103 [voice]

[batmanschmatman]

It's been over a year and a half since I've been home for more than a few hours. I can pretty safely say this isn't the welcome back party I expected. [There's some humor there, but he mostly just sounds... tired. Maybe a little in shock. There's a short pause, and there's some quiet, largely unintelligible conversation with someone that sounds like Tim for those with good ears before Dick continues, and his voice is harder, more focused.

This might not be their Gotham, but they sure as hell aren't going to let it burn to the ground, and Dick is stepping up into leader mode. Which means bossy, lecture-y Bat, so sorry about that guys. :c]

I understand that for some of you, this is like stepping onto a set of a movie, but these are not characters from a cheesy kid's cartoon. They're violent, psychopathic murderers. If you see the Joker, or anyone dressed up in clown make up, run as fast as you can in the opposite direction. Do not try to engage him or any other costumed criminal unless you have no other choice. This isn't me trying to lecture you on laws of reality or common sense, it's advice to keep you safe.

Anyone who's able and willing should support the GCPD in any way they can. I understand first priority is keeping your inmates and yourself safe throughout port, but I'd be appreciative to anyone who's able to help stop this from getting worse. [And here he's warden filtering directions to the GCPD headquarters and Gotham General, with a note about how he's not sure either will be operational, but they're enough of a jumping off point to orient people and he'll provide further information once he gets updates.]

Stick together, and watch each other's backs. If anyone starts getting reports of or runs into anyone who's fallen overboard, keep people informed. Keep track of your inmates.

[Filtered Separately to Steph, Cassie and Superboy]

Tim and I are headed to see how bad the damage is. [Meaning, they're finding the Manor and the Cave and seeing if there's anything they can salvage/any proof that people they care about are still alive. :|] Try to organize anyone who's willing to help to start getting things under control, and make sure someone's helping out anyone who doesn't have combat experience who decided to leave the ship. We'll be able to help in a couple hours at most.

And I know this isn't a major concern on the Barge, but try not to be too open about our identities, especially on public filters. We don't know who could be compromised, and who they could pass the information along to in this world that could endanger our counterparts when things go back to normal. [Assuming they're still alive, anyway. :|]

If we find any information about [what happened to everyone else and if they're alive or not] you'll be the first to know.

[Filtered to Steph and Cassie]

Keep an eye on him. I trust you both to be able to figure out where to start working.

[Filtered Separately to Kirk, Shego, Buffy, Dean, Sara and Steve, forward dated to after he's got some more gear]

I need to meet with you in person at your earliest convenience. Assuming you came into port.

[Private to Rorschach]

We need to talk.

[Spam for Tim]

[Messages sent out, Dick put away his communicator and surveyed the street briefly again. It felt like he was right back in the middle of the gang war, or Bludhaven, except this time, they were alone. There was basically no back up, not really. A couple Bats and Titans members did not a Justice League make, and there was no Bruce to be the detached leader, either, probably no Babs to run tech support, no anyone. Just them. And the people on the Barge, who - as much as he liked and respected some of his coworkers - weren't exactly a well organized strike force against crime in Gotham.

Which meant he was already shutting down. It was instinct, in times of true crisis, to shut down and act more like Bruce, and he was falling back on it now without even realizing he was doing it. His expression, voice and posture were suddenly altered, and while it wasn't as obvious as it could be - and would probably only be getting worse - Tim would probably pick up on the difference.

Dick just privately hoped he wouldn't call him out on it.]

Let's go. We should run by the clock tower, see if there's anything there. [Not that he was getting his hopes up, based on what they'd been able to put together so far.]

[ooc: Dick is slipping pretty heavily into Batman mode, so he probably won't reply to trollish responses, and Tim will probably be chiming in as well. Dick will be out and about in port in the Batsuit pretty much the whole time, and I'll be putting up a log for that later in port for anyone who wants to run into him, and will obviously be tagging around with him! Batman tags will probably be coming from isthenight because omnomnom icons.

FEEL FREE TO ASSUME THIS IS A WHILE AFTER THE ADMIRAL'S ANNOUNCEMENT. I just got impatient and wanted to post. :V]

Comments

[isthenight]

[Dick just nods, appreciative, and reaches into the utility belt for a commlink, handing it to Steve.]

Use this to get in touch with me instead of the network. I'll be able to respond faster, and there's less risk of the information getting compromised by someone who's fallen overboard and been assimilated into the port. You prefer Captain America when you're in uniform? [Never hurts to double check, right?]

[thestarspangledman]

Yes, sir. [He takes that commlink then, and settles it somewhere safe.]

