[ closed log ]

[yousonofabat]

WHO: a_dark_crusader, batdamned, and yousonofabat
WHAT: BATS.
WHERE: Truth or Consequences
WHEN: Wednesday night
WARNINGS: Bats.
SUMMARY: Bruce is a creeper. Damian is a creeper. Creepers gonna creep.

Comments

[batdamned]

Indeed, Damian has been partially distracted for the last few minutes of their patrol, mainly because he was mentally beating himself up for not noticing their tail earlier. The fact that he realized it and still couldn't tell exactly who it was narrowed the possibilities down to a couple of people. One he could deal with, and one he couldn't.

He still hadn't made up his mind which was which.

Batman stopped, looking behind them and giving the signal for Batwoman to hold position. "You can come out now."

[a_dark_crusader]

[ Batman clung to the shadows perfectly, only betraying his presence with the white pearls of his eyes when Damian calls out. The darkness trails him like a wraith until he separates himself from them entirely, cape wafting gently behind him. ]

[yousonofabat]

It figured, really. She'd been trained by him, had been his partner a lifetime ago, but he was always and forever the Bat. She'd never gotten good enough to track him, but she didn't have the genetic jackpot that Damian had been born with---or his dubious training. Steph tried to not beat herself up about being blind to his tailing them, but it still stung.

She was supposed to be a for real adult now, after all.

"Still too good for hellos, huh," Batwoman said, slapping a smirk over her faint embarrassment. "Some things never change."

[batdamned]

On one hand, it was the option he wouldn't have had to fight.

On the other, he would probably preferred a fight at the moment.

Damian folded his arms over his chest, partially covering the black bat emblem, almost like he was afraid to be caught wearing it in front of his father. Something, he knew, that had to be gotten over. But not right now.

"No, they really don't," Batman the younger snorted. "Any particular reason for the unexpected check-in?"

[a_dark_crusader]

[ He's quiet even as he approaches them, judging them even openly until he's no more than a breaths distance from the both of them, wearing that perpetual mask of stoicism even though they've both seen him without the cowl. ]

I wanted to see just how Batman operated for myself.

[yousonofabat]

Always with the tests. This, she hadn't missed. More often than not, she was the one testing Damian now, in small ways. It looked like there was no age limit to the Bat's scrutiny.

Going to Seattle to see Bruce wasn't the same as...whatever this was here, now. That'd been a 'family' get together, but he'd made his intention clear this time: he was here to see the new Batman.

If this turned into some kind of fight, she wasn't sure what she'd do. Steph was usually good at judging which way they'd turn, how they'd react, but the bunched up timeline threw her off her game.

"And?" She prompted, hands on her hips.

[batdamned]

He knew it. He knew it and it still managed to get under his skin. Because this version of his father didn't have faith in him yet. He hadn't won him over through years of working together. Starting from square one was tiresome. Damian never liked repeating himself.

"And?" He echoed, trying not to show any more aggravation than usual.

[a_dark_crusader]

[ Batman gives Damian a withering look, though that could mean anything from him-- he was always scrutinizing, always the most judgmental. He passes the both of them, and kneels beside one of the unconscious thugs, then takes his ankle in his hand-- no shoes. A smuggler; they'd travel barefoot so that they wouldn't leave footprints. ]

I haven't decided yet.

[yousonofabat]

"Of course you haven't."

Steph had never been the best at keeping her temper or holding her tongue, but being tired and cranky didn't help in any way. It had been too long since she'd been caught in the crosshairs of the Bat-beam of Judgment. She wouldn't protest, though---couldn't. She knee that constant quality checks and judgment were just part and parcel of working within the umbrella of the Batman's control.

You played by his rules, or you left and became something they fought. Those were the only real options.

"Do I get to put in my assessment, or should I just go powder my nose while you two glare it out?"

[batdamned]

"I am not glaring." said Damian, while glaring. Stephanie had the cooler head, as she usually did, which means that he found himself compensating with indignation. Even though he knew it was pointless and more than a little misguided.

He turned back to his father, dropping his defensive stance. "You're of course welcome to keep watching. Don't think we'll change things just because we know that you're around. We won't be awkward or try specifically to impress you." It was much for him to hear as Bruce.

[a_dark_crusader]

[ Bruce stares at Damian for a long minute, but otherwise ignores his son, and instead turns his attention to Stephanie. The turn of his gaze is slow and methodical, and it certainly doesn't soften for her. ]

Alright.

[yousonofabat]

And she just had to go and open her big mouth, didn't she? Realistically, she should have learned how to keep herself from letting stupid word dribble out, as often as it got her in trouble. But no, Stephanie Brown was a glutton for punishment who didn't think before she spoke

[batdamned]

Damian would probably be more upset if A. that was coming from anyone but Stephanie, and B. he could argue with a single word of it. Not that he couldn't for the sake of arguing, but it would be pointless. And this wasn't the time for his usual immature games with her regardless.

Instead, he glanced at her once she was done talking, and then looked back to his father. "Sounds accurate." Does he actually sound a little amused? Possibly.

[a_dark_crusader]

[ Bruce closes the distance between Stephanie and Damian, leaving that painful judgmental pause before he decides to speak again. ]

If I didn't make it clear, I've already decided on carrying the title of Batman.

[ He pulls a small disk from his belt and pushes it gently into Damian's chest, back of his hand against the bat symbol. ]

I said I was here to see how you operate. And to give you what I found on who's running Los Zetas, the cartel smuggling drugs into New Mexico.

José Vasconcelos-- a ranch foreman operating outside of Columbus. Shadowed by a group of heavily trained ex-Rurales. Work 12/24/12/48 shifts.

[ He stares at the both of them. ]

Shouldn't be a problem for Batman and Batwoman, though.