multiversallogs | surprise Batman is really the only kind of Batman

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surprise Batman is really the only kind of Batman

Who: Bruce and Jason
What: an evening investigation into a militia dust up
Where: Tar Wedge, Raven's Gate, around
When: after Kalinda and Tom have an adventure
Notes: [16:03] claire: also i picked tar wedge because there is no description anywhere of tar wedge
Warnings: probably nothing!

So much of his stuff has been scattered to the four winds of Baedal bartering that Jason hasn't made any effort to get another version of the helmet he'd been using months ago. In any case, he's only looking. Head protection should be unnecessary. Tar Wedge is not a particularly dangerous neighborhood, and he's just a guy in a cheap coat, glasses, and a baseball hat. The last item he picked up from the bazaar because he didn't recognize the logo — some kind of stylized snarling cat, but not any team he knows from home.

There are some rumors going around, some of which he picks up in Tar Wedge itself, and some of which have filtered in through other sources. In a lot of ways, though, he still feels three months behind. Those three months are a tangle of activities. On one side, there are the things he was there for and remembers well, such as the anonymous broadcast, and here and now, there's this, for which he feels underprepared. Not that that bothers him, exactly, but it hardly needs to be said that Baedal isn't Gotham. It's far less forgiving.

He moves on to Raven's Gate, where blending in is more difficult than it is in areas like Griss Twist or Aspic, so he doesn't try too hard. The patches of lower populated housing could be a decent place to stash some things, he notes. Hopefully once he has more winnings from fights, he'll have some actual things to stash. If the hypothetically involved Vigilante(s) from the Tar Wedge incident thought the same way, he might pick up a trace here, given the close vicinity.

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Bruce only briefly hangs around Tar Wedge after - just seeing if anyone else is snooping around, who's interested, who looks a little manic and who looks like they're pissed off. He does it from the cover of his gear this time, because he's not interested in taking any chances. He spots that kid (and he is a kid, Bruce can tell, despite the hundred mile stare and veteran's gait), the one from the fight club, who he'd seen around Bonetown and who marked him outside the library months and months ago, who he's pretty sure was one of that haphazard blonde girl's associates.

He does indeed have a bolthole in Raven's Gate, as it turns out, but it's located along the shore, a run-down flat with the back facing a less than scenic stretch of the water, meant to be rented out to someone with a houseboat (which it is, he splits the rent under an alias with some other paranoid nutcase who writes conspiracy papers out of his boat). He watches this young man go back and forth from sneaking around and from fights, and wonders a bit.

Then one night he follows him, estimates where he'll be in a few minutes, then goes to plunk down on the edge of a rooftop, stealth off - visible, though black-clad, face covered, in his strange Baedalian getup, sword over one shoulder.

Waiting.

He's been methodical but impatient all this time — like a kid — because, clearly, he doesn't expect to find much, an impression which is only reinforced by the days that pass with that remaining true. It's harder for him to snoop around the shores or docks because those boats are people's livelihoods, and they're more serious about guarding those than they are their houses, in some cases. There's no way he's trying to pull of some kind of SEAL shit in these waters either.

The start Jason doesn't quite give upon seeing the seated figure and the suddenly rigid spine he has instead are almost comical. He goes from surprised to annoyed in less than a second, glances around for possible bystanders like a good, suspicious Baedal citizen, and then stares up at Bruce from beneath the bill of the hat.

"Nice sword," he says, voice full of reluctance and wariness and turning up ever so slightly at the end like a question. It's not dissimilar to the way people answer the door when the person outside is wearing a suit. Those people can shut the door, though, whereas Jason will have to fight or book it if this is a random weirdo unrelated to his current investigations. It could be. He could have pissed someone off. You just don't know in Baedal.

"Thanks."

One word - equally deceptively casual - and it's apparent this man is using some kind of synthesizer to mask his voice, though like everything else in Baedal, the sound isn't technical; the distortion lacks an electronic edge, which is slightly surreal.

For the next moment he's quiet, still watchful, though his body language doesn't change. He's relaxed, not still enough to be unnerving (deliberately), posture unrigid, elbows resting on his knees. It gives off the impression of someone who probably wouldn't be fast enough - due to his poor starting point stance - to defend himself if someone got the drop on him right now, or zipped over quick enough, or drew a gun... It contrasts uncomfortably (again, deliberately) with the way he appeared from nowhere in front of the younger man, and the things he's wearing.

"You seem to be looking for me. I'd like to know why."

It is the entirely wrong vibe for the vaguely defined category of things Jason perceives as 'something bad is going to happen', but acknowledging that doesn't allow him to relax. Nor, he thinks, is relaxation really the intent here. He himself remains where he is, in the open (relatively speaking; this is not a place where they're likely to be disturbed by casual passersby) and, if not stock still, not very casual either.

The pause before he answers is brief, still cautious. "The Tar Wedge thing seemed odd."

He'll cop to the obvious. Making assumptions about who this person is or who they represent seems unwise at this point.

"Why's that?"

It's not defensive or mocking - it's hard to tell, between the vocal distortion and how soft spoken this guy sounds underneath it, but Bruce is genuinely curious. Not that the Tar Wedge thing wasn't odd, but he's interested in hearing Jason's take on it. He hasn't yet decided if he thinks this kid's from an alternate world of his - and if he is, if he thinks it's the same one that Tim was from. He's never seen this guy around Tim, which is a plus, but he's seen him around that girl and her sidekick, so... mileage, it's varying. Bruce more or less trusts Vanessza to do her job, but just because she likes someone doesn't mean they get a pass. She's a damn mob doctor in her free time, after all.

The strangeness hasn't faded from the situation, but the longer it goes on with nothing happening, the less in immediate danger Jason feels. Which could be exactly what they want! ... However, Jason isn't living on a houseboat and it perfectly capable of resisting that pull of thoughts like that.

"Sounded like a whole bunch of personal shit going on. Not that it's never personal with them, but there's usually something official on top, at least. And then someone else was there. You, though I don't know who you are. That's interesting."

With respect to their positions, Jason draws back a step, relaxes his posture. This is a conversation for now and he wants to see how much farther it'll go.

"They think I was there, anyway."

Not really a correction, though it could be interpreted as such, if Jason felt like it. Bruce would never throw anyone under the bus (Kalinda was there, after all), but the Militia isn't pinning that incident on the mysterious vigilante because they have proof, they're just putting on him because they're a breeze away from blaming jay walking and litter on him, they're so annoyed.

It is implied acceptance that he is That Masked Man, anyway.

"Do you make a habit of keeping up with the Militia?"

There is, after all, always the possibility that Jason is the Militia spy. Bruce still hasn't moved, but there's a very clear sense that behind the black material that covers his face, he's following him very closely.

The implied acceptance is interesting enough for Jason to consider going with it. He could say: yes, since your broadcast, which would paint him as more naive. It's a possibility if he decides he'd like to try to appear of little interest; he'd sound like a fan, and fans are annoying and useless. But he hasn't decided yet.

"It's important," he says, which is a yes that does not advance the conversation much. That was sort of the point, but the impatience he's exhibited before compels him to contribute something more to go on. "Things have changed. Not enough, but it's a start."

The implied fault in that statement isn't with Masked Guy, naturally. There's just the usual trace of belligerence inherent to almost anything Jason says.

This kid could be reckless enough to endanger things, or he could be useful - it's hard to tell. Observation of him thus far is leaning towards 'useful', and the fact that he'd been in Baedal previously with no major incidents works in his face. But Bruce is a seriously critical asshole, so the jury's still out.

And yet - maybe he's impatient, too.

"You were gone for a while."

Oh.

There's noise at the end of the street; Bruce stands up and moves back onto the rooftop in a smooth motion, out of view. This guy can follow him up there to see if he's still around or he can go on his way. It's an ominous note to end on but - maybe it's something worth investigating, too.

He'll wait for a minute and see.

Damnit! If it hadn't been for that, he might very well have just left, and let things as they were. Make some inquiries if he felt like it, wait for another time, go about his business... but no, there's nothing for it but catching the edge of the rooftop on the building next to the one where Masked Guy had waited for him. If he's going to get up there chasing a line like that, he's not going to leap straight into a kick in the head, at least.

Jason is up on the roof in a second, noiseless to those not in their curious profession, then similarly out of view. Another second passes, then he's over to the other side, quick but not pursuing, because that could be taken the wrong way, given their tense opening etiquette. There are fractional pauses in his movements, no longer indicative of caution but of polite discretion, observant silence in which he's listening to determine if the man's still in the vicinity — that Jason will wait or follow his lead if he is and still open to talk. If he's not, well, then Jason's just up on a roof for no reason. He's certainly done more embarrassing things.

Oh good, he's keeping up. That's fun.

Bruce is waiting, yes, and once again he's in an almost leisurely position - this time at the far side of the rooftop, leaning back against the concrete edge. (It's probably apparent to Jason by now that he's been placing himself in the position that intersects with the best visibility and most effective escape route.)

When he's sure the younger man is close enough to see him, he tilts his head.

Hi.

Once he spots the Masked Man, Jason stops immediately, this time with far less alarm. What can be made out of his expression seems to be mild irritation, already fading. Irritation is like a reflex with him, to the point where he hardly notices its coming and going. There is, perhaps, a bit more to his reaction than just that, but he ignores that for roughly the same reasons he doesn't live on a houseboat.

It's quiet behind and below, so Jason waits a beat, then shrugs as a continuation of the conversation. Why he would disappear for three months is beyond any explanation he could come up with.

"I didn't think anyone missed me." In any sense of the word, though in this (testy) sense, he's more saying I didn't think anyone noticed me. Beyond the people he contacted himself.

"All those Militia agents that got fired didn't."

More straight-forward than Bruce thought he might be, earlier, but hell. He came all the way out here, might as well. (He's feeling - not reckless, lately, but hurried, in a way he doesn't like. Variables are moving too fast, people pulled in, pulled out-)

"Why are you looking for me, and not them?"

Is that what happened? Three months and he'd figured he'd have as much success looking for a way out of Baedal as he would looking for those guys. So it's a fair question to ask, and as much as it goes against his instinct to give a honest answer... if this is the guy, the guy, that could be something.

"Everyone I was working with is gone," Jason finally says, and shrugs again. Like Bruce, he's not about to throw anybody under the bus. For someone in Vanessza's position, that'd be a pretty big bus. "I wanted to see if there were others still going. Curiosity satisfied," he says, only mildly sardonic. Because his favorite answer to any question is 'a mysterious masked vigilante'.

Edited 2012-09-15 02:27 (UTC)

He tilts his head again. Fair enough. Bruce is coaching his body language to communicate where he won't (can't?), because he's curious. He's seen this guy fight, he's seen him try to wrangle leadership, and he's apparently pretty determined. It could be worse - he's not Logan, but he could be useful, pending he doesn't fuck anything up.

(There's a sort of nagging in the back of his head, about that look of recognition, about the fact that he did work with that girl who was wearing his symbol. He doesn't want this guy to be one of those. He's just so sick of it.)

"There's plenty to be done."

That's not, you know, creeping on him.

Jason exhales with muted frustration, the slight shift of his attention implying the frustration isn't with Bruce. It's the money and weapons situation. He's had to start from scratch four times now and here he can't rob gangs unless he wants to take a nap in the Tar.

"I'm still getting set up." He makes a small, dismissive hand gesture because if this guy knows he's been gone three months, he'd just about have to know about the fights — they're high profile enough and he wasn't wearing a real disguise — and it doesn't really need to be said. "But if you felt like passing anything on in a week or two, I'd do my best to return the favor down the road."

The conservative offer should suit their respective levels of wariness, though in all honesty, it might be considerably further down the road before he has something of interest that this guy wouldn't know about to share. It doesn't ask for trust or even cooperation, really. It's just a possible starting point.

It's a possible starting point, yes, but it's also an investment. In this kid. Who may or may not ultimately fuck something up - and he'd be getting into it, more into it, on Bruce's dime. He weighs it, for a moment; would he aid Tim? Would he enable someone who seemed younger, who did less? This guy looks about the age Bruce was when he first fucked off, so he started even earlier.

It's unnerving.

But-

"Sure."

If he's going to do it anyway, and they're low on aggressors, he might as well.

It is hard to read anything into that answer. Not that this guy has been an open book so far, but in the moment before response, Jason feels particularly (and more than literally) in the dark. He takes for granted that there's always going to be a million more things flying around in the air than he could possibly know when it comes to getting involved in any operation cold out of a three month absence, yet in this specific and ambiguous instance, he really, really does not care for the feeling.

He acknowledges that and dismisses it, as ever. 'Sure' is one of the most non-committal agreements possible, even if he thinks this guy isn't giving it as a brush off. He just nods.

"Any particular way to contact you? Should I just write it on my window?" Fucking vigilantes, Jason thinks with no irony whatsoever.

"Sure, I know where you're staying."

H..ah. Hah? ... Except it doesn't sound like a joke. (It isn't, but he's not actually about to go show up in this guy's bedroom. But just. Putting that out there.) Bruce pushes off the low wall, and stands up properly, apparently having decided this conversation is about done.

"You'll hear from me." A beat, then, less ominous: "Your cohort is being watched closely. The network isn't private to them. Be careful who you speak to."

Not for his safety.

His nod is only a little yes, mom, in deference to the not-joke about where he's staying (and he's staying in a lot of places, so that's annoying) but also out of the fact the conversation appears to be closing and he's moved on in his thoughts. Jason waits a beat longer for politeness, then moves toward the next roof. They both have things to do, no doubt.

In a few days, via the ever-tolerant Dr Bernat, Jason gets an envelope. Inside the envelope is what rounds out to what is about 10,000USD in local currency, and a sheet of paper filled with hand-written notes - mostly it's just a list of addresses, which turn out to be sympathetic suppliers, craftspeople, and armories, with one or two informants. The last couple of inches are the addresses of the civilian identities of the Militia agents residing in Raven's Gate.

(The thought occurs to Bruce that his handwriting might be recognizable to someone who knows him, so he writes it all with his left hand.)

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