this wretched holds the songs in me

[proxysearch]

Who: proxysearch and kingofrooks. Maybe gaveherwings later.
When: Saturday, May 21st, just after evening siren.
Where: Sector Four.
Summary: Re-l's sick and Batman realizes she's not on her game. Great first face-to-face meeting, huh?
Warnings: Mentions of poisoning and action tags for great justice.

Comments

[kingofrooks]

[ There's an advantage of being Bruce Wayne as well as Batman, more than the finances and something to do during the day time - it lets him know things that people generally won't tell to a vigilante who has a habit of disappearing into the middle of the night. It also gives him power, back home, to exert more long-term changes while Batman tries to save Gotham on the short-term, day by day. But that's not relevant right now.

Re-l Mayer is missing. She went off for a lunch appointment of some sort - he knows because he has seen that post-it note, and she hasn't returned. Most people at the station just assumed that she's chasing down a lead or something, but Bruce knows better - it's instinct, maybe. Or it's just a voice at the side of his head, fading in and out- well, that's instinct too, in its own way. Something that just tells him that she's in trouble, and that she needs help. Even if she's not asking for it

[proxysearch]

[She doesn't realize the monster's presence until it's already seconds too late. She turns her head quickly and finds a booted foot striking it out of the way to protect her. There's nothing but darkness surrounding her protector, though; for a couple of seconds, her addled mind sees him as something that he's not. The cape is black, not red. But the eyes are the same, the glossy gray white she's seen so many times before on someone else.

And when Batman moves in front of her, his cape out to shield her, she immediately reacts defensively.

Re-l strikes at the hand going for her throat, eyes wide, moving back against the wall. Were she more aware, she would have sidestepped. Were she in her right mind, she wouldn't have been afraid in the first place. It takes her a moment, but she realizes it's Batman there instead of a Proxy; while she doesn't relax, her fear evaporates quickly to be replaced by anger.]

Don't touch me. [Her tone is commanding despite her condition, weak as her voice may be.] I'm fine. I'm just sick.

[A shame he

[kingofrooks]

[ It's not that he's not used to people striking out defensively when he's seeking to help- he does it all the time himself, and it's a frequent reaction he gets simply because the uniform is constructed to inspire fear and not much as faith. It's an instinct that many warriors have, and instead and grabbing her wrist he simply dodges the blows as much as possible.

She's afraid. Of what, he isn't sure- it's not him that much is certain - she calms when she realizes who he is. He narrows his eyes a little at her words- she's not fine. She- has some kind of healing ability, doesn't she? That much he knows

[proxysearch]

[How he has the time to stalk every single person on the network, she'll never know. She won't flatter herself, even now, to think that he's only looking after her and a few others. That's a stupid thought. But he knows what her plans were today and he knows the circumstances, even if he's just guessing.

She wants to be angry at him. If someone tried to kill her, then where was he? Isn't he some sort of protector?

But she doesn't say that. She's not that cruel.]

Yeah, I did. I can't tell you any more than that.

[No, really, she can't. Her conversation with Vincent at the moment is a slur of words and pain. And blood. Her body feels too cold and too warm at the same time. She can't think past the throbbing in her head and the tightness of her lungs.]

Daedalus is at Skye.

[That's the help she needs. But then she realizes that she's really in no shape to walk there with him. She frowns distantly and straightens. Her pride won't allow her to look weak in front of him.]

Come on. [(She says it like she's expecting him to follow her.