The Dark Knight Returns

[gotham_gargoyle]

After picking up one of the stashed motorcycles he'd hidden around the city, the Batman has made his way back home - through the cave entrance, of course. With any luck, he's preceded Dick by more than a minute. One of the downsides of the Batmobile is its comparative lack of maneuverability

Comments

[aflyinggrayson]

The bank of monitors begins spilling forth details of Darkseid's recent appearance in Gotham, investigations into Falcone family involvement in a spike of drug ODs, and a heist attributed to Joker clown wannabes (WTF? Joker clown WANNABES? was Dick's annotation).

From the steps into the Cave two sounds come atop each other: one, a soft gasp, the second an impressively loud crash of pottery, silverware and glass that crack, clatter and shatter (respectively) on the floor.

[gotham_gargoyle]

Batman almost chuckles at the crash, despite himself. Of course Alfred's infallible efficiency had brought him straight to the cave. He turns to face his oldest friend - the closest thing to a father he has left.

"Alfred."

He slides the cowl back from his face, smiling a little to reassure the other man.

"It's a long story."

[aflyinggrayson]

The butler stares for a moment, lips trembling beneath the immaculate mustache as he fights for mastery of his expression and mood, and then he clears his throat. "Quite," he manages to say and bends to begin tidying up the remnants of the traditional "welcome back from your patrol" tray of food. His hands do not, however, obey his wishes and shake until he closes them both. "Gracious."

[gotham_gargoyle]

He advances, gently taking hold of the older man's shoulders.

"Don't worry about cleaning up right now. It's good to see you again, and I'm sorry I caught you off-guard. I honestly hadn't come up with a good way to let you know without some kind of shock, though."

After a hard night's work...

[tim_drake_robin]

It's about 3am when Robin's motorcycle comes down the cavern drive into the cave. A post drive maintenance checklist is observed and then his personal gear gets a once over, replacing and resupplying items as needed.

The uniform gets traded for sweatpants, t-shirt and sneakers. A bottle of water, vitamins and a high efficiency nutrition ration are consumed and then he sits down to begin logging his report for the night.

Re: After a hard night's work...

[gotham_gargoyle]

Footsteps are barely heard on the stairs down from the main house. On any other night, it might be Alfred - checking up on the youngest vigilante in the Bat-Family. But not tonight..

"Tim."

Bruce has, likewise, traded his costume for some sweatpants after his shower.

Re: After a hard night's work...

[tim_drake_robin]

Tim's heart makes a heroic effort in trying to jump out of this throat as the voice reaches him. He doesn't even recall springing from the chair. He just knows he's suddenly up and standing and facing....

"...Bruce.."

The word comes out as a blend of question, a statement of disbelief and the fear to hope.

Everything that has transpired, Neron, Darkseid, Bane, Cicada, Shiva, Gotham, all of it. It comes crashing down on his head. The dark pit of pain and loss that Tim had forged into a source of drive drains away, leaving the raw wound it had obscured bare and open once more.

Tim's face felt wet. The moment was too surreal for him to connect why yet.

"Oh God, Bruce.." his voice has stopped breaking a few years ago, so why was it doing it now?

Re: After a hard night's work...

[gotham_gargoyle]

The normally stone-faced Bruce Wayne smiles a little as he closes the rest of the distance, offering Tim a reassuring hug.

"It's me. The League found me earlier today - yesterday, I suppose."

While the empathetic display may be a little out of character, the circumstances have been extraordinary.