kingfishers | I saw the long distance fall

[ appearances are deceiving.

to start, the place would seem empty aside from the occasional individual or pairs moving through the streets, generally away from rather than toward the subway.

for another, the ever lengthening shadows hide their newest charge. this isn't his city; it isn't a city. these aren't his buildings. they aren't his streets. but still batman melts into the darkness as easily as breathing.

he crouches on a ledge, still and silent as stone. the soft breeze sends the edges of the long cape fluttering, the only part of him that moves. he takes notice of the boy racing across rooftops. if he could forget the why, it would be an incredible display. robin is a fitting name for the boys, as comfortable a hundred feet off the ground as on it.

however, he can't forget. the sight loses much of its joy.

batman remains where he is, waiting for the boy to notice him, waiting for him to catch up. so much of his time is spent ( has been spent ) waiting. the more things change. ]

[It would be deceiving to say that his familiarity with Haven (and particularly with which shadows are best to lurk in) gives him an edge over the new Batman, but it certainly evens the odds in his chances at finding a man who's made a career out of blending into the shadows. Damian uses that familiarity to his advantage, and it doesn't take him long to track down the newly arrived Batman.

He hesitates near one of the longer shadows stretching out beneath the ledge of a dilapidated building, and then turns to face the blackness, sure of his assessment.]

Batman. [He's easier to address now that the cowl is on, even if they'll have to come up with some way to handle things when McGinnis and this Batman are ever in the same room.]

[ let dick steal terry's cowl. problem solved and dick is happy.

a moment later, he's tipping his chin up in sign he heard. gone are all vestiges of bruce wayne. batman is a creature onto his own, far removed from anyone. everything is meant to separate the billionaire from the vigilante, from body language to voice. everything is meant to cut a far different figure.

the half-smirks and casual disregard are set aside like clothing the moment he dons the cowl. ]

What's the distance both north and east?

[ that is one piece of information he couldn't be provided accurately. the answer changed according to whom he asked. but he's betting on damian having the most accurate estimation simply because that is something he would expect of himself. ]

[Damian, Tim, and Terry had all done their own investigating and measuring upon arrival, and had traded information and found their data matching. It's likely Todd did as well but Damian had never bothered to ask him. He rattles off the figures by memory, adding in the distance to the top of the invisible barrier as well.]

Above the surface the barrier appears to be round. It extends beneath the surface, presumably maintaining its spherical shape. It can not be broken or penetrated by force, or at least not with a force that anyone here is capable of. [This part is easy. Answering Batman's questions is nothing like answering Bruce Wayne's. This part he knows how to do, and he allows himself to fall into the role of Robin, not Damian Wayne.]

[ he files that away for consideration later. for the moment, he settles on estimating the trip time on foot. something under two hours if he were traveling alone. he doesn't glance at damian; how long it will take them together will become obvious soon enough.

wordlessly, he pushes off the ledge. his knees bend reflexively to safely absorb the force of the fall. his cape had done the rest. once inside the subway station, he turns on a slender flashlight, which nonetheless provides a bright circle of light. at the top of the staircase, he turns his head enough for a sliver of jaw and eye to be visible. ]

Stay close. [ he swears to god if you start up with the "I'm a big kid, I can take care of myself" crap again… ]

Edited 2015-02-18 01:48 (UTC)

[His cape doesn't have the stopping power of Batman's, and he adds a second jump to his descent, landing without a sound. He catches up to Batman easily enough, determined to keep pace. The words warrant an eye-roll, but he is just as disinclined to begin that conversation again. Besides, soon enough, Batman will understand.

...not that the knowledge can keep him entirely silent.]

I have done this before. [Still, he dutifully remains close by.]

Then there's no reason for us to get lost.

[ what a fucking prince. ]

[What kind of parents could even raise such a spoiled brat.]

Tt. [The soft rustle of legs skittering on the subway floor brings Damian to an immediate halt, and he wordlessly removes the sword from his back. The noise continues, drawing close enough for him to identify it as one large target. It carries a lot of weight and moves on multiple legs. Probably equipped with thermal sensors or highly attuned to sound.

As the creature comes into sight, Damian has to actively hold back a grimace at its creepy as hell appearance. What the fuck is that even? He doesn't waste time trying to figure it out, sliding forward smoothly and aiming to lob off a few arms in order to clear a way to its head. If Batman wanted him to stay close, then he would stay close, but he was kidding himself if he thought Damian was going to wait for the go ahead in a fight. These weren't criminals, they were monsters. Planning wasn't necessary here.]

[ his parents were saints, tyvm.

and he is quite clearly in hell because that looks like a giant louse bearing down on them. bruce swears inwardly when damian runs forward ( of course, he would. ) rather than order the kid to stay back, he aims to keep any claws or worse away from him.

rather than aim for the exoskeleton, he throws a batarang at its antennae. the monster staggers in sudden disorientation, but he doesn't think them safe. harder to find, perhaps.

that too seems like a crapshoot when he sees the mouth fold away from its head. ]

Robin! [ a warning, and a call for attention. he grabs the mandibles between his hands. the hiss of hydraulics fill the air. ] Its abdomen!

[ hell, the entire underside. a creature that drags itself on the ground has no need for an exoskeleton that wraps fully around it. ]

[In answer Damian slips forward in between the missing limbs and slides the blade up and through a section of the giant louse's abdomen, cleaving it wide open. The creature lets out a screeching hiss that Damian is too busy choking back a wretch to hear as various bodily fluids slosh out around his boots.

He was never going to get that smell out of his uniform.

He hadn't thought it could get worse trudging around the sewers to deal with Killer Croc. Obviously he had been wrong.]

