What happened

After running into Tim and sending him on his way to Barbara, downstairs, Bruce headed upstairs himself. The knock on Dick's door went unanswered. But there was a rustling...Bruce knocked again, and then opened the door slowly. Carefully. The bedroom was empty. But the window was opened. Papers from the table in the corner had caught in the influx of wind, and were blowing across the room sporadically. That was what he had heard.

The door closed behind him as he walked through Dick's room and stopped at the open window. He listened a few seconds, heard nothing troubling, and then leaned carefully out the window. Checked swiftly for trouble. And found the tip of Dick's boot jutting from the rooftop ledge overhead. This is what came of letting him have a bedroom on the highest floor of the manor, he though to himself. Shedding his suit coat, he ducked out of the window, then followed the boy's path up to the roof. When he pulled himself up onto the roof and sat down nearby, Bruce took the time to stare out over the City.

It was not his home. There were parts of it that looked familiar -- Arkham, for example -- but this place was not Gotham. The thought occurred to him that it might be useless, what he was doing (what they all were doing). What was the point of fighting crime in a place where, by all reckonning, the city itself created the criminals? He scowled, and turned to Dick.

"Plans tonight?"

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The room waited in reptilian darkness. Grotesque figurines on particle board shelves and laserjet demons coiled patiently in preparation for attack, and the circle drawn in charcoal on the grimy linoleum floor in the center of the room welcomed arrivals with open arms. Little wax candles, frozen to their cracked plastic holders with their own blood, suddenly popped to life in expectaion of the return of the sorceror. Hanging censers began to sway and book pages turned, and in a brief flash of daylight, Two robed men appeared in the room.

The larger man clapped twice and cheap desk lamps around the room turned on, revealing the scene in all its bizarre, anachronistic splendor. He was helping to prop up the thinner man, but now let him slide to the floor in exhaustion.

"I mean you no harm at this time, Doctor Strange," spoke the large man, striding to a corner. "I believe you will concur that the defeat of the recent arrival to this plane requires more power or strategy than either of us posesses seperately, or perhaps even combined." He leaned into an ornate mirror draped with silks and painted on the surface with arcane, yellow symbols, and began grooming his beard. "This room is a part of the business establishment of a man by the name of Midnite. Beyond that door we will likely find some mortal or demon or other variety of being who will gladly rally to our cause. When you are ready, you may join me without and mingle with these folk."

He walked over to this door and opened it. Infernal cackling, strange music, and more than ten varieties of smoke wafted through the crack. He turned back to the other man. "Oh, and Stephen," he smiled darkly, "I believe this rescue constitutes a favor."

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The gingham dress was not her style. Neither was sulking, as Babs had so astutely pointed out. Max had had her fill of both over the past few days. She couldn't help the first, the blue and white dress was a constant companion along with random out bursts of 'Over the Rainbow' and 'Follow the Yellow-brick Road'. As much as she tried, she couldn't get the thing off.

Sometimes Max found herself thinking that maybe it was a good thing Jesse didn't want to see her right now (at least she assumed he wouldn't want to see her). Unfortunately, that tended to bring on the sulking, and she really was trying to get over that.

She'd started to resent Jesse for it, for making her feel this way over something so stupid. And it really was just that. Stupid. And it was his fault. Max had no qualms about blaming him for the entire thing, possibly because she was still mad at him. She felt… disillusioned. Yes, that was the right word. She'd somehow managed to fall in love with a man who didn't want to 'play house', so to speak. Not that she was ready to play house either, but privately the imagined thought of setting up home and family with Jesse had made her a bit warm inside.

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Trip to the apartment complex done, Max headed back out. Time to try safe harbor number four. It was the last one, and she wasn't honestly sure how safe the Lair would be. Sure, she'd done all the security herself, but it was no Clock Tower, she didn't have any delusions of this. But she did know it was someplace she could get work done and not feel scarily alone.

So to the dock area Max went. The walking was hard in the ever present heels, but she headed anyway because she knew a lot of cabbies were starting to charge more to take customers down there. Ever since the crime rates had spiked.

Maybe she could work at getting out of this dress too. Max planned on trying. The frills were getting ridiculous and the coat she wore to cover it was hot. She stripped it off once she was deep into the docks, stopping in a spot she remembered, Ace's favorite spot to pee in front of the abandoned buildings. She pulled her backpack off and began stuffing the jacket in.

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Having determined that yes, Inara was alive, Eddie had hung around for a bit and than decided that enough was enough. He needed to go for a walk. The hospital and Eddie wasn't a good match, he figured if he stayed there long enough someone was going to ask him what his relation was to Inara, or someone was going to ask him about his gun, or … well there was all kinds of reasons for him ducking outside for a walk to clear his head.

He turned to look at the Hospital muttered a; "Okay, stay." When neither the streets nor the hospital shifted he grinned. "Good hospital. I'll be back in a bit."

A few blocks later Eddie paused in front of a place that called it's self 'Bruce's Video' and glanced in the window. What the hell where DVD's? And what was that ... Lethal Weapon 4? "Jesus." He could vaguely recall Lethal Weapon being out in the theaters. He hadn't gone and seen it, but ..."Must have been good if they made four of them …"

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