Thomas Kyle (cantkeepmeout) wrote in dc_nextgen,
@ 2013-09-08 20:56:00

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Thomas stopped and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He was out of the wheelchair and on crutches now but there was still a way to recovery, and he was making sure to keep active how he could to make the recovery to street-able status faster.

But this was a long time coming, and he'd been stewing ever since the Joker encounter. He hadn't been enough. The Joker got him and used him, to demand a Batman and hurt Maria, and now he was free in the city. While it bothered him that they'd gotten the jump on him, angered him really, it bothered him more that the whole encounter had made something painfully obvious. Robin wasn't enough. The Joker had demanded a Batman, and now he knew what all the other criminals in this city had known. There was no Batman, and without that presence, that striking figure of fear, Gotham was worse off. The Joker could run free, the criminals had no real fear of the rest of them, and despite his work in the last few years, most of them still thought of Robin as the youthful bright partner of Batman. Not a figure to fear at all.

The entire Batman mythos his father had created was near useless if there was no Batman to use it. And now Gotham was on the decline.

While he steeled himself and plucked up the courage to make the last few metres to Bruce's study door, Mr. Paws who'd been walking along the bannister leading to the stairs had stopped to watch him. After a moment the cat hopped up onto Thomas's shoulders and walked along to rest on one and give his owner a look. "I know, I know," Thomas muttered. "Just get it over with, I'm not asking for me, I'm asking for Gotham."

Here he was about to ask for something he felt he had no right to, but he had to do it. He just needed it long enough to get rid of the Joker, that was all. He could return it after, he wasn't asking for it permanently just long enough to stop this chaos. But it was still a conversation he dreaded.

The cat seemed to think the muttering wasn't enough and hopped off Thomas's shoulder to lead the way to the study door, stopping and looking back expectantly when he got there. Thomas sighed once more and followed. When he got to the door he paused before knocking on the door briefly.

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cantkeepmeout
2013-09-16 12:20 am UTC (link)

While there was plenty of training equipment upstairs, and the gym in the Manor was the one he'd been using these past weeks, since the talk Thomas had set up camp in the Cave. It had better and more extensive equipment, plus he could acess files and have the computer dictate things to him. Sure he'd been keeping himself up to date on files here, something he took seriously since he wasn't a native, but if he was going to operate with the cowl he needed to up his game.

So tonight when Maria returned from patrol, instead of a largely empty cave, the there was the sound of files and videos being played as the bat-computer projected relevant holograms and Thomas was in the middle of a one-handed handstand on the bar. Sure he couldn't use his legs too much yet, but upper body was fair game.

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	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 12:22 am UTC (link)
	Huntress' bike skidded to a halt and the engine died. Huntress climbed off and removed her mask. Maria sighed and wanted nothing but to climb into a hot shower. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 12:25 am UTC (link)
	"Long night?" Comes his voice from his spot upside-down on top the bar as she approaches the much more active main console. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 12:29 am UTC (link)
	"You could say that," Maria said and fell into a chair next to him. "How goes it here?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2013-09-16 12:43 am UTC (link)

Normally he'd hop off the bar and go over to her, but with his legs he couldn't do that quite yet, so instead he just switched his grip and swung down to do pull-ups while talking to her. "Okay. I have to cram everything in that computer that I haven't already into my head, slowly get these legs back into street condition, and bulk up slightly, all in the next few weeks. So...it goes."

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	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:00 am UTC (link)
	Maria's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?" she asked. This wasn't like Thomas at all. Something happened and she was determined to find out. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 05:06 am UTC (link)
	It wasn't too different for him, he'd always been dedicated, but this was a few steps up and obviously more than just wanting to get back into action soon. "Need to be prepared for when I can finally get back out there. We're going to fix this mess in Gotham. First, it means making a statement." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:08 am UTC (link)
	"There are a lot of messes in Gotham to clean up," she said. "But this is different. You're different. What gives?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2013-09-16 05:19 am UTC (link)

"Not different, just determined," he argued. "And this mess, the Joker, the underworld, too much power and a distinct lack of fear in them." He sighed and stopped the pull ups to switch back to the rest of the usual bar routine. "Robin isn't enough, frankly I'm not enough, but you were right about something. Somewhat right I mean. So to fix this, like I said, needs a statement. A big one. And I can't half-ass it. Hence all this."

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	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:23 am UTC (link)
	It clicked in Maria's head what he was talking about. "Well it's about damn time. What did he say about it?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 05:27 am UTC (link)
	"Well I asked him first obviously, wouldn't have started anything before I did that." Thomas slowly let himself down from the bar and took one of his crutches to make his way over to a seat nearby her. "He agreed that Gotham needed a statement now and this was the best way to do it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:33 am UTC (link)
	"Like I said, it's about damn time," she said. "How's the recovery going?" Thomas had become as much family as her blood relatives from this dimension and she worried about him. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2013-09-16 05:38 am UTC (link)

"Yeah but your reasons for thinking I should ask, and my reasons for asking, along with the reasons he let me, are quite different," he rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly. "Steady, that's about all I can say for it. One leg out of commission would go faster since actually practising moving about normally would be easier with one good leg. Unfortunately didn't get that. So..." He shrugged. "I'll make do."

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	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:42 am UTC (link)
	"Yes, but in the end I was right." She smirked. "You'll be back in action in no time. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

cantkeepmeout
2013-09-16 05:46 am UTC (link)

He just seemed amused, but let her gloat in victory. "Hopefully, just need to be more stable on my feet, by then he'll be done with the new suit and I'll be on the streets. But in the meantime, I'd appreciate hearing from you what the situation out there is. It's one thing the news reports and logs, but you're the only one out there right now who's judgement I trust. Gives me a better idea of what I'll be jumping back into."

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	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 05:52 am UTC (link)
	Maria wasn't sure she'd trust her own judgement at the moment, but she'd make sure she gave him accurate reports. The mess with her personal life proved that her judgement wasn't the best. She nodded. "Don't worry. I'll give you accurate sitreps of what's going on." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 05:56 am UTC (link)
	"Perfect. Then we'll use it to come up with a plan of action and..." He smirked slightly her way. "'Strike fear into the hearts of those who prey upon the fearful'?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 06:06 am UTC (link)
	Maria smiled. "Something like that. It'll be nice having the Bat back and I think you'll do a great job." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 06:09 am UTC (link)
	Thomas wasn't sure how this would all turn out, but he'd certainly put everything he had into it. "We'll see." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 06:13 am UTC (link)
	"I'll let you get back to your workout and learning. I need a hot shower and bed." Maria had been pushing herself more than normal lately. Long days at the office and then long nights on the streets. It was the only way she knew how to keep her mind off of a certain someone. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-16 06:19 am UTC (link)
	Thomas nodded, he'd be up for a few more hours, there was a lot of work to do and he was already adjusting his sleep schedule for more night-time activities, plus getting his body used to being active at these hours. "Good night then, or morning, however we're calling it." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	crossbow_bat 2013-09-16 06:21 am UTC (link)
	"It's still night. The sun isn't up yet." Maria stood up. "Night, Thomas." She headed for the elevator. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	cantkeepmeout 2013-09-19 11:48 pm UTC (link)
	He had to smile at that. "That's our definition of it, yes." He waved at her as she left, then pushed a few buttons on the bat-computer to change which files were being dictated before he went back to the bar to continue. He wasn't going to bed yet, there was a lot to be done. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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