maskormenacelogs | A superstitious, cowardly lot

Entry tags:

† terry mcginnis | batman

A superstitious, cowardly lot

WHO: Terry McGinnis and Bruce Wayne/anyone who has access to the Batcave
WHERE: The Batcave, beneath Wayne Manor in De Chima
WHEN: November 19th
WHAT: Terry tries to sneak into the Batcave to borrow some tools. The cave isn't as empty as he hopes.
WARNINGS: None, will adjust if necessary

[After their first meeting, Bruce had said Terry was welcome in the cave anytime. Sure, Terry didn't fully believe him, but it was a nice sentiment all the same. This guy was Bruce in his prime, after all. If the old man had trust issues, he could only imagine how trusting a much younger, much more active Batman from an alternate dimension from before Terry was even born would be. If it wasn't for the suit so obviously being built by a Bruce Wayne, he doubted he'd have gotten very far in their conversation.

It was the suit that brought him back to the funhouse mirror version of his home away from home. A routine diagnostic test had showed something was wrong with the cowl's infared function, causing it to flicker in and out on the display, and a check of his tools showed that a few of his batarangs were getting dull. Bruce--his Bruce, while protective of the suit's design, still had made sure Terry could perform his own maintenance. The teen knew exactly what he needed, and figured that this Bruce would it.

Sure, he could just ask Bruce for the tools. Or, he could wait until he sees the guy leave for what he hopes is the night, hidden behind some foliage and his suit's cloaking function, and slip in then. Bruce never said he couldn't use the cave alone. Terry just prayed young Bruce kept his tools in relatively the same area as old Bruce.

Don't worry, any mess he might make trying to find them he'll be sure to clean up before he leaves.]

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[Bruce is busy exercising when Terry finds him, and he may be horrified to find out just how long his training routine goes for. Even so, Bruce isn't stupid: he definitely noticed him more than a half an hour ago, but he's been curious to see if he intended on trying anything. After the first hour, Bruce stops to grab a drink from the water bottle sitting near the rest of the exercise equipment and throws a towel around his neck.]

You want a drink while you wait? It's gonna be a while.

[You know what, he's not even going to be surprised by this turn of events. He just drops the cloaking on his suit with a sigh, his eyes narrowing.]

Shouldn't you be out, oh, I don't know, patrolling?

[Bruce takes his sweet time answering and moves over to the pull-up bar, and with a small hop up, begins his set.]

That's funny, I was wondering the same thing, Batman. [He says the name with a bit of sarcasm.]

Were you thinking about telling me what you needed? Or did you maybe want to mouth off some more?

It's not time for this Batman to make his debut yet. Too little time has passed between Terry McGinnis showing up for Batman to suddenly show up too. Right now I'm shooting for after the next group of imPorts come in.

[Speaking of Terry McGinnis... Terry pulls the mask off.]

You said I had free run of the cave. You didn't say you had to hold my hand in the process.

[Try asking nicer and he might be more receptive.]

Hm.

[He seems satisfied enough with that answer, but is that a noise of approval, or just him exercising?]

I did say that, but I'm not the one skulking around in my costume after already getting permission to be here.

You're kidding, right? Why do I get the feeling that if you weren't training you'd be doing the exact same thing. Heck, I'm surprised you aren't doing that with your cowl on.

You seem to have a strong impression of me considering we only just met. Is there anything else you'd like to let me know about myself before you end up getting to the point of why you're here?

Maybe you just met me, but you're exactly the same when you're 80.

[Terry waves a hand in the general direction of the exercising.]

Well, maybe not exactly.

[But point taken. Even if this guy is Bruce Wayne, they aren't exactly the same guy. If they were, Terry knows he wouldn't be nearly on edge. He lets out a sigh and launches a batarang from his gauntlet into his hand.]

Cowl infrared's not working right and some of my batarangs got dull. I can get my own equipment but I figured this place would already have what I need.

[After finishing his set, Bruce drops down from the bar and passes by Terry, as though wordlessly beckoning him to follow.]

Maybe, maybe not. I've had my own problems reconfiguring what was already here to my own specifications. But I've managed to come into some rather advanced technology before you arrived, so whatever you don't have, we can make.

[Thanks to Motoko, after all. He stops at the work table, arms crossed over his chest.]

I've got plenty of complaints, but I've got to give credit to the previous me. Without what he had already spent years putting together, we would be in a much tougher position.

[Don't worry, he gets the hint.]

The great thing about this suit--well, in this case--was that the old man built it before I was born. Sure, we've upgraded it a lot since then but older parts work in a pinch.

[That said, he'd still prefer something state-of-the-art.]

Maybe it's the near-constant sleep deprivation, but I've already had many sleepless nights thinking about that exact scenario. I'm not made of money like you and him are.

[His back tightens up a little at the term "old man," and while he understands there's a distinction between him and the Bruce Terry knows, there's still something about it he finds annoying.]