I do, yeah. And uh -- what do I call you?

[isthenight]

Batman. And you don't need to call me sir. [He's pretty sure you're either older or they're around the same age, anyway. And hey, Steve you're pretty good at softening the whole I am darkness, I am the night thing he's supposed to be doing.]

How are you doing supplies wise?

[thestarspangledman]

Sorry. Force of habit. [A little grin, and then a shrug.]

I don't have much at all, to be honest, except for my shield and the suit.

[isthenight]

[Dick nods and takes out his Barge communicator, quickly sending over some maps and files with information about places to get food and supplies that hopefully haven't been too picked over.] I'm sending you some coordinates for places to get some basic stuff, I've got a first aid kit- [Which he's pulling out of one of the pouches of the utility belt and handing over.] Which includes some antidotes that should hopefully help in case you run into Joker, Ivy or Crane. They're labeled, and should counteract the toxins if your physiology isn't immune already.

Batgirl and Redwing should have some supplies too, I can send them your way if you need it. Or just let me know, I can meet up with you.

[thestarspangledman]

Thanks. [He'll be stashing that first aid kit with the comm link, and giving Dick a little nod in return.]

Uh. Anything I should particularly keep an eye out for, or just try and get people to safety?

[isthenight]

Civilians should be the priority for now. What sort of combat experience have you had? [You're obviously a superhero, but superhero fighting World War II is a little different from crashing through windows and beating up people dressed in arguably ridiculous costumes.]

[thestarspangledman]

Well -- [A sheepish grin.] The war, obviously, and I --well, I don't have a lot of experience rescuing people except for the once, my friend's battalion.

[isthenight]

You've got experience in a combat situation. That's better than most people we have right now. [He's quiet for a moment, considering.] How would you feel about running patrol with me for a while?

[thestarspangledman]

Sounds great. You know the place better than I do, I'll tag along.

[isthenight]

Sounds good. [He grins a little, which would probably be unnerving to anyone who was more familiar with Batman, but he points in the direction of Gotham General.] I was going to run by the hospital, see if there's anyone holed up in there. How fast a runner are you?

[We could also take the car.]

[thestarspangledman]

I can be pretty fast if I have to be. People tend to get out of the way when they see the shield.

[isthenight]

Good. Let's go. [And Dick is immediately running off and jumping down onto the next rooftop, glancing behind to see if Steve's keeping up.]

[thestarspangledman]

[Which he is, of course, shield at the ready just in case and easily following Dick down and over to the next building.]

[isthenight]

[That's definitely encouraging, and Dick keeps it up for a few blocks before calling back over to Steve:] What's your shield made out of?

[thestarspangledman]

[He's caught up with Dick by now, grinning over at him just a little bit.]

Vibranium. It's indestructible, Stark's dad made it for me.

[isthenight]

Sounds handy. [That's also not something he's familiar with, so QUESTIONS LATER, probably, because they're stumbling upon some people who are definitely in need of some superhero ass kicking.]

They're Flase Facers. Black Mask's henchmen. Whatever's in those crates, they definitely shouldn't have their hands on it.

[thestarspangledman]

It's definitely handy. [He'll be crouching next to Dick, studying those up to no good-niks with some concentration.]

Right. I'll get them away from the crates, you can start taking care of them.

[the handy thing about being an expert with a shield? Means it will go where he wants it to. --This, then, means that he will be chucking said shield in such a way as to ricochet off the crates, hopefully getting the baddies away from the stuff, and possibly whacking a few of them along the way.]

[isthenight]

[Dick's impressed, and allows it to show in his expression for a moment with an actual grin before he jumps off the building, using the cape to break his fall a little. The henchmen barely had time to be surprised when he went into action, and letting loose somewhere that's actually his city feels better than he'd thought it would.

He keeps an eye out for Steve, but mostly focuses on just disarming and dropping the False Facers as quickly as possible. The cape's still a pain in the ass, though. Compensating for the extra weight means less flips and shit. :c]

[thestarspangledman]

[Steve is doing about as well as Dick in that respect, he gives as good as he gets in terms of hand-to-hand combat and the like, and the shield definitely helps with ricocheting and tripping people up.]

Should we get this stuff to the police?

[isthenight]

Probably. [He drops the last guy and zipties the thug's hands together before straightening up and heading over to the crates. He carefully pries the lid off and scowls a little, frustrated.]

More guns. We should definitely run these over to the closest police barrier.

[thestarspangledman]

Right. I can take care of that if you've got better things to do.