oranges and lemons say the bells of St. Clement's

[crossedstaves]

WHO: wire_master, a_dark_crusader, tightpantsrawr, crossedstaves, knightflown
WHAT: Team Vengeful vs. Team Bat (prize is a skinny psychiatrist)
WHERE: Seattle rooftop, possibly other places, it depends how fast Crane can run
WHEN: late evening
WARNINGS: v-violence and death
SUMMARY: Who do you hope will save you when you're about to be killed by two mean guys? Batman, that's who. Can Batman and Nightwing fend

Comments

BEFORE THE FIGHT

[crossedstaves]

[a_dark_crusader]

This world wasn't their home, and neither New Mexico, Seattle, or Manhattan was Gotham, and Crane was the first person to learn the hard way that the same old routine wasn't going to turn out the same way. If there was one constant he could depend on, though, it was Batman.

When he arrives, he just seems to be there, with no appearance or entrance of any kind. Even his large cape seems to mimic the sound of the wind as it bristles against it. He's a vision of the Batman this Crane knows back home.

"Crane."

[crossedstaves]

The doctor's back stiffened and he turned to inspect the speaker, eyes bright and cold beneath his glasses. As had probably been noted from previous video posts, he was younger than the self Batman knew, somewhat more personable. The other thing he was, though, was more clearly mad. It was in his shallow breathing, the rapt way he stared, unblinking, at this Batman, and the tremor of a smile threatening to break loose.

"Batman," he answered, the slightest of hyphens between each syllable. So different, yet so very much the same. Less armor, more grit. This one had a better hang of the voice, even if he looked more ridiculous; which was not to say Crane had any doubt he could easily be thrown around by the man.

"Thank you for your attention," he said politely, taking off his glasses and folding them to put in his pocket. "I'm sure it won't be long now."

[a_dark_crusader]

Bruce is tense, and by the time Crane is talking, he's already speed walking towards him, bristling. He grabs him harshly by the arm, and when his fingers close around it, it feels like he could break it in two at any moment. "We don't have time," he snaps. "We have to get you out of here."

He almost yanks him off his feet, towards the door and down to the car. Where was Nightwing. "Where are you," he growls into the earpiece.

I'll stick a Crane comment in after this.

[knightflown]

"I see Jason," comes the slightly tinny response, adding coordinates that put him a street over to the east. "Engaging. ... That makes us sound like a naval battle. Well, nevertheless."

He still wondered where inside Bruce, if anywhere — no, that was stupid to think. Where did he keep all his feelings for Jason? Because Dick would like a handy storage place, too, though his feelings could hardly be comparable. It had been a while since he and Jason had met or clashed, but in just a few moments, they'd finally see each other again—

[crossedstaves]

Well. Crane couldn't say this had been entirely unexpected, and put up no struggle. This was, after all, what he'd asked for. He docilely trailed Batman in tow, at times trying not to laugh, which was probably a nervous reaction after his experience being exposed to the toxin and interrogated. That had been pretty fucking trippy.

"You're older." He murmured, really to himself, but he assumed Batman would hear him anyway. "You've done this more. You work with others."