april catch-all.

[beknight]

Who: bruce wayne (beknight) & various others.
What: shenanigans for april
When: throughout april
Where: everywhere
Warning(s): none yet, will add if needed.

Comments

[beknight]

Yes.

[ The memory shifts. Dick is a little older, confidently twirling the staff now. Bruce looks his usual self, the only hint he shows is some harshness in the eyes. But he's over next to Dick amiably enough, attentive. ]

[motivation]

( for a moment, her shoulder meets bruce's arm, a steady point of comfort before she shifts her weight again. it's all she'll offer in response, the only admission that she realises that it must cost him to have his son in stasis. )

Did he choose this?

[beknight]

Yes. He was hellbent on it.

[ Bruce couldn't have stopped him. Dick was out on the streets hunting his parents' killer, he needed a friend, a safety net — for God's sake. He'd been hard to stop even then. ]

[motivation]

Then it's good you taught him.

( are teaching him? )

[wondie]

( even the mention of their names brings a hint of warmth to her smile that she can't quite chase off. Bruce can't remember them as she does, all he has to hold onto are the pictures she can paint him with words. words don't seem to do either of them justice. to Barry's brightness and voracity, Victor's strength and resilience. she tells him all she can despite it. )

There are. And don't think I don't know how much you care for many of the people you've met here.

( don't fight her on it, Bruce, you won't win. she's met more than a handful of the connections he's made for himself. seen the fondness disguised in gruffness. )

It seems you're not quite as unapproachable as you thought, Bruce.

[beknight]

Social lubrication.

[ This, groused out. It's temporary. His guard is not down, but even the most steadfast of fortresses has passages that lead to the interior, and those who walk them freely. ]

Speaking of. You and Steve.

[ He pauses, a kindness to let her decide on her redirection, if she so chooses, ]

Have you thought about entering the Pact with him?

[beknight]

[ He regards it briefly, interested more in the interplay than the content of the words — Bruce's memory can pick that apart at his own leisure, when he has some more privacy. Besides, body language practically paints its own story. These people live together and trust each other. The mechanic of it to a soul like his holds no charm or envy. ]

[ He circles the group of them in the warp core instead, looking up, around, listening. A few brusque questions about the ship's size, crew capacity (it's useful, in the case of evacuation), then, ]

Medical facilities?

[wondie]

( wryly: ) Are you trying to divorce me?

( the correlation to marriage had been extremely lost on her when they'd entered their pact. not so much now. it's a deflection of sorts. truth be told, no, she hadn't; as much as she loves Steve, it had not occurred to her, even for a moment. )

[beknight]

[ That's a no, then, he shouldn't feel so gratified that he has a hold on her heart. But Bruce is nothing less than catlike in his possessiveness. ]

I'm saying think about it.

[ She loves Steve, and he loves her. Bruce does not compare, and the allure of a happily ever after, even here, appeals to him on her behalf. He will regret a loss that makes his bones ache and his body less resilient, but it's a material thing. He'll manage. ]

[wondie]

I don't think I need to.

( she's content as things are. as ridiculous as it is for the beau that blew himself up to save the world, Steve is truly the more cautious one. her offer to form the pact had come from a desire to make their partnership stronger, and that hadn't changed with the reemergence of Steve Trevor.

a magical moon and a mystical pact in Wyver couldn't hope to make her connection with Steve any stronger. she valued that invisible thread between them, and all the things she'd wanted when she offered it to him then still linger. why should she want to break it, knowing that? )

[beknight]

[ It has the honesty of a sword's edge. His expression shutters as he regards her for a moment. And it's not often he finds himself without defence. ]

If that's your choice.

[ He'll make his peace with it — secretly his heart expands. ]

[dianano]

[ Ignoring Bruce's tone as usual: ] This is normal attire in the future?

[ And when the chase begins: ]

Something caught your eye?

[willrevile]

[ Yeah right, BATMAN.

But - here, where it's quieter, Jim is quieter, too. He answers questions, but it may be obvious after a few minutes that what he's doing is listening to the ship. The strange low unearthly hum of it, nowhere near the loud noises fiction may inspire of science-fiction engines, something more subtle. Something more alive.

He has a hand on a bulkhead, back a small ways from the warpcore itself, just looking at her. (Her. The ship, the Enterprise, Alan is still being referred to as 'him'.) ]

Huh?

