May 14, 2074, 6:45 pm

[morethanrevenge]

He is and always has been a meticulous host. His attention to detail is, after all, one of his strengths, and it's the thing that makes him able to do the things he does back in Gotham. And keep the fact that it's him doing them a secret. When he organizes events, he puts a great deal of effort into making sure that they go off smoothly. Since

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[holy_caf_pow]

Abby steps into the room and is really quite amazed by what she's seeing. But, she shouldn't expect less from the Bruce Wayne. Exactly why she's in her new dress. It's perfect for this occasion and she's done up her hair into little buns rather than her usual pigtails.

With a bright smile on her face, she goes to get a better look at all the fancy decorations.

It's all sooooo pretty.

[morethanrevenge]

And here is the woman at whose instigation all this has happened. Not that he wouldn't have done this all of his own volition, but Abby's challenge to prove what a good party host he is by hosting a party is, after all, the sort of challenge he can't resist.

"Abby. I'm glad you could make it."

There's more than a little sparkle in his eye as he smiles at her. He's accepted her challenge, and he'd dare her to find anything wrong with his arrangements.

This is, after all, something he's extremely used to.

[holy_caf_pow]

"Bruce. I'm glad you could accept my challenge."

She feels like a little fangirl. And she's totally not embarrassed by that. Here she is, dressed to the nines at a party held by Bruce Wayne. It's really a very exciting concept. After all, this is something that others only dream about. Wish could actually happen.

This is so cool.

"You really went all out with decorations. Very nice."

[morethanrevenge]

"I'm glad you approve." He allows himself a small smile of self-satisfaction, but it's not like he was ever in any doubt about whether or not he'd done a good job here. This is all as carefully orchestrated as any event he hosts in Gotham, and it has just as many ulterior motives. And that is what means that everything will be perfect.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

[stardrive_pilot]

He hasn't worn black tie in over four years, and he's not about to start now. Sheppard got the hell away from his father and his brother and their world, and he's never looked back. He's happy that way. Actually, he's not entirely sure why he's here. Fancy parties were always his dad and Dave's thing. They were never his. He usually winds up standing somewhere on the periphery, feeling entirely uncomfortable and out of place. Wearing a suit would only add to that feeling of discomfort

[holy_caf_pow]

The second she sees him, she knows she just has to go talk to him. He's so out of place here. Awkward to the point of it just being adorable. Walking over to him, she stops when she's right in front of him. Her dark red lips smiling. There's a glitter in her green eyes as she just pops her hand out for him to shake.

"Abby Sciuto. You look decidedly uncomfortable. Nice to meet you."

[stardrive_pilot]

He's a little surprised when the woman in the black and red dress makes a beeline for him across the room. But she's smiling, and she seems friendly enough. And she sticks out a hand for him to shake, so he doesn't need to ask himself whether or not she's from somewhere where they do that. His handshake is firm, and he's smiling as he introduces himself to her.

"Hi. Lieutenant-Colonel John Sheppard. And yeah, I guess you could say that."

He kind of wishes it weren't so obvious, but it always is. Always has been. He's always stuck out in this sort of situation. And yet, his father always insisted on trying to convince him that he didn't want to be a pilot, he wanted to be like Dave and be stuck behind a desk all day in the family business.

Surely anyone with any sort of sense at all could tell that his father's world is not where he belongs.

[holy_caf_pow]

There's one thing she picks up on first. His rank. He's military. To say she's excited would be rather accurate. Maybe even understating it a little. She visibly perks up at the fact. There's a fondness that she has for the military. Her job revolves around it and Gibbs is so a part of the military that it's hard to tell where he ends and the Marines begin.

"Military? That's so awesome. I'm the Forensic Specialist for NCIS."

Oh there's more than just a little pride in her voice at the mention of her title. And she has a right to be proud. She's very good at what she does. One of the best if not the best.

[cloraltraveler]

Spader comes striding into the room with nothing but confidence. It's just the way he moves anymore. It took him a little while but he finally learned what 'black tie' means. Now he's here in clothes he bought the other day. They're spiff. Not all that comfortable but spiff.

He's even done this thing with this gel stuff to get his long hair to stay back.

Grinning from ear to ear, he looks around and whistles. "Hobey. Not bad at all. Like that hotel back on First Earth." With that in mind, he goes to see what foods are here.

[morethanrevenge]

The first thing Spader does after pausing to look around is head for the buffet. Bruce does the same, and makes sure that his path intersects Spader's. Spader is nothing if not an interesting young man, and Bruce would rather enjoy the opportunity to speak to him in a circumstance where the two of them are not fighting each other.

It will be easier to maintain his image in these circumstances. After all, this is the situation in which the legendary playboy Bruce Wayne is at his finest.

"Spader. It's good to see you again."

[cloraltraveler]

"Hobey-ho, mate."

That grin automatically swings over to Wayne. He's looking forward to having some fun at this party. And he already thinks rather highly of the host. Hands leave his pockets as he nods to how the place is decorated.

"You get the robots to do all of this? Spiff thing. Haven't been to a party like this in a bit."

