This is the Ultimate Showdown~ [OPEN!, In Progress]
WHO: Batman, Prince Edward, Giselle, and anyone who wants to spectate.
WHAT: A duel!
WHERE: A clearing in the middle of the park.
WHEN: Day 285 (1/6/09), noon
Bruce was, needless to say, distinctly displeased with this turn of events. All he had been trying to do was save her life-- this didn't have anything to do with trying to win Giselle's heart. That was the important thing to him, and yet, somehow, all of it had just... spiraled completely out of control into this debacle. The last thing he wanted to do was waste time fighting a man who should be his ally for the love of his fiancee.
Admittedly, Bruce did care for her, did want to protect her, did want to make her stronger, but they weren't anything more than friends. Couldn't be anything more than friends-- All too quickly he had seen what had become of Sydney the instant they allowed their relationship to cross that line. Gone. Disappeared into thin air, just as Dent had died, just as Starfire had been murdered. It was a miracle that Max and Batgirl hadn't paid more dearly for their association with him yet. More names in the litany of loved ones that he had failed to save. He would not allow Giselle to become one of those names.
And it was more than that, he knew, more than just his own weakness. While it was clear to even the most casual observer how different Bruce and Edward were, Bruce understood just how crucial those differences were. Edward was able-- more than able, really-- to give Giselle all the love, support, and attention she could ever want or need, but with Bruce, the mission would always come first. Always, anyone he was with, anyone he cared about would invariably be neglected in favor of his neverending quest. She deserved more than that. Anyone deserved more than that. More than that, though, Bruce was a creature of the dark, and Giselle, a princess of the light. Fear was his weapon, and darkness his cloak. He had been broken, twisted, corrupted on some deep fundamental level long ago-- he had come as close to becoming a monster as any had ever come in his near constant battles against the villains of Gotham and the madness and despair of the city itself. He had made the decision to make her stronger, but still sometimes he wondered if his influence on her would keep her from her homeworld, would make her unable to live there in that realm of fairytale happiness. No, things were better the way they were, with her as Edward's Princess.
But why, then, was he here? Why not yield to Edward's challenge instead of taking it up? And why were Xaldin's damnable words repeating in his head, over and over again?
Ill at ease, he waited in the shadows of the trees surrounding the clearing, feeling restless, but unwilling to move and give away his location. Swathed in black as always, complete with a hooded cloak, the only difference today from his usual attire was the fact that his black swords sword-- one of the collapsible titanium alloy ones form his belt-- was hanging from his belt already.
When finally Edward arrived and the time came for the duel, the Dark Knight slipped down his hood, and expression dark, strode forth from the shadows into the light, no closer to having the answers for the questions ringing in his head than when he arrived.
WHAT: A duel!
WHERE: A clearing in the middle of the park.
WHEN: Day 285 (1/6/09), noon
Bruce was, needless to say, distinctly displeased with this turn of events. All he had been trying to do was save her life-- this didn't have anything to do with trying to win Giselle's heart. That was the important thing to him, and yet, somehow, all of it had just... spiraled completely out of control into this debacle. The last thing he wanted to do was waste time fighting a man who should be his ally for the love of his fiancee.
Admittedly, Bruce did care for her, did want to protect her, did want to make her stronger, but they weren't anything more than friends. Couldn't be anything more than friends-- All too quickly he had seen what had become of Sydney the instant they allowed their relationship to cross that line. Gone. Disappeared into thin air, just as Dent had died, just as Starfire had been murdered. It was a miracle that Max and Batgirl hadn't paid more dearly for their association with him yet. More names in the litany of loved ones that he had failed to save. He would not allow Giselle to become one of those names.
And it was more than that, he knew, more than just his own weakness. While it was clear to even the most casual observer how different Bruce and Edward were, Bruce understood just how crucial those differences were. Edward was able-- more than able, really-- to give Giselle all the love, support, and attention she could ever want or need, but with Bruce, the mission would always come first. Always, anyone he was with, anyone he cared about would invariably be neglected in favor of his neverending quest. She deserved more than that. Anyone deserved more than that. More than that, though, Bruce was a creature of the dark, and Giselle, a princess of the light. Fear was his weapon, and darkness his cloak. He had been broken, twisted, corrupted on some deep fundamental level long ago-- he had come as close to becoming a monster as any had ever come in his near constant battles against the villains of Gotham and the madness and despair of the city itself. He had made the decision to make her stronger, but still sometimes he wondered if his influence on her would keep her from her homeworld, would make her unable to live there in that realm of fairytale happiness. No, things were better the way they were, with her as Edward's Princess.
But why, then, was he here? Why not yield to Edward's challenge instead of taking it up? And why were Xaldin's damnable words repeating in his head, over and over again?
Ill at ease, he waited in the shadows of the trees surrounding the clearing, feeling restless, but unwilling to move and give away his location. Swathed in black as always, complete with a hooded cloak, the only difference today from his usual attire was the fact that his black swords sword-- one of the collapsible titanium alloy ones form his belt-- was hanging from his belt already.
When finally Edward arrived and the time came for the duel, the Dark Knight slipped down his hood, and expression dark, strode forth from the shadows into the light, no closer to having the answers for the questions ringing in his head than when he arrived.