for a moment, although he is going through his belt as he talks.]

Mad who?

Stanley Labowski, goes by Mad Stan. He's this crazy anti-government nutjob that has a bad knack of showing up tossing bombs whenever I'm having a good day.

Hn. Sounds like Gotham hasn't changed much.

[He begins to use a small set of tools on the outer casing of the bomb, 26 minutes and counting. When he does, the first LED light on his own chest lights up a bright red, giving him a moments pause. He grits his teeth.]

Damn.

I'm more surprised you're surprised.

And that you actually have good days.

[Terry glances between the two bombs. That can't be good.]

Looks like the bombs are connected somehow. One gets disconnected, the other goes off. Wonderful.

A point that won't matter in twenty-five minutes anyway. [He continues to work, the casing off now, the second light now on. His mouth sets into a thinner line.]

The past few months have been... difficult. It's not your fault.

Then why don't we take a step back and think about this for a second before trying to disarm one of them! Because newsflash, if even just one of them goes off here, we're both dead anyway!

[Knowing better than to swat Bruce's hand away, he scoots backwards.]

O...kay?

[Terry isn't sure where he's going with that.]

The other option is finding who did this, and that's assuming we know who that was. [A beat.] Trust me.

[He tugs Terry back by his shoulder and goes back to work, concentrating.]

If I'm wrong, you can tell me I told you so in a couple of days when the Continuum activates. [That's a joke...]

Edited 2018-01-26 03:05 (UTC)

Bruce, this isn't a matter of trust. You're being too damn stubborn to think that maybe, just maybe there's another option here.

As always.

[Though...]

I can't believe you just told a joke.

[Except the timer deactivates.]

You were saying?

...I don't know why I even bother.

So do I get to help you, or are you growing attached to your newest fashion accessory?

Oh, no. It's your turn. [He says dryly, handing Terry the tools.] I hope you were watching.

Ooooooooooooooor--

[A similar tool extends from Terry's index finger, and he fishes out the rest of what he needs from the suit's various hidden compartments.]

--I can do things my way.

[Once he has what he needs, he gets to work. Terry works as quickly as he dares with steady hands. While he might not do it exactly the same way Bruce did, it's similar enough, and soon the bomb is deactivated.]

Mad bomber rogue, remember? You aren't the only one who knows how to dismantle one of these things.

[Terry goes to pull his off in order to check the bomb for a signature.]

Wait! [Batman yells and grabs his hand before he can pull the bomb off.]

Look. [The timer is gone, but the five lights below where the timer used to be ticking are still glowing red. Bruce releases Terry's hand and takes a few steps away from him to confirm his suspicions, the third light on Terry's chest activating.]

Hh. A secondary proximity trigger.

Man, this dreg really wants to blow us up.

[Whoever this bomber is, they could teach Mad Stan a thing or two... Not that Terry ever wants that to happen. Stan is bad enough on his own.]

What'd you do to piss him off so bad, old man?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only