Let's stick with Bruce moving forward, hm? [He raises an eyebrow.]

[Bruce then turns towards the Batmobile and takes a few steps towards it, picking up a small keyless device from the table next to him as he does.]

Anyway, it seems your suits infrared technology works on something not entirely dissimilar to the car's.

[He presses a small button on that same device and the Batmobile shifts from black to bright red, the armored panels flatten and smooth along the body, and the fins at the back recess to its more Ferrari type look.]

It shouldn't take too much to repair. The Batarangs on the other hand are a little more advanced than what I've been using. It shouldn't take too much time to engineer them for you, but in the meantime you'll have to make due with mine.

I wasn't talking about you.

[There might as well be question marks above Terry's head. Why is this guy getting so uptight over what he calls the other one?]

Schway.

[He runs his hand over the body of the car, imaging what it would be like to drive something like this. He's seen something this fancy exactly once, when Jarrod showed off the car his step-dad bought him to win him over. When the topic turns to batarangs, he reluctantly pulls away.]

I don't need new batarangs, the ones I've got are fine for now. They're just dull.

[To prove his point, he throws the one in his hand at the wall. Normally it would embed itself in there, instead it just bounces off and lands on the ground below. His aim is solid.]

You've gotta have one of those spinny whetstone things around here somewhere.

I know who you were talking about.

[He rubs in between his eyes. Why is it when he tries to be moderately congenial he gets even more sass from these fuckin kids?]

And I understand what you said. [He says sharply, walking over to pick up the Batarang from the ground.] But your Batarangs are made of a higher density material than the ones I use are. I take it these ones can cut through metal when honed?

The whetstone I have isn't hard enough to sharpen them.

I thought you wanted to be Bruce. You can't both be Bruce. Besides, I think I called him Bruce maybe twice in my life.

[Okay, it was slightly more than that, but still not a common occurrence.]

You mean yours can't?

[Okay, no whetstone then. Sure, that makes things more difficult, but not impossible.]

Any chance I can just take a poke around what you have then? See if I can't come up with something else to use?

We are both Bruce. [He shoots him a look and crosses his arms.] I think I'm smart enough to figure out when you're talking about me and him.

[He shakes his head and waves a hand lightly at the workstation area.]

Whatever. Anyway, take a look around.

I know that! [Terry throws his arms up, frustrated.] And you're not the problem! You ever think that I might have issues mixing the two of you up?! It helps me keep you both straight in my head.

[He sighs as he starts to look around, picking up various seemingly random items that catch his interest.]

Look, I'm sorry if I seem... I dunno, cheeky or ungrateful or something. I'm not. I really do get how hard it must have been for you to just accept me and my story, but you did. I really do appreciate that. But this.... this whole situation is weird for me. Like I said, you're an old man where I come from. You gave up being Batman before I was born.

[There's a long pause as his fingers tighten around the current object in his hand.]

I keep thinking you're going to try to make me give you the suit. At the very least downgrade me from who I am. I'm not one of your Robins. I won't be.

[That isn't to say he doesn't have respect for the Robins and everything they did, but... he's Batman. He's no one's sidekick.

The truth of the matter is, he knows he had to fight for his version of Bruce's approval, and he's worried that this version, the version of Bruce in his prime... won't be so impressed.

While he talks, his hands never stop moving as he searches for what he needs. By the time he's finished, he's MacGuyvered together a crude setup for himself. It isn't pretty, but it should actually do the trick.]

[There's a loooong pause before he responds, arms crossed over his chest as he watches Terry. He seems to be thinking about things to himself, and one can only really imagine what's going on in that head of his.]

Alright. Calm down, I'm not taking away the suit.. [Hell, if he wanted to, he would have done it already.]

[Another long pause and he sighs, turning away from Terry and making his way closer to the computer.]

Besides, I could probably use the help anyway. If I... [He pauses and corrects himself, if more for Terry's benefit than his own.] ...he gave you the suit, you must not be a total screw up.

[That's his way of saying you must be good at your job, Terry. Take that small nugget and run with it.]

Oh gee, thanks for the total vote of confidence.

[Still, he's familiar enough to know Bruce-speak for a compliment when he hears one and smiles.]

Still, can you blame me for being unsure of how you'd handle some total stranger wanting to share your name?

[Terry opens a compartment on the suit and pulls the batarangs out, flicking them open one by one before placing them on the table.]

[Bruce crosses his arms and closes his eyes, and thinks back a bit on events in his life.]

I've had a few personal revelations in my life as of late. You can help me with some of those goals.

[When he opens his eyes, he doesn't move, but he does watch what Terry is doing. Ever since he's agreed to let him help him, ever since their first conversation, he's essentially entered teacher-mode, and even now watches what Terry is doing with a critical eye.]

Don't think that means I'm going to go easy on you. Or that I'm not still the one in charge.

