He's pretty sure this is not one of his smartest ideas. [OTA, Multiples, Let the Good Times Roll]

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim hasn't been able to get his and Cissie's brief interlude with White Eyes out of his head, and while he's sure that was half of the point of the man-boy-thing's cryptic answers, knowing that doesn't actually help.  He's a detective and a scientist.  He likes to know how things work, and why they work, and there never had been any kind of

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[modernholmes]

Conan observes the man's actions calmly. It was curious, wasn't it? For a man on crutches to walk alone into a place as dangerous as the Wood was claimed to be. And yet he moved with confidence as he made his way toward the gate.

Well, Conan was a detective first and foremost. And among other things, that meant he was a nosy busybody. The small boy moves to intercept him.

"Ah le le! That's dangerous isn't it?"

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim blinks down at the... tiny, tiny person in confusion. Who...? He gives him a slight smile. "Don't worry--I'll be careful. ...I haven't seen you around. Are you new?"

[modernholmes]

"The auntie in the forest said it was a very dangerous place. If you're hurt should you really be going out by yourself?" And something was nagging him about the way the man was moving with the crutches. Something familiar.

"Mmm! I just got here. Were you kidnapped too?"

[mrsarcastic003]

He shrugs slightly. "The doctors back home told me that it was better to try to keep moving--that I'd have a better chance of healing more quickly if I did." He decides to leave the 'by yourself" part of the question alone. There's no way he's bringing someone along with him when he's looking for White Eyes. It's not worth the risk to them.

He glances thoughtfully at the boy. "If by 'kidnapped,' you mean 'appeared here randomly by magic,' then yes. Or--were you one of the people who were lost?"

[regeneracy]

Claire's barely been back at the barracks for a few hours when she spots some guy on crutches making his way out. Her first instinct is to be impressed that he was able to use them so well on the rough terrain, but that quickly melts away to alarm as she realizes he's going out into the trees. Where dark things and monsters supposedly lurk.

Given that she doesn't have a cabin to go into and doesn't know to just claim one for herself, she doesn't think twice about chasing the guy down and following along after him.

"You know, I'm all for being reckless, but I'm pretty sure that this may qualify as being on an entirely new level of dangerous." She smirks a little as she speaks up, and jogs so she can easily slide up and walk beside him, as if she knows exactly who he is and that they're old friends from school.

"Seriously, I don't want my first thing I see here to be you getting eaten." Yet she makes no move to stop him or get him to turn around.

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim gives her a lopsided grin. "I'm from Gotham--this isn't much worse than walking down the street at night." He matches his pace to hers and turns so that they're just circling the walls, rather than going out into the Wood, as he'd been planning. He's not bringing anyone else with him on this potentially very risky adventure.

"I'm Tim, by the way."

[regeneracy]

"Gotham?" Claire knows of Gotham from make believe, but given everything that's happened to her in the past day, she's far from being able to say it's an entirely fictional place. She just swallows and nods a little, unsure of how to respond to that. She's glad when they just walk around the wall, though, but doesn't say so out loud.

"I'm Claire. You know, you make it look really easy to get around on those things."

She reaches out with a toe of her tennis shoe to poke at the end of one of the crutches, then realizes that would be a big mistake, so she quickly retracts her leg and looks awkward for a grand total of two seconds before smiling and hoping he didn't notice.

"And you also don't seem very freaked out about being here, which must mean you're not all that new."

[mrsarcastic003]

He shrugs a shoulder as they begin their circuit around the wall. "I have a lot of practice. After a while, you kind of have to build up a little upper body strength." He makes sure to put just a bit more weight on the crutches, in case Claire does accidentally trip over one or something like that.

"And no--I'm not that new. I've been here a while. It's..." He grimaces slightly. "Definitely an adventure."

[playonforever]

And out in the Wood, there's a man standing in shadow, wearing a trim suit that looks like it's seen better days. He doesn't turn when Tim approaches, but when he speaks, well. Tim will know the voice. He's heard it for much of his life.

"Not moving very quietly, not keeping out of sight - either you're trying to get yourself noticed or killed."

WE, you are a dick.

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim's head whips around at the sound of the familiar voice. Bruce, looking alive and healthy, and nothing like the Kentucky Fried clone corpse that Clark brought back from the encounter with Darkseid. He runs at him, only just barely remembering to kind of-sort of use the crutches he's been using to "help him get around," and hugs him tightly.

Hey. This is an emotional moment. Bruce is alive and in the present, which...

It's been a long time.

"Noticed, actually. When did you get here?"

Yes. Yes he is.

[playonforever]

He doesn't turn, just puts a hand on Tim's. There's a blush of anger in his voice when he speaks again. "A long time ago. A very long time."

The suit crumples a little under the hug, like the person inside isn't quite large enough to fill it out. Bruce sags. Braces himself against the nearest tree. The skin on the back of his hand is pale and wrinkled and spotted blue and brown. He makes a noise, like he's trying to speak, and then vanishes altogether, leaving Tim with an armload of clothes in a very quiet forest.

YOU NO LIKE HUGS, WE?

[mrsarcastic003]

Tim stiffens, swallowing hard as he straightens up again. Something is messing with him. Of course something is messing with him. Why he should think that Bruce might actually be here...

Naive. Naive and stupid. He redistributes his weight, gripping the handholds of his crutches so hard that his knuckles show white, then forges on again. He still has questions he wants answered.