entranceway | File Z5287452

Entry tags:

File Z5287452 - No Context

[ While he's known for being pretty quick to assess a situation and pick up on what's going on, there hasn't hardly been time for that before Robin John Blake is addressing the network, a rather uneasy expression wrinkling his forehead, his whole being scrunched up while he tries to get used to using a video function that is nowhere near standard in his time and place. ]

Uh... Know this is gonna sound kinda weird, but— [ Believe it or not, John Blake, there isn't much you could say that the denizen of Wonderland would consider weird, but you go ahead and give it a try, buddy. ] Well... don't s'pose I'm dreamin', am I?

[ It feels like a good guess because he doesn't remember traveling, and he certainly doesn't remember leaving home, and since the last thing he'd done was attend a funeral, it could be a strange coincidence, a fabrication of his mind that's now semi-lucid, sitting here telling him how what he sees and feels can't be what's actually happening. People don't just appear in storybooks (and even if he did, it wouldn't be this celebrated tale). ]

Barrin' that, think I might be dead... [ It's mumbled in an off-hand way, as if maybe he's already considered it, but decided not to lead with that theory. Audible to the rest, even if he's quick to move on from saying it. ] But on the off chance I'm not either of those things, think someone could help me out figurin' what's goin' on here?

[ He likes to think a uniform would have added something to this request, but having just given up his badge for good, all he can do is address everyone as a regular guy — definitely not his first choice, since it usually does him no favors.

He looks like he's done, about to end the transmission, when something else occurs to him. ] —in person, if possible. Not really— Not really much of a fan of these things, not if I can help it.

[ He can't, not here, but he'll at least be content to try for a while. With luck, it won't even matter when he wakes up from all of this... ]

Be— [ A gesture over his shoulder. ] Gonna be outside for a while — out front. So... yeah.

[[ OOC: Video, audio, or action perfectly okay, just note. Will also match style. For starters, send a PM to this account or hit me up @ blakeroo on plurk. :) ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Wherever we can talk. You'd know better'n me.

[ Which is to say, if there's anywhere they won't be overheard, that's where John would prefer to be having this conversation. ]

You said you didn't have a room yet, right? I'm sure I can clear all of the mirrors out of mine by the time you get up here. I'm in room three.

See you in a bit, then.

[ And while he means it, it's actually much closer to Tim's room on the tenth floor than it was to go to Peter's room way off in the distance on the first floor. The mansion is expansive and already Blake's annoyed with how none of it makes proper sense.

When he arrives at room three on the tenth floor, he's feeling it in his legs. It's a lot of stairs and he's not out of shape, but he's not used to all this up and down he's been doing, either.

He knocks quietly, not interested in drawing any more attention than necessary. ]

[Tim is expecting the knock, and he's right there to open the door. The mirrors are banished--he doesn't really keep any around anyway, but he's been doubly sure that they're gone for this conversation. The Mansion will eventually replace them, of course, but for now they'll have their privacy from any listening ears.]

Hey--come in.

[ John steps inside, careful to step out of the way of the closing door. He hasn't picked a room for himself just yet and has to wonder if they all look like this.

Of course, that's a secondary concern considering the reason he's here, so John shoves his hands into the pockets of his trousers and turns a circle around just to make sure there's no one lingering, obvious or otherwise, beyond himself and Tim. ]

He's not... here-here, is he? In this room?

[ You wouldn't do that, would you Tim? Spring a surprise Bruce Wayne on a guy like Blake? No way. That's a mostly uneducated guess, but one John feels might just be on the spot anyway. ]

[Tim's room isn't much to write home about--he hasn't changed it much from Wonderland Standard, but then, he's not much of an interior decorator. There are a few books on the shelves, and a laptop on the desk, but aside from that, any personal items are tucked away. Not many places for a ~~Bat~~man to hide, but they both know that's not much of an impediment to some people.]

Uh--no. He was here--not in this room, obviously--when I first arrived, but he's gone now.

Gone how? Dead?

[ Because that's what he's supposed to be. Not that John will be all that sad (or surprised) if that didn't happen to be the case. ]

...I don't think so? We didn't have much of a chance to reacquaint ourselves, but he didn't indicate that that was what he was facing back home.

[Any more than any vigilante faces the possibility of that happening at any time.]

Sometimes people just... go home. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for it.

[ John purses his lips. ]

So I've heard. But he was— Pretty sure Bruce was dead when I left home, so I think that answers one of our questions.

[ Odds they're from the same place? Pretty much zilch at this point. How weird is this? ]

[Tim stares for a moment. That's startling, actually. While intellectually, he understands that Bruce is a mortal (and the aftermath of the Bane situation had made that really painfully clear), it's hard to believe that he could die. It's more upsetting to consider than he'd expected.]

Yeah. That... hasn't happened where I'm from.

[ So much for bedside manner. Good think John didn't go into medicine. ]

Yeah, I can see that. But, um. [ John scratches his head. ] If it helps any, pretty sure it's not true. If other me's any indication, at least. Was. [ He makes a face. ] —was any indication. 'Cause that guy's gone too, apparently...

[It's okay. Sometimes Tim is an adult in a smaller body, and sometimes, he really is just a fifteen year old kid. Hard to tell where those spots are, but the idea of Bruce faking his own death is a lot more comprehensible to him.]

