Bruce Wayne (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
batdweeb) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
heyfreemagic2015-07-27 12:35 am
batdweeb) wrote in heyfreemagic2015-07-27 12:35 am
Strike with Light
{Backdated: Can take place anywhere from July 1 to July 25, since he's going out on multiple nights.}
[ As dangerous as the Nox Carnival had been, it had at least given the Batman something simple to fight against. However, the satisfaction of helping clear the carnival of darkness had only gone a small way to alleviating the frustration of having been trapped in Freesia for months. ]
[ To that end, he'd stopped concentrating on his lost equipment and studying the city. Instead, the Batman would go out every other night and patrol Freesia, hunting down any Nox and Rifts lurking in the shadows. ]
[ They'd gone back to being roughly the size of rats and cats ever since the Nox Carnival, and both Nox and the Rifts they came out of could be dealt with in a literal flash. And since they were relatively easy to deal with so far, the Batman had felt justified in avoiding any citizens or other abductees that came out at night. Working alone was... simpler, right now. ]
[ Of course, complicating his attempts to fly under the radar was his magic. ]
[ As effective as it was against the Nox, bright flashes of light were very noticeable after dark, even from a distance. He had experimented with the visibility, changing the colors, trying to make it less glaring, but when a rat-shaped Nox was launching itself at his face, it was hard to be concerned with the obviousness of his attacks. ]
[ Eventually, anybody wandering around at night is going to notice those flashes of light in the distance. ]
[ As dangerous as the Nox Carnival had been, it had at least given the Batman something simple to fight against. However, the satisfaction of helping clear the carnival of darkness had only gone a small way to alleviating the frustration of having been trapped in Freesia for months. ]
[ To that end, he'd stopped concentrating on his lost equipment and studying the city. Instead, the Batman would go out every other night and patrol Freesia, hunting down any Nox and Rifts lurking in the shadows. ]
[ They'd gone back to being roughly the size of rats and cats ever since the Nox Carnival, and both Nox and the Rifts they came out of could be dealt with in a literal flash. And since they were relatively easy to deal with so far, the Batman had felt justified in avoiding any citizens or other abductees that came out at night. Working alone was... simpler, right now. ]
[ Of course, complicating his attempts to fly under the radar was his magic. ]
[ As effective as it was against the Nox, bright flashes of light were very noticeable after dark, even from a distance. He had experimented with the visibility, changing the colors, trying to make it less glaring, but when a rat-shaped Nox was launching itself at his face, it was hard to be concerned with the obviousness of his attacks. ]
[ Eventually, anybody wandering around at night is going to notice those flashes of light in the distance. ]
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...And also the stupid things are shaped like rats, which he hates, and there's no joy in smacking a filthy diseased rat with a baseball bat if it just comes back. There doesn't even seem to be any crime on the streets he could handle.
There was something else though...Casey'd seen the flash of light come from some alleyway, which he was used to, but what he wasn't used to was some guy in a dorky bat spandex. A vigilante like himself, perhaps, but still in a black suit...Wait, did that make him one of the shadow monster's allies or something? He was using light, but maybe that was part of a clever ploy to trick him or the other warriors around here.
If the guy turned, Casey was prepared to duck out of sight as he peaked around the corner to watch. He'd have to tail the batguy somehow. He'd already done it once with a ninja, so how hard could this be?
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[They were nearly to the edges of his cape when the Batman stomped his foot, and a wave of light shot out along the ground. The Nox screeched, the smaller rats dissolving and the larger ones scattering in all directions.]
[One of them was scurrying towards the street where Casey was, and it was that one the Batman turned to watch as it hurried away.]
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Casey tried very very hard not to let it run up his leg and then, when it did exactly that, he tried very very hard not to scream. It hadn't been as bad since he fought a guy called the freakin' Rat King, but phobias don't go away that easy. Which sucked.
He couldn't help the whine when he managed to kick the thing off, sending it flying past the opening to the alley and leaving him breathing much harder (and louder) than he realized he was.]
