i_assist Present and Future Colide [TBC through comments]
Who: Max and Bruce When: Yesterday afternoon/evening Where: WayneTech
Bruce: "Master Bruce..." Alfred began as Bruce walked in through the front door, with an air about him that distinctly said annoyed. He'd been called out of Lex's outer office before even seeing him with a code. It was one he and Alfred had come up with in the few days they'd had alone in the City before more familiar faces showed up.
"Who is..." He was cut off by enthusiastic barking and the clickclack of nails on floorboard. Out of no where a huge black great dane skidded to an enthusiastic halt right in front of him, head and neck stretched out for petting, tail wagging, tongue hanging out.
Bruce Wayne raised an eyebrow. "Alfred ?"
"As I had been trying to say Master Bruce. It is more than one guest."
Max:: "I feed him, walk him, clean up after him..." Max muttered to herself as she followed Ace, at a much slower pace, into the Bruce Wayne's office. "You would think that after all this time, he'd listen to me, but noooo."
She paused, taking a minute to look around the office and let out a low whistle. "Nice place, Mr. Wayne."
Bruce: In the process of tugging off, scarf, hat and coat, it took Bruce a moment to turn his attention from the dog to the woman. He tilted his head flicking a glance from her to Alfred and back again. "And you are ?"
Max:: "Sit!" Max said sternly, point at Ace who'd stopped his scampering towards Bruce. For once the dog listened, and Max stepped forward to reattach the lead to his collar. She wrapped the end around her fist, preventing him from going to far.
"Maxine Gibbons. That's Ace," she said, holding out her right hand. "Couldn't find you at the manor, so I came here."
Bruce: He hitched up his pants leg to prop himself comfortably on his desk, eyes looking over the young woman and canine in front of him, a slightly amused smile on his face. "And just how can I help you Ms. Gibbons ?" The smile grew slightly wider as the irritation seemed to just slowly fade away. As if even an underage pretty young woman could take Bruce's mind off a business meeting. "You have my complete attention."
Max:: Well that was good, a little easier than she'd expected, but good never the less. She rubbed Ace's neck, encouraging him to stay seated before turning her eyes to Bruce again.
Good God this was weird. He looked younger than her father.
"Well, here's what happened," Max started. "I took Ace for his afternoon walk, you and Terry were working as usual, and we went out into the woods for a while. We came out and went back to the manor, I go inside and find some black haired, blue eyed kid that is not Terry, leaving me really confused. He says he's Tim Drake, which doesn't really explain much 'cause I know Tim Drake and he's like 40 something, grey, and kinda pudgy. But he starts talking about how we're all not in Gotham anymore. So I went looking for you, figuring, you basically control us all, you must know what's going on."
And with that she paused, hand still wrapped around Ace's leash. She looked at him and gave a small shrug. "Where I come from you're seventy, Mr. Wayne. Tim says you're only thirty-five. In all the time I've spent helping out you and Terry, we've never done the whole time travel thing, so I'm a little confused."
Bruce: Black haired blue eyed youth. Black haired blue eyed youth number four. Dick, Jason apparently, Tim and now someone named Terry.
"Alfred, get the car please."
"Yes, Master Bruce."
'You basically control us all' He looked the young woman over again. Flamboyant. Very much a teenager.... His thoughts did not want to flow in an orderly fashion. Bruce paused his thinking. Where she was from he was in his seventies, the fight hadn't ended, but he was still going strong ? And he had fallen into the pattern of recruiting help ?!
"So tell me, Ms. Gibbson. Do I age well ?" Bruce smiled, pulling charm out of the confusion in his mind. His office was not the place to talk about what he suspected she wanted to talk about.
Max:: "Well, not too badly," Max said, tugging at a piece of her bright pink hair. "I never really saw you much, you're usually with Terry, but I think you and Ms. Gordon turned out alright, yeah. I think you might've gotten a little more... stodgy, in your old age, but hey, it happens to the best of us I guess."
She smiled back, completely lax in her stance. "So, uh, where am I exactly? Like, I know I'm the WayneTech building, except I could sworn I saw something about LexCorp out there. Totally odd. Anyway, yeah, um... that's not Gotham out there."