[morethanrevenge]

"I did. I confess that I'm used to having people to work with when I'm arranging something like this." He nods and gestures expansively around the room. "But I think it's all turned out rather nicely."

There's one thing that it's very easy to like about Spader, and that is that he is apparently consistently and persistently cheerful. Even in the middle of their sparring match when Spader wound up on the ground, he didn't stop smiling. Bruce can admire that in a person.

And Spader's cheeriness feels entirely genuine, unlike his own, very contrived devil-may-care attitude to the world.

"Would you like something to drink? The robots have made sure that there's quite the variety, and it's nothing but the finest."

That was at his own insistence.

[ms_weetzie_bat]

"Ooh, fancy!"

Weetzie strutted into the Lounge, ready to party in a short, white dress that had only one shoulder and made her feel like if Marilyn was in a movie about Greek goddesses or something. She had already given back Brandy-Lynn's gold mules, so she was wearing her fishnets and engineer boots, as well as piles of her costume jewelry.

Slinkster Dog trotted at her side, wearing a little black bow tie on his collar.

[morethanrevenge]

Now here is somebody he doesn't know. He notes with a hint of amusement the bow tie on the dog's collar. She looks like she's ready to enjoy herself. And, as everything is in order and the party appears to be going off without a hitch so far - though it's still early - he leaves his station by the buffet and goes over to her.

"Welcome. I'm glad you could make it. I'm Bruce."

[ms_weetzie_bat]

"Hi, Bruce!" she answered cheerfully. "I'm Weetzie and this is Slinkster Dog."

"Arf!" said Slink, wagging his tail.

"This looks like it's gonna be a totally awesome party," Weetzie went on, batting her heavily mascaraed eyelashes. Suddenly, as she looked at Bruce, she remembered where she had first heard his name.

"Hang on a minute - the invitation said your name's Bruce Wayne, right?" She lowered her voice. "As in Bruce Wayne from stately Wayne Manor?"

[morethanrevenge]

"Well, I certainly hope so." He's not in the habit of having his plans fail, and tonight is just as much an orchestrated plan as anything else he does. That planning has gone into the occasion is obvious. The precise nature of the planning is less so. But, as always, nobody knows his ulterior motives here. He plans to keep things that way.

Her question makes him smile; the number of people here who show no recognition of his name has been a surprise, and he has to wonder about the possibility of parallel worlds he and Wolfwood briefly discussed.

"Well, that's what I wrote on it. And yes. Or, I was until it burned down last year."

Which he's let the Gotham media say was his fault, and which certainly added to the impression he gave to his guests thast he'd thrown them out in a drunken rage.

It's certainly better for his story than the truth.

[caughtinanet]

The invitation that showed up in her room was very interesting.

First of all, it was a party invitation that wasn't from Willy. In fact, it's been a long time since she's seen him at all.

Secondly, the invitation said it was a black tie affair. She's dolled herself up a little for one or two of the previous parties, but she's never gone all out. This invitation wanted her to, and with the money she recently won thanks to Spike she can't see a reason not to indulge for once.

Lastly, the signature on the invitation seemed to read Bruce Wayne. Whether it was just her misreading it, a total coincidence, or a case of his parents having a sense of humor, she got a grin out of it.

Having straightened her hair and brushed it to a silky smoothness, she steps into the lounge at 7:20 wearing a dress of shiny gunmetal gray and matching heels.

The last time she wore a dress was on the island. She much prefers this one.

[morethanrevenge]

He notices her as soon as she walks in; there's something about her, be it her long, dark hair, the way she holds herself, or just the way she walks into the room, that reminds him for a moment of Rachel.

If Alfred's the person he misses the most here, Rachel's next on the list. Or would be, if he were to allow himself that sort of sentimentality. But he left the man who could afford to think like that behind a long time ago, and he fancies he's a better man for that.

He's got his most welcoming smile on his face as he goes over to her.

"Thanks for coming. I'm Bruce Wayne. Pleased to meet you."

[caughtinanet]

As the man -- Bruce -- approaches her and introduces himself, charming smile at the ready, she gives him a big smile of her own.

"So it is Bruce Wayne."

Laughter edges her words but doesn't spill out of her mouth.

"You must've heard five Batman jokes already tonight." She doesn't go so far as to crack one herself; he's probably heard enough. Really, even mentioning it is probably bad enough, but her willpower only goes so far. "I'm Kate Austen."

[morethanrevenge]

"It is."

Having already heard it once from Weetzie - and wasn't that an interesting conversation - he doesn't even pause at hearing the word 'Batman' pass Kate's lips.

"And so far, just the one." Ever-adaptable, he manages to make it sound like he's in on the joke that's there in her voice. Like it's something he's used to hearing, instead of something he's developed elaborate schemes to prevent hearing.

Apparently, what goes on in Gotham changes somewhat by the time it gets to the outside world. It makes sense, in a way, for Gotham's two most notable personalities to become conflated in the mythology. He's well aware of how out of control rumour and legend can become.

Some of the things that people say about Batman amuse even him.

"Well, Kate, is there anything I can get for you?"