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[Even if the Batman hadn't had sharp enough hearing to catch that whine and the heavy breathing, the way the rat had been thrown was enough to make it clear he wasn't alone.]
[Casey would hear a sharp wshht! followed by a metallic clatter, as the Batman suddenly turned and used his bat-grappler to reach the top of a nearby fire escape.]
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Unless he had a grappling hook. He made a mental note to make a grappling hook of his own once he could afford the materials.
Anyway, he could try to track the guy if he followed on the ground, watching for him to jump from building to building, but there was no guarantee he'd be able to do that long before he hit a dead end.
Fine, up the fire escape as quickly as he can. Let's hope his goalie gloves will muffle at least some of the sound.]
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[Once Casey was making his way up the fire escape, the Batman climbed onto the railing of the fire escape and up onto the roof of the building. The roof was flat, but for the various vents and air conditioners, and it didn't take long for him to sprint across and reach the opposite end of the building.]
[The buildings were close enough together that he didn't need a grappling hook to jump onto the next one.]
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Casey ducked behind the stairwell on the roof to let Batman get a little bit of distance, and then moved to follow. Fortunately, Casey was good enough with roof-hopping that he can easily follow.]
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[However, his speed would be steadily increasing the longer Casey chased him.]
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Which is probably why he doesn't expect to lose his footing on the edge of the roof. He's always been willing to sacrifice sure footing for the speed and ability to grind, but this time he just can't correct himself and falls backwards. There's a fire escape under him to keep the fall from being fatal, but he's gonna slam it hard either way.]
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[For a moment, the Batman's heart is in his mouth as he sees Casey fall backwards- only a moment, before he remembers that he saw a fire escape before hopping onto this roof. But it's possible the person following him could still be hurt, so Batman hurries to the edge of the building to peer down at Casey.]
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It takes him a few moments to put his jangled brain back together and pull himself up to a sitting position, but he won't be able to get any farther than that until the sting in the back of his head goes away and he can take stock of everything else that he hurt. He hisses and groans, rubbing the back of his head, and looked up. He can't gauge exactly how far he's fallen. The most coherent thought that surfaces through the haze of pain and head injury was that the guy must have gotten away.
...Or he could be peering over the roof to look at him. If he hadn't just banged his head, he might have an answer for that. For now he just squints through the stars he's seeing.]
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[Casey's injuries were a higher priority at the moment, anyway. The Batman spoke:]
How's your head?
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It's...it's fine. Takes more than a knock to the skull to keep Casey Jones down.
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[If Casey's dizziness has faded enough to make out the Batman's face, he'll see that Batman's giving him a severe frown.]
Why are you following me?
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Well...you see a dude dressed up as a bat running around in the middle of the night, you think "there's a guy who knows where the action is."
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You should be more careful about who you follow, Mr. Jones. You're lucky that fire escape was there.
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[Despite appearances.]
Just...forgot this was a different ballpark for a second.
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[Well that's almost friendly sounding-]
You know, a fall from this height would have killed you.
[Or not?]
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Yeah, well...That's jus' a risk you take bein' a vigilante!
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Easy. I told you not to move around too much.
[He carefully jumps down onto the fire escape, beside Casey.]
It wasn't necessary.
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What d'ya mean?
[Batdude would have gotten away if he hadn't. Seemed plenty necessary.]
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[Rather than directly answer Casey's question, the Batman says:]
Did you think I was here to cause trouble? I can assure you that unless you're a Nox or a criminal, I'm not interested in harming anyone.
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Figured wherever you were runnin' to had to have somethin' goin' down, right? If you were causin' it, I could take you out and if you were gonna fight it, I'd help you out!
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[This is said flatly, without any particular anger or annoyance behind it, although based on his experience with teenagers Batman suspects Casey would brush it off either way. Although speaking of teenagers...]
Does anyone know you're out here?
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[Can't keep Casey Jones out of the action, no matter how needed he actually is.]
Uh...If the guys are awake, they've probably noticed I'm gone.
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