batmanschmatman | 103 [voice]

103 [voice]

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]

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I am. [But he was also watching Dick from the corner of his eye, and for a long moment, turned to face him head on, just watching. Yeah, this was going to be bad. He could tell. It was just weird to be on this side of it, really.

He didn't say anything else until the manor came into view, because it was his chance to take in a sharp, quiet breath. If he'd been driving, he would have been standing on the brake.]

Shit...

[It was like after the quake. Only worse.]

[Dick didn't say anything, and actually stepped down on the accelerator, mouth drawn in a thin line. He needed to get there as fast as possible, not really aware of anything else for the time being.

He barely remembered to put the car in park before he was grappling with the seatbelt and throwing himself out of the car, running towards the ruined building. He stopped short just as suddenly, staring at the wreckage, feeling himself starting to go into shock and not being able to do much about it.

He hadn't been home in so long, and seeing it like this, for the first time in almost two years was rattling. He felt suddenly homesick and guilty, like he should have been here and stopped all this, even if this wasn't his Gotham. Where had they all been when this happened? It was like after the quake, but somehow a million times worse, and he found himself walking towards the building. He realized, in a sort of detached way, that it almost felt like he was sleepwalking. This was just a nightmare he was going to wake up from. It had to be.]

[Tim followed, but more cautiously, wary of anyone else who might be around. Or of booby traps, or cave ins, or a thousand things. He ran a hand through his hair as he walked through what was left of the front entrance.

When the quake had struck, this hadn't been home yet. Now...]

The Cave, [He said quietly, because if he could keep his mind on one track, heading for one goal, he could handle this. So he glanced at Dick before heading off to take a look at how bombed out the entrance was, and if it was still possible for them to get in.]

[Dick ignored him. It was like he was underwater, because he wasn't really hearing things or processing them correctly. It was like he was dreaming, or maybe he was just going crazy, because this was the Manor, but not, and it was home, but it was in ruins now, and this was almost everything he was afraid of happening all at once.

He didn't follow Tim, instead numbly walking into another room, surveying the damage listlessly. There was a framed photograph lying face down on the dusty, ruined carpet next to a smashed table, and he carefully crouched to pick it up, mindful of the shattered glass.

It was an old photo, and he remembered taking it. He was about fifteen, and it was just a random summer evening where Alfred had decided to grill something and they'd eaten outside together as a family. Alfred had snapped the picture before Bruce had realized he'd had the camera. Bruce was smiling in a way that wasn't the forced billionaire playboy mask, and Dick was laughing at something - he couldn't even remember what, but he remembered the blue t-shirt (it had been handed down to Tim) - and had captured a moment where they were just... normal. And happy.

This wasn't their universe, but the picture was the same, and for some reason, that was it. He was silent, frozen in place, eyes stinging as he stared at the photo, trying and failing to process everything. He was home, but everything was all wrong, and for the moment, he couldn't deal with it.]

[It was the silence that made Tim pause in his search and turn back. When he found Dick there, staring at a picture, he froze, because he knew that look. That everything is crumbling around me look, that I don't know if I can handle this look. He'd seen it in the mirror every day from the moment he left Gotham to find Bruce.

And he couldn't let his brother wallow in it.]

Dick. [He made his voice hard, low, and it was actually a fair imitation of Bruce. He needed Dick's attention, and once he had that, he dropped into something gentler.] We'll find him.

[He glanced up, responding to the tone instinctively even if he knew, logically, that it was Tim. He stared at him for a few seconds before carefully replacing the frame on the nearest flat surface.

It still felt like everything was falling apart, but everything had fallen apart before and they'd done okay. So he forced himself to walk over to Tim, planning on heading over for the Cave.]

Is it accessible?

I think so. [He watched Dick walk by, some uncertainty creeping into his face. It was always Dick in this spot, Dick trying to get him to talk, and he wasn't sure he could fill those shoes.]

There's debris in the way. I need help moving it.

[Dick didn't bother answering, just heading into the study and starting to move rubble out of the way. He finally addressed Tim when he got to a piece of debris he couldn't move easily by himself.]

Give me a hand.

[Yeah that's not concerning or anything. But he goes to get his shoulder under it and help haul the wreckage out of the way.] Talk to me. [Okay, not the subtlest approach.]

[Nope, and Dick stares at him briefly while moving the wreckage.] About what?

[Which was really code for he didn't want to talk about any of it. He wanted to get the entrance to the cave open and try to figure out what had happened. Bruce could have left a message, or maybe he or Tim had done it before the Manor had been destroyed, and he wanted answers.]

[Damn it man. :|]

You're kind of freaking me out. [But that's Tim's thought process, too, and he isn't resting until the entrance is clear.]

I'm fine. [He tries to make it sound convincing, but he knew it wasn't going to work. But there was a quiet thought at the back of his mind that he needed to pull it together for Tim - which made a couple less than pleasant memories resurface - so. He was trying.] Sorry.

No you're not, [He said, very quietly, because that much was obvious. He heaved a beam out of the way, and kicked a big rock to the side so that they could squeeze through.]

We can talk later. [BUSINESS FIRST, right? :c]

[Dick ignored him in favor of kicking and shoving aside a few more pieces of rubble, widening the hole.]

It's different. [But at least the locks looked like they were in place. Dick pressed his hand to the concealed touchpad, and a scanner was activated, reading his fingerprints and retinas.]

[It was, but the green light still flared, and Tim nodded.] That isn't. Good.

[He was a little worried, given Superboy's differing DNA. Once the door was open, he walked in behind Dick, still wary.]

It's better than nothing. [It had recognized him, that was good enough.

Still, he was wary as they made their way down the stairs to the cave, wondering if there were any booby traps. But they made it down into the cave without any other problems, and it looked... intact. Still slightly different - the T-Rex was in the wrong spot - but familiar and whole enough to be grounding.

He headed over to the computer and immediately started trying to log in.]

[Tim took his time, looking around, noting the discrepancies. Their fingerprints and irises were the same, but it seemed like not much else was.]

Any luck?

No. Wait- [That password actually gets results, and the computer unlocked.] Yeah. Sort of.

[It's just not giving particularly interesting and/or positive answers. :V]

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