That should probably surprise me more than it does.

Yeah, same here. But I guess money can get you pretty far, an' tenacity a little further.

[ Without saying too much, he's clearly impressed with Bruce. But then again, who isn't? Depending on perspectives and walks of life (and insider information), it's pretty hard to avoid the awe. ]

Said Bane came to town, didn't you. We both got who we were talkin' bout there.[ He hasn't forgotten that. A name worthy of note for some reason. ] What'd he do?

[They're both talking around the whole Batman issue, but without really knowing what and how much Blake knows, Tim isn't really comfortable just saying it. Even if it is apparently all available in the library.

So he approaches Bane from what anyone in the city would have seen, rather than what he personally knows because of his relationship with Bruce.]

He turned a number of the local lunatics lose on the city, and eventually just... broke them all out of Arkham and supplied them with enough weapons and chemical enhancements to make everyone's lives extremely difficult. Batman was incapacitated for a while, which only made things worse.

[And he's not even going to get into the Jean-Paul Valley disaster, but the stress of the situation is more than evident on Tim's face.]

What about you?

[ John isn't quite the type to make himself at home in another person's space, but he gets the sense that he's better off taking a seat just based on how his heart hammers in his chest. It's too coincidental, but already there are differences that loom.

He gestures to a seat, questioning the imposition before ultimately disregarding the customary time to wait for acknowledgement. His hand wipes down his face like he could scrub away this gray feeling that's crept in with Drake's words. ]

Some of that's familiar. Everyone in Blackgate Prison — Bane let 'em all go, held the city hostage, trapped the cops, kept the place gnawin' at itself with panic. Thought he mighta killed the Batman, but he musta been incapacitated, too. Came back just in time to save everyone.

[Tim motions belatedly for Blake to have a seat as he takes one of his own. He nods a little at the Blackgate breakout, but he starts frowning as he continues. None of the rest of that sounds as familiar. There had been plenty of fear all over the city, of course, but it wasn't as widespread as Blake seems to indicate. Much of it had been directed specifically at Batman, and his takeover had been more of Gotham's underworld, rather than the city at large.

And then he gets to the end, and oh, man. If only.]

We had a new Batman for a little while. It... wasn't great. Until someone else stepped in to fix things.

[It is so hard doing this without names. But when a conversation about Bruce naturally turns into a conversation about Batman... maybe it's time to cut through some of the layers of secrecy.]

You know who is he, right?

[ John hesitates, his eyebrows gathering low on his forehead. Beyond what he'd heard from Sharon Carter — information that John couldn't independently verify — there hadn't been any sense of a forthright replacement (although it wouldn't surprise Blake to think Bruce might think far enough ahead for that).

He leans his elbows down on his knees and pushes both hands into his hair. It feels like his head's going to explode with all this information flying around. ]

I did. —do. [ ... ] But if there's really a new guy, haven't met 'im yet. Too soon, maybe?

Not anymore. At least where and when I'm from. The usual guy is back at it.

[But there's something else that Tim has kind of noticed in Blake's description of his world that he wants clarified.]

Does he... not work with anyone where you're from?

Directly? Like a partner?

[ John shakes his head, his hands now tucking in as he crosses his arms over his chest. He gets this idea they're trying to put together one puzzle with the pieces from two, strangely encountering pieces that fit together when they shouldn't, and others that clearly don't belong — a whimsical image fit for Wonderland, but unsettling as the rest. ]

Not really, no. He's got support — plenty of that — but he's a— a pretty solitary guy. You know: [ He affects a deep, growl-like tone, some approximation of the Batman's voice as he's known it. ] He works alone.

[ John isn't sure if he's making light of that, condemning it, or just getting his point across that there are still plenty of rough edges to his friend that could use a helping hand like Tim seems to be suggesting. He'd done his part to help during the crisis, but even then, the small army they'd amassed to aid the Batman barely bordered on adequate. ]

[Tim isn't sure whether he wants to laugh, cry, or be sick. What comes out is a short laugh that's half surprise and half mirth at a joke well-told. It's a good impression of Bruce at his most pig-headed and irritating. But it does seem to answer an important question for Tim.]

I'm guessing you've never heard of Robin, then.

[ John blinks, head tilting back, a mixture of dubiousness and confusion written all over it. The question feels strange, although it sounds pretty straightforward.

He hesitates, his answer coming slow as if he's expecting to be pranked. ]

I've heard of a Robin... [ Which sounds a bit misleading, doesn't it? He looks at Tim, gestures vaguely at himself. ] —Well, I'm a Robin, but I don't—

[ He shifts in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable in a way he hadn't been before. ]

What? I— You— What's that gotta do with any of this?

[Tim's confusion is equally evident on his own face.]

But you said... I thought you said he didn't have a partner.

He has a partner named Robin?

[ Dubious, John sits back, now suddenly worried he's the butt of some kind of joke. ]

It's kind of a code name? Like Batman?

[He eyes Blake, still obviously confused.]

...Why is that unbelievable?

[ A hand goes to the former cop's heart like he's somehow relieved to hear this tidbit of information. ]

No, I— it's not, it's... weird, sorry. My name's Robin — Robin John. Thought for a second—

[ He gestures. ]

Well, you get it now, I'm sure. Just a misunderstandin'.

[Video]

[Video]

[Video] -> [action]

[action]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject