The City is at war, a place among the young and rich
Who: OPEN to anyone! Tag yourself in.
When: 11:27am and onward
Where: Sector 5, Turnabout Square near Cinnegrad Cemetery and branching out through out as listed below.
Summary: Former Governor Redgrave’s funeral procession goes badly very, very quickly. Agitated spectators eventually devolve into protesters against the former Governor, this ( Read more... )
When: 11:27am and onward
Where: Sector 5, Turnabout Square near Cinnegrad Cemetery and branching out through out as listed below.
Summary: Former Governor Redgrave’s funeral procession goes badly very, very quickly. Agitated spectators eventually devolve into protesters against the former Governor, this ( Read more... )
He just...was annoyed by the theatrics, that was all. And by the egotism. It was irritating.
"Well done, apprehending someone we could have easily handled," Edgeworth sneered at the man as Ms. Mayer ascended with the criminal. "You're certain you didn't want to put a second pair of handcuffs on the one we'd already arrested? You would have looked quite glorious with that." He looked over at the man, his lips thin. "Because, truly, neither of us is interested in glory like you are. We wouldn't have minded."
It was petty and childish, but he timed his insults so that Ms. Mayer was within earshot once more just after he finished speaking. If Batman wanted to retort, he'd have to do it within her hearing.
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It didn't hurt exactly, more of a sudden heavy resignation that this was what he had asked for when he put on this costume. When he created the personas of Bruce Wayne and Batman and hid himself in the spaces between the masks, those little flashes of grey that could barely be seen nowadays. He asked for this when he lied to everyone about who he was.
It was better this way. Like this, Edgeworth would never be a target for Batman's enemies. Except- the Riddler knew, Jinx knew, and though he knew they and Anna Milton and Chuck Shurley would never tell, the danger was there, nonetheless. It would be better if Batman just judged Edgeworth to be beneath his notice.
Better this way so what happened with Harvey would never repeat itself again.
"If you turn your ingenuity of insults towards your cases, then I'm not surprised that you win quite a few," there was no overt hostility in his voice. Just the same blankness as his face.
He turned to Re-l. "Your wings." He paused, "If you cut them off, will they grow back again?"
It was his way of showing worry.
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But as she dropped down, she wasn't sure what had been said, but it apparently didn't get much of a reaction from Batman. Instead, he immediately made Edgeworth look like the crueler of the two, a childish and petty prosecutor.
She bristled silently, angered at the notion. How often had people tried to insult him that way? (And why did she get so defensive of it, time and time again?)
Re-l lifted her gaze to Batman, wings immediately tucking against her back. She didn't want either of them to see that sort of thing. "I can...pull them back in, but they're damaged. I can let the sun take care of them and they'll grow back later, or I can just...rip them out."
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And now he looked the fool in front of Re-l. Re-l, whom he admired with...Well, with perhaps a bit more ardor than he should show, considering they were coworkers, but...Well. He admired her. That was all that mattered.
You bastard. You complete bastard.
"Studying her weaknesses then, are you?" was what he wanted to ask, but he knew that would only confirm the impression of him which Batman was trying to foster. So, instead, he simply said, "Is this truly the best place in which to have this discussion?"
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His eyes were closed behind and unseen. Bruce breathed out, and barely kept it from being a sigh.
He turned to Re-l. "Back to the station, then?" He cocked his head, eyes landing on Edgeworth's form. "Or would you rather your office, or your apartment?"
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"I can't go." She looked at Edgeworth. "I'm going to take you far enough away from this crowd that you won't need to worry, and then I need to come back here. Under martial law, the SPPD need everyone they can get out here to help stop this."
Fratley, Bigby and Jayden would be somewhere out here. "I need to stay. I'll deal with this," - and here she gestures to her wings - "when I have time."
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"I'm staying as well." He set his jaw stubbornly. "As I said. I can handle myself, as I've proven, and I'm not going to abandon you nor the police department without assistance. You're short-handed as it is. I can provide support."
And, made all the more petty by those implications of pettiness, he frowned at Batman. "I'm certainly not going to allow you near my apartment again."
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He stopped himself from saying all of that. But he didn't stop himself from rolling his eyes- and doing it in the most overt and dramatic way. Because that was what they're being.
"You're going back to a place where people can grab hold of your wings and rip them off," he said this flatly, without much inflection. "Or set fire to them. You are a target enough already. Those things are a weakness. Deal with it before you throw yourself back in danger."
Exhale. "And you are not a combatant. Your battlefield is in the courts. It's less than two weeks until your trial; do you really don't expect someone from AGI to spot you here and take the chance to shoot you in the head, and blame it on the riots?
And his tone said: Why are the two of you being so deliberately stupid?
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She was going to get rid of the wings before doing anything else. She rolled her eyes right back at him, aggravated that he thought her so foolish as to do otherwise. She could take care of herself and she knew how to keep herself safe. She knew how to make herself less of a liability. But Batman continued, acting like the two of them were completely useless and disadvantaged in these circumstances.
It was enough to anger her, to push her past the usual impassive mask she wore. Re-l took a step out of Edgeworth's line of sight, behind him, and brought out her claws. She faced Batman and reached behind her, digging into the mass of feathers and flesh there. Without warning, she dug her sharp nails inwards and ripped out, tearing them off. It hurt more than she could say and the cry that escaped her was nothing short of agonizing. She bit it off as the mass of black flesh pulled away and she tossed them both into the sunlight, letting them burn up.
She turned back to Batman, practically seething. "And you are just a man in a costume with a bunch of toys. Don't preach to me - to us - about what we can and can't do. You're a goddamn hypocrite; you're just as mortal as we are." Her eyes narrowed. "Enough of this. Go to your work. Do your duty. And don't ever tell me how to do my job again."
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God. Stop.
He'd have cheered her words under normal circumstances. He'd have turned to Batman with a smug and sanctimonious nod, a confirmation of her acid words. But - God, with those wings still burning in the sunlight...He shot a single, terrified glance at Batman which he knew he'd regret to the end of his days, a shameful look that asked in no uncertain terms Jesus, what is she doing; then he pushed through his paralysis, stumbling towards her, choking, "Are - Good God, are you all right - "
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He knew that she was alright; that she knew what she would doing and she would survive this. He had watched her survive a dose of arsenic that would kill even hiim and continue to live. He knew what she was capable of- that was why that little speech was unnecessary.
He sighed.
"You both keep assuming I'm mortal and human," there was a sort of mocking irony in his voice, and he cocked his head to the side. "Do you really think that if I am, I would continue doing this?"
Smoke and mirrors.
"Try not to get killed. Either of you." Always the last word, right? With that, he was gone, faded into the barely-there shadows of the evening.
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"You're lying," she said simply once he had gone, speaking to the empty air. He would hear her but he had said his piece. That's all that mattered to him.
Re-l turned to Edgeworth and finally acknowledged his question, nodding faintly. "I'm fine. Relax." She had done it before only a handful of times and it never got any easier. Normally, she would pull them back into her back, an equally odd and painful process, but with the wings already damaged... It was too late to care, anyway. Her grip tightened on his arms a little. "I mean it. Calm down."
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For just a moment, he put Batman out of his mind completely. For just a moment, his resentment of the man, his irritation and frustration all seemed precisely as petty as they in fact were; all he was concerned with was Re-l and what she'd done to herself.
"I'm - " He shook his head, forcing himself to calm. There was no good done by losing his head. "Ms. Mayer - Jesus. Don't - do that again."
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It's entirely different, she realized, when it was self-inflicted. Her grip tightens on his arms gently and her gaze softens for a moment. "Stop." Collect yourself, Miles Edgeworth. She didn't want to see him so upset.
Re-l slowly nodded. "I won't. Just...relax. It's okay, I'm fine." She wouldn't do it again, not in front of him. She didn't like doing it anyway.
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But, damn it, he was afraid. And it wasn't as though anyone was watching.
"Sorry," he murmured; then he shook his head and stepped back again, more collected. "Right. Quite. We need to get to work."
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"Thank you," she breathed.
And then when he stepped away, she offered a smile to reassure him that she really was all right. She nodded, rolling her shoulders back. "All right, let's go."
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