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Batman/Bruce Wayne ([info]thedarkknight) wrote in [info]dc_heroes,
@ 2010-11-07 10:58:00


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Entry tags:batman, wonder woman

Brother I is watching...
Two days after Batman's meeting with the Justice League, the Dark Knight returns to his headquarters and begins the nightly (or morning, rather) ritual of removing his armor and going over the night's work. The appearance of a new designer drug in Gotham has been his top priority, as well as keeping the family of a visiting diplomat out of harm's reach has taken up most of his attention. Robin has been doing the legwork of watching over the family, but Batman knows he will need to step in soon.

Meanwhile, he finds that the new Wayne Enterprises satellite is working as intended and he notes where Superman, Green Lantern and other members of the new Justice League are as they move about the planet. He couldn't allow this new group to operate unchecked, no matter how much he wanted to believe that Clark and the others would be able keep things in line. Rumors of the Justice League's return were being met overall with triumph, though there was hostility in other places. Across the world, media outlets vocally floated the idea that the time had come for every country to create their own Justice League to keep America from policing them even further.

Batman files away every scrap of information, knowing that it will all be necessary at some point. I

It always is.

Alfred arrives from upstairs, his polished shoes clacking softly against the stone of the steps as he arrives.

"Master Bruce, Princess Diana wishes to speak to you. Shall I send her down?" he asks.

Bruce grunts, and switches to something else on the computer screen.

"Very well. I'll send her down presently." Alfred says, returning the way he came.



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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-07 06:58 pm UTC (link)
Bruce is certain he doesn't like where this is going.

"If this about the League, Diana, let's not waste our time." he says, standing up to offer her his chair. Bruce goes to a training mat across from Diana and drops to the floor, beginning a set of push-ups.

"I'm listening." he says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-07 07:02 pm UTC (link)
"Listening is an act best done when one doesn't put conditions on what is being heard. You taught me that." Taking the offered seat she watches him for a moment, studying how he moves and how what he feels--the things he thinks, says, doesn't say--translate through the movements of his muscles.

"You grossly misunderstood the intent of at least one person in that room when votes were taken, Bruce. You presume that every vote of return was a handwaving of sins past but for once, Batman, you are wrong."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-07 07:36 pm UTC (link)
"That's /exactly/ what it was, Diana." Bruce says between repetitions.

"He. Tried. To. Kill. Us." Bruce says, emphasizing each word. "Why is that so hard for everyone to understand? If he can possessed or influenced or whatever he claims he was and he has the most powerful weapon in the universe on his finger, why would we not demand that he give up the ring and stay off the streets?

It sounds like perfect sense to me, yet everyone in that room gave Jordan a free pass because he's Hal Jordan and they'd all rather be his friend than stand up to him." Bruce says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-07 07:59 pm UTC (link)
"First, we flatter ourselves if we think that we are the beings who decide where the rings go. That job belongs to the Oans...who don't particularly care what our opinions are. But second, if Hal is the bearer of the most powerful weapon in the universe, doesn't it stand to reason that the best place for him to be is where the only people in the world who could take him down are able to? If he is in fact a threat, it makes more sense to keep him close rather than let him go off on his own."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-07 08:06 pm UTC (link)
"But it makes the /most/ sense to make him give up the ring." Bruce says. This argument was circular and not getting them anywhere at all.

"I don't believe that Hal Jordan is on our side and I never will. He broke a code, a trust that we all had between us and I will not allow him to do it again." Batman says.

She had no idea why he held so tightly to his convictions. Perhaps if he told her, then she would understand, but perhaps she'd just think him paranoid, as the others always do. It was easier for them to all believe he was just as crazy as the people he fought than it was to consider that he had a point, despite how hard he'd worked to gain their trust.

They were all-powerful beings and he was just a man. They never seemed to understand that, not even Clark.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-07 08:11 pm UTC (link)
"Bruce, what's really going on here? You and I both know we have no say in who or what has a ring and it's not like you to fixate on things that you actually have no control over. This is bigger than Hal. What is it?"

Diana was no fool. She'd watched Man enough to read them fairly well and while she wasn't the only 'outsider' on the team, her society worked radically different from the others'. She could tell something more was at play, though she wasn't certain what.

"I'm asking as your friend."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-07 08:26 pm UTC (link)
"When Jordan was Parallax, he hit us hard and fast. He attacked us without mercy or regard to whatever alliances we used to hold." Bruce says, standing up now to look at her.

"I was the one who found him first after the initial attack. Parallax offered me the chance to join him, saying that I could inspire fear better than Hal Jordan ever could. I refused.

In return, he locked me into one of my worst nightmares, Diana. He reached into my head and used my own fear against me. He took my failure with Dick and Jason's death, which I'd spoken to Jordan about once, and combined it with the horror of my parents murder. I watched Dick and Jason gunned down by my parents' killer and watched as Tim met the same fate. Then, he made me experience how Bane broke me, while my enemies watched." Bruce says quietly, looking away from her.

"He made me live those moments over and over and over again, Diana. By the time you all found me, I'd snapped out of it, but I've never forgotten that it was Hal Jordan who'd put the special wrinkles into that little hell because I'd considered him an ally, someone worthy of my trust." Batman growls.

"So, when I watched all of you vote to forgive his sins, I realized that someone had to remember what he did to us, what he /could/ do again if given the chance.

