(no subject)

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

The loud sound that cracked through the night immediately got his attention. Could be nothing. Most probably was something.

He flew through the air, grappling hook at the ready, twacking off the edge of buildings and catching air as his cape fluttered in the wind. It hadn't been a quiet night, for one thing, and the return of Spoiler was weighing heavily on his mind. It almost interfered with patrolling. Almost. Even if this wasn't his Gotham, he still had a duty.

His heavy boots landed on the edge of a rooftop as he peered into the alley. The noise had come from here. It had come from the crumpled figure below, and he just barely caught sight of a man running pell-mell in the distance, as if he had been frightened beyond all belief.

After all, he was quite good at doing that, and knew exactly the type of run and reaction a man would have against a...Bat.

He swung down and landed below, and peered curiously at the armored form below him. He was figuring, thinking, trying to analyze the suit before him. It was a mechanical marvel, just from the outset of it. And it had such a familiar feel to the way it was constructed. Female, too. Could it be the woman he had recently met in the cafe? He was still very wary and careful.

"You okay?" his gruff voice came out a bit nicer than usual. "You make that noise?"

Comments

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She neard him coming, teeth clenched in anger at this proof of yet another trespasser in her city. But then she blinks at the voice. "Batman?" Her own voice is as cold and emotionless as ever.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

It was her, he recognized the tone, the familiar coldness.

"Yes," he crouched down, his long cape flowing behind him.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She lay awkwardly, partly on her side and partly on her stomach, with her head turned to the side. The position was starting to put pressure on her chest that the muscles weren't yet strong enough to deal with, and she could feel blackness threatening.

"Turn me over." A fraction less coldness. She hated the thought of trespassers in her city, or of showing any weakness, but this was she herself and if she didn't get straightened out she'd be in no shape to do anything.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

A faint tiny fluttering of compassion came from somewhere deep within. He said nothing else but reached down with his gloved hands and turned her over.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She looked up at him, breathing deeply. Then growled, "EMG pulse."

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"I sent it away...." Her voice failed in the middle of the last word and she cleared her throat furiously. "To take the kid home."

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

The kid? She didn't have a kid with her, she had said in the cafe. Huh. He'd ask later. But for now it was a rather mothe didn't have access to his 'mobile, of course. And he wasn't sure he could 'carry' her--much less if she'd actually let him or not.

"What's your contingency plan, then?"

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"There's a side Cave two blocks from here." She squinted her eyes shut and concentrated on breathing, then lifted her hand with difficulty and hit the release on her helmet. "Batman has to rescue Brenda Wayne."

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

He nodded, as he had noted the similar location to one of his own, wondering if that was a coincidence or merely how the universes worked parallel to each other. It was a bit ironic in what she was saying.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

The mask came away, and she managed to get her weaker hand up to pull her helmet off. Sweaty dark hair stood out from the twist she'd put it in as she tried to see where he was. "Have the lights come back yet?"

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

It was getting harder to breath. She still couldn't see, but she found herself turning her eyes upward and toward the police station, even though Jim had stopped using the Batsignal after he'd informed her that she was becoming too violent for his tastes.

Wincing slightly, she slipped her gauntlets off, then started to try and get her hands to obey and press the catches that would open the rest of the armor.

"Have to hurry. Others'll have heard the horn," she rasped faintly.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

She was having a harder and harder time of it, and without another word his hands reached down to help pull the gauntlets and some of the other armor away. Time was indeed of the essence. He didn't think he could carry both her and her armor, either.

"Where do you want to stash this?"

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

"Dumpster. Already emptied...." Her eyes narrowed with rage as her whole body seemed to suddenly rise up in rebellion; going numb and then burning with pain. -Not again. NO! I wont accept it!-

She didn't notice that she'd bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

It was a risk, but a necessary one. They didn't have to worry about stolen technology now, and if some thug had gotten a piece they'd easily be able to track it even if it was sold. His eyes watched her as she reacted strangely, something was very wrong once again. He said nothing else even though he probably should have asked if she was alright, but kept on helping her remove the rest of her armor, and taking the bits to the dumpster.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

And then her abused body reached its limit and she suddenly couldn't move. She lay there, blind and wracked by pain, and the only emotion she could feel was anger at the betrayal.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

It seemed to relax as it beeped, then rolled over toward where a padded table sat next to medical equipment.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

His eyes followed the robot and rested upon the medical table, where he quickly placed Brenda down. He wasn't as good as Alfred when it came to field medical work but he knew enough. First things first.

"Brenda. Brenda?" He snapped his fingers rather rudely in front of her face.

[anotherbwayne.livejournal.com]

She blinked once, trying and failing to turn her face toward him.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

He sighed, he had got a reaction but she was either too weak or incapacitated to do more.

"Brenda, I need to know--do you need medical attention? I can get you to a doctor." If she didn't answer he would bring her to one anyway. He wasn't sure he had the knowledge to take care of her like this on his own.

[random_xtras]

There was a slender, black-clad figure standing on the very edge of the hospital roof, bare toes curled over the ledge as her thick black hair blew in the wind. She looked around as he landed, blue eyes bright in her white face. "Hey, Bats. Figured you'd show up here."

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

His feet had just barely landed when he whirled around and saw Mornbein there.

"Who are you?" He asked gruffly and immediately. She seemed to recognize him based off of him being Batman and not the guy version of Batwoman.

[random_xtras]

"Mornbein." She looked up as a few snow flurries came down on the wind. "Pru knows me."

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

He nodded, remembering Pru from the Cafe. Okay, perhaps she was worth it to take the second to talk to.

"What do you want?"

[random_xtras]

She rolled her eyes and whirled suddenly, her body language devoid of warning as her foot caught him in the rear and sent him over the edge and straight at the floating doorway.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

And indeed it took him by such surprise he could do nothing but reach for his grappling hook and twist his body around so that he could hook the roof (as was standard procedure if this had ever happened without a portal beneath him) but the doorway swallowed him up before he could even pull the trigger.

And the next thing he knew he was in Gotham, landing roughly in the middle of a park, catching some tree branches as he fell. He knew instinctively, maybe by the smell, that this was Home.