multiversallogs | But all the reasons I gave...

Who: Steph and Wolfgang
What: Explanations
Where: Badside.
When: Backdated a little to last Misdi.
Notes: nope.
Warnings: Militia stuff, more will be added if necessary

It's a quiet Misdi afternoon when Steph finds herself in Badside; she's there for unrelated reasons, but she remembers Babs mentioning that Wolfgang lives here, and, well - He's been on her mind a lot, lately, after their meeting during the reality storm and subsequent monster invasion, and then Babs discussing him with her, when they were talking about potential allies for their work against the militia. Steph had wavered then, whether or not to spill about the fact Wolfgang could do some kind of magic. Eventually she'd decided to give a little away, vague details, and they'd decided they should talk to him.

She feels guilty, both for telling a secret that doesn't feel like it's hers to tell, and for discussing him like he's a weapon - something to use in their fight. She has to remind herself that it's not like that, that he already talked about wanting to help Babs, and that he still has the option to back out. And maybe she can make it up to him, with the secrets thing. During the reality storm, she hadn't told him it was her underneath the Batgirl costume, and although Steph and Wolfgang don't know each other that well, she thinks she owes it to him to explain.

So she's nearby, and she's thinking of him, but unlike most Bats, she isn't just going to turn up on his doorstep unannounced and uninvited. Instead, she finds a spot to sit down and pulls out her CiD, typing up a text.

Hi, Wolfgang.

I don't know if you remember me, but we've met a few times. I altered some of your clothes for you, and I - well, that's something I'd like to talk to you about. We could go for coffee, or a drink (my treat) this afternoon if you'd like to.

Hope you're well,
Stephanie

It seems a little awkward to her, but she's never been great at texting so it'll have to do. She sends it to Wolfgang's number.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wolfgang is not stupid, so it doesn't take him much to follow what all that means. The idea of it is like a fist punching him straight in the gut, a cold wind in his heart. He runs his hands through his hair, elbows braced against the table, and exhales, looking down.

He should say no. This is basically suicide, or worse, because everyone here knows there are worse things than death and they're all available in Baedal. He still has nightmares about the incident, which -- them being terribly mundane in comparison to all the other ones doesn't make them any better, since it isn't over once he wakes up. He should be doing what he's already doing: laying low, playing it safe, being a good, model citizen.

But he can't, because he can't ignore what he's heard from people he cares about, seen with his own eyes, experienced bodily. Further, he can't escape it. There's nowhere to run to here, no other cities or countries to hide in, and it's that guilt that eats at him, the belief that he's been enough of a fucking coward for ten lifetimes.

Dying isn't what he's afraid of, anyway. He already knows he's going to, and that it's going to be very soon, and likely in Baedal. And why not -- it's not like he can ever go home again.

It's a long time before he raises his head again, his hands still in his hair. "What do you need?" he asks, voice quiet.

Steph feels terrible about this, especially seeing how he reacts and she wishes she could do something. She contemplates reaching out to put a hand on his arm or something but she doesn't know him well enough, doesn't know if that would help or make things worse.

Instead, she just waits. Hands folded on the table, drink ignored for now and while she doesn't stare at him, she is observent. Sometimes, when there's a need for it, she can be patient.

She doesn't smile at him when he looks up - that's not appropriate - but her expression is grateful, "There's a group of us, Babs and I would like you to be involved in whatever you're comfortable with. That could be anything from simple planning or reconnaissance or spreading information or... more." Meaning attacks, essentially. The point is that they haven't sought him out to do one specific thing. It also, perhaps, indicates that they don't have any solid plans yet. But they're still recovering from the monsters, there will be time for planning soon.

He considers this a moment, letting his head rest against one hand while his other drops back down. Then, in the interests of full disclosure: "In the IDF, I was in Sayeret Yahalom." His voice is low, but they're not going to be overheard here, and even if they were, well. In Badside, people keep their mouths shut. It's part of why he likes it here. "It's, um, special forces, combat engineering. Demolitions and EOD."

That's not easy to get into, and bomb disposal is a particularly difficult job. He doesn't look like a soldier, but who in Baedal looks what they are?

