Outside Wayne Manor, Gotham City, September 24, Morning
Bruce had barely slept. Maybe twenty minutes, thirty at the most. By the time Alfred found him, he was already on the front lawn at Wayne Manor, bandaged to hell and practicing katas to ease his mind.
Alfred approached, newspaper in hand with the page seven headline 'Mysterious Vigilante Repels Bandits.' "I heard about your anonymous exploits this morning," he said. "And I do say, are you sure you won't reconsider rugby?"
Barely letting the snark distract him, Bruce continued his kata. "Sorry, Alfred, but The Plan is working. I had the edge, I could feel it. There was only one thing wrong. They weren't afraid of me! I've got to strike fear in them from the start!"
But Alfred wasn't watching Bruce anymore. "Pardon, Master Bruce, but we may want to postpone the shop talk, as it were," he said, backing up a few steps as Andrea Beaumont walked onto the property and toward Bruce. "I do believe you have a visitor." And like that, Alfred was gone, giving Bruce some privacy.
"Hi," Andrea said approaching and, oh, just about now noticing all of the bandages. "Hey, what happened to you? Trip over some loose cash?"
Bruce turned away to hide at least some of his injuries, but she kept talking. "It's been a week since we met and still no calls. I figured you must be dead or something."
Bruce walked several paces down the lawn and asked, "You expect every guy you meet to call you up?" All business, he returned to his kata.
"The ones who are smart enough to dial a phone, at least," Andrea suggested as she watched. "What is that?"
Bruce threw a perfect straight punch at the air in front of him before answering "Ju jitsu."
"Gesundheit." There was no reaction. "That was a joke," she explained carefully, just in case Bruce was a little slow today.
"Ju jitsu is no joke," Bruce said, all business. "It takes years to master."
Andrea calmly removed her hat and placed it on the ground. Then she grabbed Bruce's arm and placed him on the ground, too, with an impressive flip. She was gentler with the hat. She casually stalked around him, clearly happy to knock him down a few pegs. "I've got a few moves of my own. Miss Hoovie's self-defense class."
Bruce laughed. It had been forever since a girl interrupted his training and casually knocked him around. Not since Fandom, certainly. And Andrea was the first one to do so in a dress.
Andrea scoffed. "He laughs?" But the smugness was turned to surprise as Bruce easily swept her legs, knocking her to the ground, then rolled over pinned her arms. She tried to get back up for a couple seconds, but it was clear that he won this round, so she relaxed.
"Nice footwork," she said. "Can you dance, too?"
Just about at that moment, Alfred returned with a tray of lemonade. And when he saw young people making out on the lawn, he didn't even blink before turning around, heading back inside, and giving them some privacy.
[OOC: More Mask of the Phantasm!]
Alfred approached, newspaper in hand with the page seven headline 'Mysterious Vigilante Repels Bandits.' "I heard about your anonymous exploits this morning," he said. "And I do say, are you sure you won't reconsider rugby?"
Barely letting the snark distract him, Bruce continued his kata. "Sorry, Alfred, but The Plan is working. I had the edge, I could feel it. There was only one thing wrong. They weren't afraid of me! I've got to strike fear in them from the start!"
But Alfred wasn't watching Bruce anymore. "Pardon, Master Bruce, but we may want to postpone the shop talk, as it were," he said, backing up a few steps as Andrea Beaumont walked onto the property and toward Bruce. "I do believe you have a visitor." And like that, Alfred was gone, giving Bruce some privacy.
"Hi," Andrea said approaching and, oh, just about now noticing all of the bandages. "Hey, what happened to you? Trip over some loose cash?"
Bruce turned away to hide at least some of his injuries, but she kept talking. "It's been a week since we met and still no calls. I figured you must be dead or something."
Bruce walked several paces down the lawn and asked, "You expect every guy you meet to call you up?" All business, he returned to his kata.
"The ones who are smart enough to dial a phone, at least," Andrea suggested as she watched. "What is that?"
Bruce threw a perfect straight punch at the air in front of him before answering "Ju jitsu."
"Gesundheit." There was no reaction. "That was a joke," she explained carefully, just in case Bruce was a little slow today.
"Ju jitsu is no joke," Bruce said, all business. "It takes years to master."
Andrea calmly removed her hat and placed it on the ground. Then she grabbed Bruce's arm and placed him on the ground, too, with an impressive flip. She was gentler with the hat. She casually stalked around him, clearly happy to knock him down a few pegs. "I've got a few moves of my own. Miss Hoovie's self-defense class."
Bruce laughed. It had been forever since a girl interrupted his training and casually knocked him around. Not since Fandom, certainly. And Andrea was the first one to do so in a dress.
Andrea scoffed. "He laughs?" But the smugness was turned to surprise as Bruce easily swept her legs, knocking her to the ground, then rolled over pinned her arms. She tried to get back up for a couple seconds, but it was clear that he won this round, so she relaxed.
"Nice footwork," she said. "Can you dance, too?"
Just about at that moment, Alfred returned with a tray of lemonade. And when he saw young people making out on the lawn, he didn't even blink before turning around, heading back inside, and giving them some privacy.
[OOC: More Mask of the Phantasm!]