[ Sickbay, he thinks, but a part of his mind is thinking about something else, an echo of an echo. Not him dying, but still his memory, a death not his own. He's seen it before, during, after - thankfully not now. The warp core remains as she is, behind doors and shields, beating its nuclear heart. ]

I don't know if I can actually control this, [ he admits, sounding perhaps strangely subdued. Letting instincts belonging to someone else guide him in matters of psychic traveling. Jim's not actually sure it's working, but at least his head hurts less. ]

[beknight]

My son.

[ Does the truth have power, here? The room warms at once, Bruce is still following that laughter as though captured by it — fully embraced. ]

[dorzalta]

[ Nothing more cherished. She steps up beside him, placing a gentle hand on his forearm, lips tilting up in an encouraging smile. ]

Show him to me?

[beknight]

[ She has children. He remembers this fact, it surfaces in his mind unbidden, often, when he has studied her previously. They are the way to her heart as his sons are to his. ]

[ How long has it been, since someone had that in common with him? He looks down the corridor, and takes her arm. ]

This way.

[beknight]

[ don't make fun of his fursona!! ]

Wait for it.

[ They move along with the memory-Batman, the hiss of the grapple, soaring to the rooftop, and jumping over the gaps there. The shape in front turns to look at him, and the moonlight throws her into sharp relief: a woman, similarly dressed, but leaner, her goggles pulled down over her face. She flashes a pleased smile at him, and keeps running. ]

[beknight]

[ There's a low, soft, inviting hum from the ship. Machinery.. appeals. It's easy to take apart, understand, improve. The streets of Gotham have resisted most of what he's put into place, as Wayne, as the Bat. Even unfamiliar there is a beauty to her design. ]

[ He understands how someone could miss her. Flying — even centuries in the future — is a metaphor for freedom. ]

[ Bruce brushes Jim's shoulder lightly, in lieu of an awkward pat. Soft, ]

We will.

[ After all, isn't he well-versed in imposing his own will on a swirling vortex of grief and despair? This is better arranged, easier to handle. There are good memories here to walk through. ]

[willrevile]

[ He can't even think what would you do, Ambassador, because that train of thought is related to something in a box he can't let himself open. Not like this. (A lot of shit's in that box. It's the worst box.)

But he .. doesn't have to think of sickbay. Jim almost laughs.

They're walking down a hallway again, curving around into a wide oval entryway, following a conversation about fungal infections, and about how they are going to kill you, yes you, in an explicitly awful way, and there will be no cure, at least not for you, because you are the biggest moron in the entire goddamn galaxy. ]

--many times I have to have this conversation with you, [ Doctor McCoy is railing on, and if Alan thought everyone in space was wildly modern and futuristic or alien, well, surprise, no one is more ~down home Americana~ than this motherfucker. ] I should just let you bleed. I'd put your quarters on medical lockdown if you wouldn't just hack it-- sit! --you don't have to go on every single suicidal science experiment field trip that rolls along, you reckless idiot, you have a security team, a security team of ONE HUNDRED PEOPLE--

Oh my god, Bones.

[ Captain Kirk is sitting obediently on a biobed, letting his CMO poke and prod and yell. He looks torn between affectionate amusement and exasperation, over a bruise on his face and a tear on his uniform's left shoulder that's got some dried blood.

The yelling continues. ]

[dorzalta]

[ How long has the very same been a commonality between her and another? He and Claire, Emma. Not many others have spoken of their children to her--or if they even have any.

She falls into step beside him. ]

How long ago is this?

[dianano]

[ Just on that smile alone, it suddenly all makes sense.

It's game. Cat and mouse... or Cat and Bat, as it would seem. ]

Nice smile. [ Have a knowing look. ]

[beknight]

[ Bruce just linefaces at him. Typical. Obviously he thinks this is endearing. ]

[ Selina escapes him this time, but the memory dissolves almost instantly and becomes a more prolonged chase. Different part of the city, with sirens screaming below. Selina's still ahead. ]

[dianano]

[ Endearing, no better word to describe it.

Could anyone catch up this woman? It looked unlikely. ] So, who is she?

[beknight]

[ Bruce does.. sometimes. Just not today. ]

Who do you think?

[beknight]

A lifetime.

[ A different man — one with no small amount of hope, joins Jason at the table. Alfred has already set it and is making Bruce's coffee. ]

[ It's telling that both Bruces — the one next to her and the one in the memory — are leaning towards the boy, soaking up his chatter. He's talking about a field trip he's volunteered to chaperone, to a museum, asking permission to skive off his "after school activities" with his mentor. The Bruce in the memory is agreeable. ]