"And, um..." He waves his hand vaguely, wiggling his fingers, which stop that, spirit fingers are the worst magic-indicating gesture ever. "Magic... things, I guess." Okay, it's not always taken super seriously in Baedal, but he could at least put more effort into being dignified about it if he's going to be a wizard.

He folds his arms on the table, then, his mouth set in a thin line. "Point is, I don't..." He shrugs. "I don't have much front line experience, but a lot of training as support. The um, thing," he won't say magic again, "that's new to me, I'm not sure what all it can do."

She listens to that all at once, waiting until he's finished before commenting. It's surprising, slightly, that he was involved in something like that, but she isn't one to judge based on appearances - she doubts she looks much like someone who runs around on rooftops and fights supervillains.

"Support is more than fine. We're not gonna throw you headfirst into situations you can't deal with," She feels so weird talking like this, like someone who actually knows what they hell they're doing.

"And you should get training for the thing," She can tell he's kind of uncomfortable with mentioning that part, "For your own sake, not ours. I can point you in the direction of people who might be able to help, if you'd like."

She's being genuine when she says it for his sake, regardless of whether he'd decided to help them, she still would have told him to get help with his magic.

"All right," he says, and sighs, and runs a hand through his hair again -- it's not over her, obviously he thinks what she's doing is important or he would have turned her down, it's just he can't believe he's doing something this stupid again. The Militia is well-funded, well-armed, has access to resources none of them do, likely hugely outnumbers and outclasses them, and is deeply embedded in the political infrastructure of Baedal. They're all probably going to die.

He guesses she's probably aware of that.

"It's fine, thank you, I'm taking care of it." By which he means all aboard the Denial Train, choo choo! Now pulling into Delusional Central Station! He sounds polite and a little sheepish; he doesn't mean to blow her off about it, but the idea itself makes him uncomfortable.

Then again, if he's going to use it for something that actually matters, he should at least figure out what the hell he's doing. It's okay if he sets himself on fire, but not okay if he sets someone else on fire.

While he's at it, he finishes off his beer. When he gets back to Kahnde's, he's going to crack into his hard liquor. Shaking his head, he gestures with the empty bottle. "Um, but -- feel free to call me for whatever you need." He means it, too. If he's going to do this, he's going to commit completely; he can't run away this time.

Steph is holding onto the hope that they are good enough and smart enough not to die, but she's well aware that it's a possibility. This is partly why she's making herself the face of their campaign. If something goes wrong, it will come back to her, not Oracle, not anyone else and Steph will just - deal with those consequences then.

The look she gives him indicates that she doesn't believe him at all, but she's also aware she's in no position to call him on it, "Just be careful." Is what she settles on, aware of the irony of saying that while they're discussing going against the militia.

"Thank you," she means it, "We'll keep you in the loop. And the same goes for me. If you need help with anything, even if it's not directly related to this..." She finishes that with a shrug, not sure if it's appropriate to offer her services as Batgirl to everyone involved in this. Not that she minds, it's more that she worries whether other people will think she's weird for doing it.

That is so enormously ironic that it actually makes him smile a little -- dryly, to be sure, but it's still a smile. "Well, I'll try," he lies, because the word 'careful' is not actually a part of his vocabulary. Living in Baedal has just aggravated that.

Fucking monster rain, seriously.

"I'll keep that in mind." Wolfgang is lucky in some aspects because despite occasionally being hassled by officers -- on the train, usually, not often within Badside itself -- they mostly ignore him, and the worst he has to deal with are comments intended to intimidate. Not more violence. "Thank you. Hopefully I won't need anyone punched in the face or whatever."

He is at least reasonably sure she would be excellent at that. The bat costume is a little scary.

"Or whatever," She agrees, with only a little hint of pride "I do sneaky stuff as well."

Sneaky stuff is, of course, Bat code for breaking and entering, investigating people, hacking into computers and generally stalking people and making a public nuisance of herself. Punching people in the face is one of many skills.

"I should point out we can't exactly - pay you, but if you need funds for something, we can help," She doesn't really think he'd have expected some sort of salary or remibursment (Irene) but it's also better to be clear about everything.

But all the reasons I gave...

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