Of Train Stations and Doctors Horrible.

[emit_dark]

Who: Tim Drake and Dr. Horrible
What: Only in town a few hours and already getting into trouble
Where: The Train Station
When: After midnight
Rating: PG-13? 
Status: Closed , Incomplete

Comments

[drhorriblesblog]

Dr. Horrible was bored. Honestly, he'd done almost no real evil in forever. It was probably due to Kaylee's influence, but no matter how Billy loved Kaylee, Dr. Horrible couldn't be satisfied simply being Billy. Tinkering around in his laboratories could occupy him for a while, but at this point he was way overdue for some public chaos

[emit_dark]

'What is this guy, a bloodhound?!' Tim winced, weighing his chances on just revealing himself outright or keeping out of sight. The gun or whatever it was did not look pleasant-- and where had it come from? Deciding in the end to bite the bullet or laser (hopefully not literally) he stepped half out of the shadows, batarang ready in his still-concealed hand.

"Just a concerned citizen. Drop it, whatever you're doing." At least there was a distance between them in things got ugly. And as Robin well knew, they always got ugly.

[drhorriblesblog]

Horrible took one look at the kid's outfit and knew exactly what he was dealing with. And it wasn't a 'concerned citizen', either. It was more outlandish than Hammer's getup, but that was a superhero costume if ever he'd seen one.

Which was the only thing keeping him from bursting out laughing. Because, seriously? Any hero or villain had to have his signature look, but the true professionals knew to avoid spandex. Of course, this kid was what, ten? He'd obviously read too many comic books. Even if he had some sort of super ability, there was no way he knew how to use it properly.

A smirk spread across Horrible's face. "Hmmm. No, I don't think I will." He kept the weapon trained on the boy. "Aren't you out pretty late for a school night?"

[emit_dark]

"I get an excused absence if it's to take care of creeps like you." Tim quipped launching the batarang with surprising strength and speed for such a small hand before launching into a series of backwards hand-spring to put more distance between him and--looked like some weirdo in a labcoat. Tame compared to most of the crazies at Arkham.

"So what exactly do you have against trains, Mister? Or is it just this one?" For the motivations of some of the people he'd faced before, a vendetta against public transit would be pretty par for the course.

[drhorriblesblog]

Something flew at him and Horrible fired reflexively, a bolt of cold energy encasing the batarang and freezing it in midair. Prudently stepping out of its path in case the Freeze Ray wore off, he watched in bemusement as the kid flipped away from him.

"So, not just a wanna-be. You've got some skills." And the snappy patter - that was hero dialogue if ever Horrible had heard it, and he had heard it a lot. Sigh. "But you're out of your league here, and I don't fight kids. Run along now."

[emit_dark]

'Stupid freeze rays.' Watching the batarang shatter at it collided with a ticket machine on the next platform over, Tim's mind worked quickly--disarming him was a priority, as it didn't seem there were any trains coming soon. Perhaps service stopped for the night and whatever he was planning was meant to hit the early morning commute into the city. Seemed a safe assumption until he got a better look at exactly what the creep was doing.

He had half a mind to be insulted by the weirdo's comments too, until he saw the opening in the wording.

'Run along, he says, fine.'

"Famous last words."

Taking the grapple gun off of belt, Tim fired high up to the support beams above the tracks, kept the line slack and ran, full-tilt at the man, weaving to dodge blasts as they came. At what seemed the final moment before impact he slid into kick aimed right at the taller man's gun hand.

[drhorriblesblog]

Gadgets, too? Horrible almost groaned. Well - obviously a hero who didn't have Hammer's brawn needed something else to make up for it. Even a Cub Scout.

And he was doing some reassessment. Young this hero might be, but he was obviously athletic and at least somewhat experienced. There was the possibility of a threat here, however minor - and however ridiculously dressed.

This new observation was borne out by the ease with which the child dodged his attacks. He managed to scramble out of the way just in time to avoid getting the weapon kicked out of his hand, but physical combat had never been Horrible's forte.

"Some hero you are," he scoffed. "I'm not the one stalking and attacking a perfect stranger. Even if I were doing anything to the train, and I'm not saying I was, what business is it of yours? You're obviously not the police."

[emit_dark]

Dangling above the tracks for a moment Tim flipped up onto the railing, landing as gracefully as he could manage--which, with freezing cold feet and toes was more of a task than it had seemed. He wobbled precariously for a moment-- "Wo--woah!" before finding firm footing on the narrow steel beam.

"Where I come from it's common sense not to trust guys in lab coats sneaking around at all hours of the night. And believe me, it is my business. One last time, what are you doing here?" Popping open another pouch on his belt, Tim readied a small round ball--a smoke bomb.

[drhorriblesblog]

"I don't answer to grade-schoolers." Keeping the Freeze Ray trained on the mini-vigilante, Horrible backed away slowly, slipping his modified iPhone from a pocket. "Especially grade-schoolers wearing capes. You've managed to not make a complete idiot of yourself tonight. I'd quit while I was ahead if I were you."

Sometimes he thought he should take a lesson from Johnny Snow and others, and create an actual ice beam. Certainly that would be a handy thing to use right now, with the kid already having trouble keeping his balance on the steel girder. But no matter: he had other tricks up his sleeves, including those small devices he'd just spent the last hour settling into place. A use he hadn't anticipated for them, but one needed to remain flexible with heroes in town.

He really didn't care for hurting kids.

[emit_dark]

From his perch, Tim could see that there were a ton of soft, blinking red lights on the tracks--and he gulped loudly. If they were explosives, there was enough there to make a crater out of the whole station and possibly the surrounding two or three blocks.

'It's times like this I miss having back-up.'

But at this point, he'd settle for high ground.

"Sorry pal, quitting isn't exactly my style. This might not be my town, but that doesn't mean I can let you get away!" Tossing the smoke bomb directly below him and holding his breath, Tim took the opportunity to swing down--holding the line with one arm and tossing a batarang with with other. There was the sound of sparking metal and he knew he hit something -- be it the freeze ray of the remote trigger. And as quickly as he landed he was in the shadows again, throwing his voice to keep the the dialog going. What was it with these freaks and talking?

"And come on, it's obvious I'n not just a grade schooler in a cape, you sure you don't want to tell me why you want blow this place sky