First Night [Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[In the middle of the previous night, a note will be left under the door of Clark Kent.  It reads as follows:]

Clark,

There are urgent matters to discuss.  Be on top of Community Housing 7 at midnight.

[The note is not signed and not dated.  Mysterious letter is mysterious.  The only question is whether or not Clark will meet him there at the

Comments

[crytearsofjoy]

[Are you stalking some place near the smithy? If you are, look. A blond girl. Nothing interesting at all. Except for the fact that she has noticed it's night time outside. She exits the smithy with a large canvas shoulder bag. And what's that popping out of the top? A hand?! No, it's just the metal skeleton of one. Winry walks down the street like it's prefectly normal to be carrying such a thing around.]

[cowledcrusader]

[...Now that's a strange sight. All sorts of weird things going on here. He can't quite make how good a quality the hand is, but still... a person with that sort of talent might be worth observing. He'll be following her from the darkness. He might want to get a closer look at that equipment she's carrying later.]

[crytearsofjoy]

[The mechanic won't notice you, despite that fact she's a little wary walking around at night in Luceti. So Bats is free to stalk! However Winry crosses over a sheet of ice she hadn't noticed.]

Ah! [Slipping on the ice, her bag flies into the air and she lands on her ass. The contents of Winry's bag are scattered on the ground. Various tools, and that hand Batman had seen. But it's attached to a full skeletal arm! Though it does look a little bare. Oh woe for the lack of advanced technology in Luceti.]

[cowledcrusader]

[...Actually, this sight makes Batman feel bad. He'll silently move toward where she fell and retrieve some of the contents of her bag (including that metal arm) and give it a quick look over. ...This is astounding quality given the backwards technological nature of this village. Congrats, Winry, you've impressed the Bat enough for him to want to speak to you.

The voice will come from not far behind, and he's approaching. The arm is in one hand, and he's offering his other hand to help her to her feet. ...Of course he's a man dressed like a bat that stands 6'3'' and is built like a tank.]

Your work is very impressive.

[crytearsofjoy]

[Oh my god was that vocal gravel she was hearing. No. It was Batman. Due to Winry's previous experiences with the people of Luceti and night time, the girl backs away a little instead of accepting his offer for help up. He may not be an Armstrong, but he was definitely big enough to be intimidating. Winry's voice sounds unsure and a little shaky as she helps herself up.]

Thank you?

[cowledcrusader]

I never expected to see an engineer skilled enough to construct something like this here. A fully articulate prothestic limb isn't easy to create, even with advanced technology.

[He holds out the arm for her to take back.]

[crytearsofjoy]

It's a family business, I... [She cautiously accepts the arm from him. Once it's in her possession she holds it close to her, as if it were something delicate and precious.] I try to live up to the name.

[The girl took a second to look at the rest of her stuff on the ground. She wanted to pick the tools up, she really did, but she didn't trust Batman.] Why are you so interested, sir?

[cowledcrusader]

[He saw the look, and he'll take a couple of steps back to show he doesn't mean harm.]

...I know a few people back home who would really like something like this.

[wings_thatwait]

O-oh. [Winry lowered her eyes. It was never a good thing when someone needed automail installed. Sure she enjoyed her job, but it was a bitter sweet business. Winry felt safe enough to pick up her tools now, but never let the creepy guy out of her peripheral vision.]

If they were here, I'd... I'd be happy to install a limb or two, [or all of them] but even then there's limited amount of materials. The metal has been alright to find, but wires are a different... [Winry starts fiddling to put the arm and her tools back into the back. A wrench, a screwdriver, a hammer...]

[cowledcrusader]

They're probably of a lower quality metal or one less conductive to electricity. ...How do you manage to power these limbs without a battery of significant size?

[crytearsofjoy]

The person is the battery! Well, sort of. The wires are connected to the nervous system. The brain shoots out electrical impulses, and once converted from the port into the wires those impulses power the arm. This helps make automail fully functioning like a normal limb. It's unlike the regular non-automail prosthetic limbs in that way.

[cowledcrusader]

[...Okay, now that causes him to raise an eyebrow, which she might actually notice. That wasn't the answer he expected at all. If he were Bruce Wayne in Gotham City right now, he'd hire her on the spot.

Developing prothestics as a family business too... Thomas Wayne would've loved the Rockbell family.]

Sounds like a real boon to humanity. You must do a lot of good for your world.

[crytearsofjoy]

Mm. [She takes a second to finally get all her things in place in her bag.] But for me to have a job people would have to be hurt first. Automail is only a popular business because of the war.

[cowledcrusader]

A tragic side effect of humankind's baser instincts.

...But I doubt you're doing your work because it's popular.

[crytearsofjoy]

Yeah? And what makes you think that?

[cowledcrusader]

[...This one he knows from experience himself.]

Pride. A sense of duty to one's family to honor what they've worked hard for. Like helping people that need it. And because those who are passionate about what they do are those who do it regardless of popularity.