Oh yeah? Like what?

[Because Terry always thought of Bruce as an immovable object, the one time he conceded to let him be batman notwithstanding. Like how it's been months and the old man still hasn't warmed up to the idea of Max being an asset. Terry always assumed anyone named Bruce Wayne would always be stuck in his ways, so it's almost nice to be wrong this one time.]

I wouldn't have it any other way.

[He fires up the makeshift grinding wheel, testing to make sure it won't explode or fall apart before placing a batarang against the wheel. The sound not dissimilar to nails on a chalkboard fills the cave as he slides the edge of the batarang against it.]

Edited 2016-12-06 03:10 (UTC)

Crime and justice have existed for much longer than Batman and Gotham. Over the years my tunnel-vision has kept me from seeing the bigger picture-- that I limit myself as one man, but as an idea, Batman can exist everywhere.

[His mouth tightens into a thin line.]

Back home, I had intended to train groups of heroes across the globe, fight the idea of crime with the idea of Batman. In time, maybe I can do the same thing here, but... before I can do any of that there's still a lot of preparation left to do.

[Did he just say... he wanted more Batmen? Give him a minute, Bruce, you might have just broken him.

(Thank goodness for muscle memory, because otherwise his fingers probably would have hit the grinding wheel.)

Finally, he stops staring blankly and pulls the blade back.]

Wow, you really are different from the old, um, I mean the other Bruce. He barely tolerates me, and you want one in every city?

Isn't that a bit... [Egotistical?] ...uh... ambitious?

[Terry tosses the batarang. This time it digs itself into the wall.]

Edited 2016-12-31 05:18 (UTC)

If you would have said the same thing to me months ago, I might have agreed with you. But let's say that I had a period of time to evolve.

[He was a caveman for a while, Terry!]

It was ambitious at home, certainly. Even moreso here, I would imagine. I couldn't even really say when I'll be ready to roll something like this out. But nothing worth doing is easy.

[A pause as he watches the batarang.]

Not bad.

[Well that's an interesting word choice. And Terry has no doubt it was a deliberate one too. As for what exactly he's trying to say there... That's where Terry's got nothing. One of these days he really should figure out how to be a better detective.]

Wouldn't it be easier here? There's less cities to cover... Unless you want to put a Batman in every city.

[To be frank, he's still trying to wrap his head around Bruce's plan. He's certainly not against it, not when it means he gets to keep the suit, but not every city was like Gotham. Not every city needed to be looked over the same way.

At the compliment, he grins. Bruce compliments, especially one not buried under layers of subterfuge, are rare.]

Thanks. Some of us aren't billionaires. I've been slowly trying to figure out how to be Batman should I ever have be suddenly... on a budget.

[After all, the other Bruce can't bankroll his operation forever. He was ancient when he ran into the guy almost two years ago, and he's not getting any younger.]

No, I'm working blind here. Thankfully the version of me that was here before me gave me a good head start, but I don't like working with second hand information, even if it is me.

I've been combing through the archives of the network since I got here, but there's still a lot I don't know, and until I do, it would be irresponsible to undertake something so time consuming.

Right, I forgot, you have to know everything about everything before you do something.

[Terry, though he enjoys having a certain amount of knowledge beforehand, is fine with flying by the seat of his pants.]

And there's always going to be a lot we don't know. We're not from here. We're never going to know De Chima or Nonah like we knew our Gotham's. I dunno, maybe you're different, but I learned about Gotham City by living in it. Getting my hands dirty, you know? Sometimes you just gotta make a leap of faith.

[Bruce doesn't seem particularly moved by that, with a flat stare that persists through Terry's speech.]

Sounds like a good way to get people killed to me. And I certainly don't need you telling me about my city.

[And Terry doesn't seem particularly moved by Bruce's response either.]

And sitting back and waiting until you maybe will one day you have all the information you need won't also get people killed? That while we're sitting here debating this someone isn't out there getting mugged, or hit by a car, or worse?

Also, newsflash, where I'm from it's not your city anymore.

You've got a strong opinion of my job for someone who's been wearing the suit for a couple of years.

[Annoyed, Bruce steps to Terry.]

And as long as I'm still alive, it's my city. You wear the suit? You operate my way.

That! [Terry jabs his finger in the air in the direction of Bruce's chest.] That right there is why everyone left you where I'm from, Bruce! Why everyone keeps warning me to leave you! You can't even remotely fathom that there's more than one way to do something! You just got done telling me you want a Batman in every city, but you don't want that. You want you in every city. That's not how this works! We're not mindless robots for you to program so we can follow you blindly!

[He starts collecting his batarangs and shoving them roughly back in their compartment. He should have known coming here would be a mistake.]

I do do things your way, Bruce. But I do things mine too, because sometimes I dare to have my own thoughts. Because shockingly, your way isn't infallible.

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A superstitious, cowardly lot

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