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John Blake is angry in his bones. (comingback) wrote in valarlogs,
@ 2012-12-26 15:09:00

Entry tags:

bruce wayne (batman), john blake

WHO: John Blake & Bruce Wayne.
WHAT: Catching Up.
WHEN: Tuesday Night.
WHERE: The Cave.
WARNINGS: Mentions of violence, cursing.

John was early, as per usual. Bruce had been distant over the holidays, and it wasn't like he didn't understand why. If he had to make a guess, his mentor was getting ready, preparing to become the Batman again.

Anything to keep from thinking about that first Christmas without his family.

The shoes still fit wrong. John had been surprised at how much he had to adjust to losing two little toes on his left foot, but the limp was no longer noticeable. Still, standing still he was so much more aware of his feet than normal. Guess it was a new normal. Either way, it bugged him that it bugged him. Two toes couldn't get in the way of... everything.

Death Valley had changed a lot for everyone. And now that he knew where the dreams had led, he had to tell Bruce. So John waited, on eight toes and tenterhooks.

He'd never been very patient.

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comingback
2012-12-27 02:14 am UTC (link)

John nodded. "I figured as much. He doesn't factor into mine."

Something shifted in John's expression. He closed himself off, telling the stories. He always did. Like they had happened to someone else, and therefore couldn't really get to him. And even Maria hadn't heard the end of this one yet; her own memories of Mandripoor and the wounds that had shown up on her back took a lot more importance than his own damn memories of Gotham City.

"Bane took over the city. I mean it pretty damn literally; we couldn't get in or out because he had us under a bomb threat." His arms crossed over his chest. "It lasted half a year. The cops were trapped in the tunnels, and those of us on the surface had to hide. Survive, the best we could."

It was implied that he had been one of those above ground.

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notbatty
2012-12-27 02:26 am UTC (link)

"You protected the city." It wasn't a question. If Blake was anything like himself in the dreams, he'd have protected the city. The real question was something else entirely. "...where was I?"

Because, if he were not involved, something truly terrible must have happened. It was one thing to 'retire' when problems could be handled by others. It was another to turn one's back on an entire city that needed your help.

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comingback
2012-12-27 02:45 am UTC (link)

John's posture didn't waver, and if his eyes got a little sad it couldn't be helped.

"We thought you had been killed. Bane got his hands on you." He swallowed nervously. "Kyle didn't know if you'd been killed, but you vanished until the end. Just showed up. Saved my life."

Very directly. He'd woken up from that dream about the gun to his head shaking, still stunned that it had been so close.

"In the end, our plan to disarm the bomb failed. You flew it out over the harbor, presumed dead." John had his own suspicions about that. His latest dream had been in the Cave, with a note he hadn't gotten to read. But he was willing to bet it had been written after the Siege.

"And you left me the Cave."

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notbatty
2012-12-27 04:17 pm UTC (link)

Of course he would. Of course he'd leave the Cave to someone capable, someone who'd want (and would wear) the mantle well. Hadn't he tried to do something similar in the real world, when he'd 'retired' to focus on the trial?

"Gotham survived?"

It was a fictional city. Bruce didn't know why he was so worried about its fate - it wasn't really his home, and it didn't exist to be protected. He ought to have been more worried about California, but the truth was that he felt a tie to that awful, imaginary place. He cared about what happened to Gotham and its people.

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comingback
2012-12-28 12:11 am UTC (link)

John understood. Gotham was his city too, deep down. Not Brooklyn, not Irvine, a fictional, messed up city that he apparently rose to be its protector after the man in front of him gave everything.

He nodded.

"Gotham survived, because of the Batman. And everyone knew it."

What else he remembered from that dream, John didn't go into. The crushing down that settled on his shoulders as the platform rose. As he realized what Bruce intended for him to do. The funny thing was how the doubt had crossed over here, to the waking world. Up until now he never had thought he'd have an issue.

But now it was. Like he said. Funny.

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notbatty
2012-12-28 01:21 am UTC (link)

"Are you alright?" Months ago, when they were just starting out, it would have been a wary test. Was Blake strong enough? Could Bruce trust him? Now it was something else entirely - real concern, without the edge of judgment. Bruce felt responsible for John. He wasn't one for touchy-feely moments, but he could do emotion.

He waited for the response, his eyes alert.

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comingback
2012-12-28 01:28 am UTC (link)

It would be easy to lie. To act like it was all right, like he wasn't worried. But he didn't want to. John didn't think he was cut out for being alone, any more than Bruce had been operating solo in Gotham. He had Alfred, Fox, even Gordon, unknowingly.

"Honestly? I think so. But it's a lot of territory. I'll burn out at this pace, and I know it. I'm not glad for the reasons behind it, but I am glad you're putting the suit back on. I know it's selfish, but I need you out there."

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notbatty
2012-12-28 01:59 am UTC (link)

"In the dreams, I have a team. Two of them, in fact - one in Gotham, and one I support when I'm not in Gotham. It's too big for any one person. I don't like that, but--"

But it was true. Bruce might wish he could do it alone, if only to protect the other people who'd take up the fight beside him, but he needed them. Needed their help. He didn't say anything about being part of a team in Orange County, but he assumed that it was understood.

"If you're ready, I'm going out to patrol. I've been gone for too long."

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	comingback 2012-12-28 02:18 am UTC (link)
	John's shoulders relaxed slightly. He wasn't alone. That made things a lot easier to deal with. Maybe he could take on the Cowl after all. "I'll head home. Get suited up." He put a hand on Bruce's shoulder, for just a brief moment. "Good having you back, Bruce." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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