maskormenacelogs | I like smoke and lightning; heavy metal thunder

WHO: Bruce Wayne and Ted Kord
WHERE: Heropa
WHEN: 23rd February - slightly backdated because oh I don't know terrorism
WHAT: Bruce drops in to check on Ted's projects and get his geek on
WARNINGS: greasemonkeys

It wasn't much to look at, but that was a good thing; a simple warehouse, which contained very interesting things. Bruce had to admit he was excited to visit, and today - since the investment was legal, above board and not related to Batman at all, he was here as himself, albeit not dressed in the poshest of his black and whites.

He came up to the door, because of course he had a key, and he pulled it open and stepped inside, considering the large space thoughtfully. He knew the ins and outs of the building already, but it was difficult for him to shake off habit, where knowledge of his surroundings might be the difference between life and death.

But this was just a warehouse, and he was just here to check up on Ted's progress. No big deal.

It was a big space, so he called out, voice echoing: "Anyone here?"

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"Yep, down here," came Ted's voice, from under a pile of machinery that looked like it was well on its way to becoming the Bug's engine. He pushed out from underneath said pile and wiped some of the grease off his face, giving Bruce a wave and a grin.

"Hey, Bruce! What's up?"

That was definitely a pile of...something. Maybe an engine, if you looked at it from the right angle. All the building was sort of exciting; watching working machines emerge from the rubble was immensely fascinating, and besides which Bruce was a bit of a motorhead. He couldn't help himself--it was one of the few things about growing up with money that he'd really been able to appreciate, and Alfred had told him off about his vehicular exuberance more than once before in his life.

He pushed a hand back through his hair and approached, inspecting the machine cheerfully.

"Came to see how you were doing. What's the diagnosis?"

Maybe someday Ted would invite Bruce to join in with him. They'd been cordial enough at home, at least back before the whole thing with Max happened. He and Bruce always seemed to get along better around machines. Who knew? It might be the same with weird-alternate-universe Bruce.

"Getting closer." Ted replied with a cheerful nod. "Now that I've got enough space -- thanks, by the way -- it'll be a lot easier to get the Bug up and running."

Might be.

"It's what I'm here for. Besides, we both have the same thing in mind. We need to get off the ground."

It was fine when you were working in just one city, but Bruce was finding it difficult having to go without transport except by porter, which wasn't practical when you were trying to move around a city. Commuting in a batsuit wasn't exactly what Bruce had had in mind when he'd picked it up.

"Your roommate is working on the problem too. Have you spoken to her?"

"Yeah, we do." He may not be entirely sure whether he wants to do the whole 'hero' thing again; but at the moment it's leaning towards a heavy yes. Why else would he be rebuilding the Bug, after all?

"Kaylee?" He perks up a little at the mention of his totally awesome new roommate, grinning even more broadly. "I've mentioned the Bug a few times, but she hasn't seen it yet. I'm pretty sure she and I have taken over 90 percent of the garage with our stuff put together. Isn't she great?"

"She's really quite bright, and very pleasant to speak to--I imagine she's the ideal roommate for you both." His tone was all approval. Kaylee had made a good first impression, and Bruce wasn't so easily impressed. It was interesting that the people that the Porter seemed to bring in usually had something positive to offer.

Usually. "I'm excited to see what she comes up with." A pause. "Just like I'm excited to see where you're going with this. Do you have any plans--or are you working from memory?"

"Yeah, except our other roommate's kind of a bum." Which is saying something, considering the state Ted's house is usually in. (It's gotten better since Kaylee's arrival; having a lady around and all necessitates some cleaning.)

There's a thoughtful shrug. "It's kind of a mix of both, really. I'd be going from memory if this were someplace more along the lines of the tech we have at home; but it's not. So there's been a few changes in the schematics. I can show you, if you wanna take a look."

"I'd love nothing better. The only thing I like better than a schematic is a working machine."

He dares to touch the engine in progress, running the back of his hand across one of the clearly external edges. No prints, but he really can't resist the allure of the machinery. Now, if only he had his Tumbler with him--he has a feeling that Ted would have liked to take a spin in it.

"What sort of problems have you been coming across, technology wise?"

"Cool," Ted practically chirps in reply, glancing around for a familiar pile of paper. With the amount of stuff in the room, it was a miracle he knew where anything was; but clearly there was some method to his madness.

"Mostly it's outdated," he continues, finally pulling out the schematics with a bit of a flourish. "And of course there's the whole alternate universe thing. But once I got a look at the cars and stuff it was easy enough to figure out."

Bruce doesn't hesitate but to follow, sticking close and minding his feet so as to avoid stepping on loose cables or tripping over something that oughtn't to have been left out. It was a wonder that Ted could work in a place like this. Bruce was much more used to working in an ordered, completely dust free environment. State of the art, really. This was a little bit like the dives and grease shops he'd seen when he'd been traveling the globe, picking up a little bit of work here and there--which was fine, but it was a long way from what he was used to. Alfred would certainly never let the place get into this sort of mess. Maybe he should send him over to put some order into the place some time. Then again...maybe if it was tidied up, Ted wouldn't know where anything was.

So he smiled, like he was tempted to smile at Gordon's tired cop disorder at the station, and gently reached out to take the edge of the paper, tipping it into the light.

"What sort of maneuverability are we looking at?"

He'll probably get it into order once he's finished getting more of the Bug done. Too much clutter tends to drive him insane when he's not got something to work on. He certainly doesn't have an Alfred to keep cleaning up after him; though in all honesty it's probably better he does it himself.

"Pretty decent," he replies. "Almost like the old one, though I guess you wouldn't know about that one. Back home I could take her pretty much anywhere I wanted. Even space capabilities."

I like smoke and lightning; heavy metal thunder

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