So he's just one more perp in my book, Diana. That's something the rest of you are never going to understand." Bruce says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-07 09:16 pm UTC (link)
Diana listened intently to Bruce's every word. Unlike Clark, Diana had an expressive countenance and as he spoke her face reflected the horror she felt for him and what he had been through. When he finished she was silent for a long time, both suppressing an urge to hug the man before her but also to point out that Parallax was simply mining Hal's mind for weapons. It was a true point, but she understood how little that mattered.

Bruce had been hurt by a monster wearing a friend's face. It was so very soap opera plotesque, but hurtful just the same.

"My god, Bruce. None of us knew that. We...we needed to know." She moved to him and lay a hand on his shoulder. "I wish you would have told me."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-07 09:31 pm UTC (link)
"Why? So everyone could tell me exactly what they all told me the other day? So Jordan could put on his most remorseful face and tell me that he didn't remember what he'd done and ask forgiveness?" Bruce asks, his tone cool.

"I don't need anyone's pity, Diana. Not even yours." he says, simply.

"I know my shortcomings and all of my failures. I live with them every single day, especially the death of someone who trusted me to protect him, to be there for him. All Jordan did was renew my dedication to my cause and drive home that I can't afford to be careless ever again or let my guard down." Bruce says, looking at Diana.

"In a way, I should be thanking Jordan, but I figure I did that by not taking him apart." Batman says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 03:19 am UTC (link)
"My compassion and care for you isn't pity, Bruce Wayne."

Realizing she will likely get growled at or punched for this, Diana elected to hug the man anyway.

"I can't force the Oans to take his ring anymore than I can force the others to reconsider their votes, but I can watch Hal like a hawk and I will take him down should the moment arise. You have my word."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 03:23 am UTC (link)
Bruce tenses at the hug for a moment, but then finally relents and relaxes in Diana's embrace. After another long moment, he returns it, holding her close.

Then he looks down at her.

"You couldn't be here just to talk about me. Do you need help with something?" he asks.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 03:26 am UTC (link)
"Nah, just came here for a hug." She grinned at him for a moment. "I did actually come here for help. Do you recall me telling you briefly about the drug issue going on back on my turf?"

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 03:29 am UTC (link)
"I do and your showing up tonight saved me a phone call. I may have a lead for you." he says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 03:31 am UTC (link)
She wasn't expecting that.

"Bruce I'll be honest; I could use every lead I can get."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 04:59 am UTC (link)
Bruce beckons for her to follow him to an elevator that takes them to the second sub-level of the cave, where his crime lab is. He steps off the lift and goes directly to a freezer.

"Your information gave me a good place to start working from. I broke down the chemical compound for the drug and found exactly what it does." Bruce says, listing out the various chemicals in that went into the drugs production and their use.

"When brought together, the neurological effects are staggering. The user feels no pain, no fear, no sense of self-preservation. They'll do /anything/ without question. This drug has no /immediate/ harmful side-effects.

Forty-eight hours after first exposure, however, is where the danger begins. The chemical destroys brain tissue, leading to a cumulative loss of motor functions. The subject becomes a vegetable within days, then dies. Painfully." Batman says, passing Diana his write up.

"I don't think the neurological deterioration is an intended effect. Whoever is doing this wants to refine the compound. Imagine a group of people who are willing to throw themselves in front you at a command. One could build an army that way." Batman muses.

"I checked my sources and found out that thefts of the chemicals in question are up and they're being shipped to Gotham. There are a couple of chemists in town who could figure out how to weaponize a hallucinogen and both of them are people I've had to deal with previously." Batman says.

"If you up for it tomorrow night, we can pay them a visit and figure out who their working for." Batman offers.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 05:08 am UTC (link)
As she reads over the information Bruce has put together she looks sorrowful, shaking her head from time to time.

"They're using my city as their clinical testing. This is horrible. I'm up for it, Bruce. This has to be stopped. And now."

His idea that the drug could be intended to create an army troubles her. There are many threats who would desire that, but few who could accomplish it. And none of the options are good.

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 05:25 am UTC (link)
"All right. Then we start work tomorrow night. Or tonight, rather. Are you staying in Gotham or flying back to New York immediately?" he asks.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 05:26 am UTC (link)
"It would probably be simpler for me to stay. It would present me an opportunity to get better acquainted with the information you've provided me. However, this is your city and I know your concerns so I will defer to what makes you most comfortable."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 05:37 am UTC (link)
"There's a room you can stay in here. No need to leave." Bruce says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 05:38 am UTC (link)
"I appreciate that, Bruce. Thank you. And I get to have some time with Alfred, which I always enjoy."

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-08 05:45 am UTC (link)
"All right. Then, I guess I'll have Alfred make up the guest room and I'll see you soon." Bruce says.

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[info]princess_diana
2010-11-08 08:10 pm UTC (link)
"Bruce, thank you for your work on this. For helping me. Something about this whole thing hasn't settled with me from the beginning and it's reassuring to have your expertise on board." She picked up the printed information Bruce had on the compounds and headed towards the stairs.

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[info]thedarkknight
2010-11-09 02:35 am UTC (link)
Bruce watched Diana go, not immune to noticing the form of one of the world's most beautiful women as she walked up the stairs toward the Manor.

Bruce finishes changing clothes, showers and then heads up to his own room, asking Alfred to awaken him as late as possible and to make Diana breakfast when she's awake as well.

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