The First Flight [Action/Voice]

[schwayginnis]

[He milled about the village casually, the clothes he had found himself in when he first arrived not fazing him in the least. The truly important suit was stashed away in the small tan backpack slung onto one shoulder, his hands never quite leaving the strap. He had gotten it without too much hassle, oddly enough in the weapon shop rather than the

Comments

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[Yoru-sensei. A name he knew well. But a name he never once spoke of here in Luceti. That meant one thing. The person who addressed him knew certain facts. However, the mention of Tanaga-sensei was not something he had expected. Kiari Tanaga was Yoru-sensei's star pupil in more recent years, and he had saved her life from Kyodai Ken when he demanded the location of the scroll to learn Kiba no Houkou.

Several deductions ran through Batman's mind:

Foremost, this person either had intimate knowledge of, and most likely, was from his world. Second, they had enough knowledge to deduce that a student of Yoru's was here... and to know exactly who it was: Bruce Wayne. Batman. Only a handful of people in his world could draw that conclusion.

One name stood out in his mind most of all. Kyodai Ken. Though he was reasonably certain Kyodai had perished in the volcanic blast, Luceti had a nasty tendency to bring the dead back to life.

...But there was an important caveat. Kyodai would never refer to Tanaga as sensei, let alone

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

[It was like clockwork. Seriously, set a timer and then you hear that light woosh and then he would show up before you even walked away from the damn thing. It was only out of sheer practice and training that Terry could even remotely pick it up. He looked into the shadows, straining his eyes as he kept the use of his cowl's enhancing functions to a minimum. There was that slight edge of a figure, but he could not be entirely sure.

It was then that it dawned on Terry: how the hell was he supposed to introduce himself...to Batman...in the shadows...and not get batarang'd or thrown from the building? He groaned inwardly. He had not thought that part of his cunning plan. Best first impressions were not made through combat, but Terry lacked both the tact and inclination towards making best first impressions. Slowly, he crept forward straight-on towards the figure, trying his best to remain just loud enough that only Bruce could pick up the faint whisper of movement.]

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[And hear it he did. And from somewhere else, other than where Terry was looking, a voice seemed to come from the shadows.]

...Looking for someone?

[No movement.]

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

[Figures. Always with the theatrics...]

Maybe...you throwing your voice again or are you playing the game straight?

[He shifted around quietly, eyes raking over the shadows while keeping his guard up...especially on his left.]

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[...He knows he's capable of ventriloquism as well. Definitely not someone to be underestimated.

He moves silently around the figure. Even he can't quite make out the silhouette in the darkness, but he can see where it is. A moment or so more and he can appear behind his stalker and turn the tables.

But for now, Terry gets no reply.]

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

[Great. He's stalking me. Next thing I know, he's going to show up...right behind me. He did not make a move, he knew the same tactics all too well.] Listen, I'm not your enemy here. I called this meeting for a reason and it sure wasn't to ambush or fight you.

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[Yup. Right behind you. At full height. Casting a silhouette over you. Predictable, but he still was able to pull it off.

And of course, in the hardened Batman voice Terry's heard so much, he'll answer.]

Start talking.

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

[Y'know, a year or so ago, he'd find this just plain intimidating and piss-inducing. Now...well, now it was frakkin' beyond belief to be able to witness it...with less wrinkles and white hair. Either way, Terry drew himself to full height and stared right back at the old man.] I'm Batman.

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[... ... What. Not. Quite what he had in mind.

He looks over Terry's Batsuit from the distance. Same sort of logo, same distinctive cowl... in fact... it bared a very, very strange resemblance to a prototype Batsuit he had begun to draw up shortly before he arrived here. But it was still very, very different...

What the hell was going on here. Who was this? A pretender? Or was he genuinely a Batman?]

...This is unexpected.

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

You're telling me. Was a bit of effort to track you down. [He paused in thought.] I'll be blunt. When are you from?

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

...It's been a few months since the founding of the Justice League.

...I take it you must come from well into the future.

[Kairi Tanaga was still a ways from being a sensei, last he heard from Yoru-sensei.]

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

Well...not too far. [Looks at Bruce and grins.] You still have hair.

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[He doesn't laugh. Surprise. But...]

...I'm more surprised I managed to live that long.

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

You look better than Clark. [Smirk.]

[Action]

[cowledcrusader]

[That earns a short, self-satisfied smirk from Bruce, though he never drops his guard. He does still have business, so it fades as quickly as it came.]

...I take it Gotham's underworld still hasn't cleaned up its act.

[Action]

[redwingcrusader]

Let me put it this way: still a superstitious cowardly lot, Gotham still needs a Batman, and there are some clowns that aren't funny...ever.