[ what is a killer croc.

he drops the dying monster on the ground, and punches it, cracking its head for good measure. bruce is tempted to be sick himself, but not with damian here. not when he's not sure if there will be a second or, god forbid, this was a pregnant female.

he collects the batarang from where it fell, and approaches damian with care. ]

You all right?

[No, he is staring at his boots in horror. There is goo on them. Giant louse goo on his boots. He will never be alright ever again. He lifts his foots and shakes it in disgust in an effort to dislodge liquid monster innards.]

Disgusting. [Eventually he nods in answer, staring at his sword sadly. He is not wiping that stuff on anything that can't be immediately burned. The sword will have to wait until the other side to be cleaned.]

We should continue.

[ agreed. speaking of which — ]

Careful, [ is the only warning he gets before bruce picks up damian like he weighs nothing more than a pillow. the "careful" was spoken more in reference to the sword. not only would he appreciate not getting cut, he would really appreciate not getting louse slime anywhere near his skin, much less an open wound. ]

Edited 2015-02-18 04:12 (UTC)

[What is going on, why is he picking him up, how is this-Oh. He's out of the goo. That's. This might be acceptable.]

I'm not a child. [Not that he's exactly clamoring to get back down. This is embarrassing but no one else is here to see and honestly, if they'd touched that sludge they would understand.

He keeps his sword carefully out of Batman's way. Well this is. This is happening.]

[ bruce doesn't roll his eyes, but oh the temptation. ]

So I've heard.

[ despite his passenger's personal opinion, he doesn't let damian down until there's dry floor beneath them again. he sets damian on his feet unceremoniously, and waits only long enough to ensure the boy is steady on his feet before following the tunnel. fussing isn't in his how-to book. as long as damian says he's okay ( and, more importantly, seems so ) they can carry on. ]

[He doesn't struggle (amazingly enough) and lands gracefully on his feet without missing a step. Damian wastes no time in pulling slightly ahead, eager to continue on their way through the tunnels.]

Honestly, this city makes me miss the psychos from Arkham. Much more sanitary. [Pause.] Well most of them.

The people committed to Arkham are sick, and in need of help.

[ the correction is deceptively mild, mostly due to his present audience.

the light from his flashlight is good enough to reach from wall to wall, floor almost to the ceiling without needing to swing it around. he keeps his ears tuned to anything coming from behind. if these…things behave anything like animals do, that body will draw attention. ]

That was unnatural even by the standards here. [ the prompt for more information is implied. ]

[Damian rolls his eyes and keeps moving. Help in the form of a padded cell with better locks, maybe. He definitely did not share the thought that any of those whack-jobs could be rehabilitated. In the distance they can hear more scurrying feet and slithering noises, but for now nothing else comes into sight.]

Certainly one of the more vile creatures I've fought, but hardly unnatural. It lived, it wanted to kill us, it died. Sounds exactly like the Haven standards to me.

Many of them take the form of parasites?

[ speaking easily, if low. from his tone, it would be hard to picture that they went up against grown cousin of a blood-sucking insect or that he expects to find more.

bruce calculates it was little over an hour since they first walked into the tunnels. the louse delayed them some, but they were still making fairly good time. the hour's reprieve interests him. do they not wander near the loading station? is it the same thing keeping them below? things to test, but — he casts an inconspicuous eye over damian — only when alone. ]

Edited 2015-02-20 14:42 (UTC)

[He shrugs.] Half of the time they aren't even identifiable and they certainly aren't always species found on our Earth. [He pauses, thinking on what he's encountered in the tunnels.]

I've come across some rather unique creatures from the world of an....acquaintance of mine. They take the form of horses, but they're constructed entirely from black sand, and they do not attack their prey physically but rather psychologically. [Thankfully, he'd known what they were thanks to Pitch and had taken steps to guard his mind.]

Edited 2015-02-20 19:18 (UTC)

[ horses made of black sand. ]

Nightmares, [ he translates immediately. true night mares. somehow he's not as surprised as he ought to be. ] They'll be particularly effective.

[ underground, he means. in the dark. ( with the sound of a million wings beating old terrors and newer losses and frail blue flowers exposed to the frost. ) ]

[They might be if you weren't Damian Wayne whose immediate goal had been to see if he could ride one of them. Spoilers, he couldn't.]

They are much easier to dissuade if you're already aware of what they're trying to do. [Pause.] Assuming you have encountered Scarecrow, they are far less effective than his fear toxin.

[ damian, you're grounded.

drily, ] We've met.

[ another sound, closer, has him stop. he holds up a gloved hand to signal damian to, as well. the light reveals the new monster well before it reaches them. it looks like a big dog.

of course, it would. ]

Stay. [ that wasn't aimed at the dog. ]

[It's only months worth of conditioning that keep him from disobeying. Even for Damian, the combination of suit, cowl, and voice is too hard to ignore. He does however, narrow his eyes and clench his fists.

A moment later something goes flying past Batman's head and embeds itself in one of the dog's legs, earning a sharp yelp that almost makes Damian feel sorry for it. If Batman bothers to look back, he'll see Damian already fitting another arrow to his bow.

He hadn't moved.]

[ one thing he can thank the league for is fostering his self-control, the one aspect of his training that he could never have achieved on his own. it had saved him from drowning in a cesspool of rage. it's the only thing keeping him from marching back over to damian and wrenching the bow and arrows away from him.

bruce had not thought he could hate another man quite as much as he despised ra's. turns out that emotion is nothing compared to the loathing he bears himself. ]

Stand down. [ the voice that carries toward damian has grown dangerously soft. ]

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he definitely tried this in Haven. jsyk. blame Pitch.

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