Bruce: "WayneTech, LexCorp and Stark Industries make up City United Industries. It's a recent merger." He was still smiling, body relaxed and light. "How about we head downstairs. Alfred's timing is impeccable, he'll be pulling up just as we step onto the sidewalk."
His voice dropped slightly, in a credibly whisper, still light and comfortable and even a bit conspiratorial. "I wouldn't mention Gotham too often though. No one here seems to have heard of it. It's all, very strange."
Max:: Max had heard of LexCorp at least, but Stark Industries was something completely new. Was she really that out of the know? Nah. That was stupid. Stark just had to be something that was new to where ever they were.
"No Gotham, check," Max said, following Bruce and tugging Ace along. The dog seemed to be just as curious as he'd ben at the mansion, and just as clingy to her side. If he didn't stop tangling the leash she was going to trip. "So what're we calling this place then? And who else is here? I've seen the renowned Alfred, Tim Drake... have you guys done the whole Joker thing yet? And now I've met you. So by my count, I'm missing about three other members of the main 'family' and a bunch of 'cousins'."
Bruce: The smile on his face and general confused look was easy, practiced. But the hard glint in his eye at her lack of caution should have been a warning.
"You're right. Your blood sugar is low. But I don't think we'll need a hospital, miss. Just to get you fed. Once your mouth is busy chewing, everything will be alright."
Bruce nodded to his secretary and then, gentleman like, held open the elevator door for Maxine.
Max:: "Okay, okay." Max held her hands up in defeat, she got the message. She could wait until they got to the car. The unanswered questions were just going to bother her until then. "Fine. The merger. Is that a safe subject? Because a merge with Lex Luthor hadn't even happened in my time. You were still head of the company, even though some blond asshole kept trying to oust you."
Bruce: Bruce laughed. "Shouldn't a biography be more reality and less fiction ?" He winked at his secretary as the doors closed and then, in the closed confines of the elevator, his back to the camera, he gave Maxine a look.
Dropping the Bruce Wayne, easy going if competitive CEO. She'd mentioned the Joker in connection to a Robin, so he was begining to lose doubts she was a plant of some sort. But she had absolutely no sense of right time and right place. Or rather, wrong time and wrong place.
It was more of a boardroom look, than anything else. But it still meant business. "I think we can leave the fantasy elements out, Maxine. No speculating on the future. Even if it does make for interesting dreams and fiction. If someone's going to be doing a biography on me for a school project, I'd like it to stick to the truth and nothing but." He chuckled, staying in position, wanting to block her reaction from the camera until the elevator pinged on the first floor. Bruce reached for her elbow, to hold and firmly guide her.
Max:: Max gave a huffy sigh, rolling her eyes. She couldn't help it; when she was nervous, she talked. Alot. More than necessary even. But okay, she was shutting up now.
While Max understood that the hand on her elbow was meant to just shush and steer her, Ace seemed to take it as something completely different and started growling while looking directly at Bruce. He was standing at full attention and tugging slightly on the leash.
This display of 'manliness' only elicted another sigh from Max. "Gee, nice to see that you do actually care. But... sit. I mean it Ace, sit down." She glared at him until he followed the order, sitting but still growling slightly. "Looks like he's listening now, but we might want to go before he decides to defend my honor in the elevator."
Bruce: Bruce stared at the dog, unafraid for a long moment, but then blinked and smiled, releasing Max's arm. "I'll be sure to ask permission of your bodyguard in future."
The elevator shuddered slightly and the doors opened on the first floor. Swing his coat off his arm and over his shoulders, Bruce gestured. "Please, after you." He was quiet in the quick walk through the lobby; quiet with her at least. He nodded and smiled and said hello to quite a few people as they walked.
And then, true to Bruce's words, Alfred was gliding the car in front of the doors just as they stepped through them. Bruce waited as Alfred got out to hold the back seat door open for them both.
"So, have you called your parents ?" Bruce asked casually, as he stepped into the relative privacy of the car.
Max:: Max couldn't help but laugh a bit, wondering if he was still putting up a front for the outside world. "I was born in 2030, this is like... 2005? My mom's about two and my dad's five. I don't know anyone here besides you guys, that's why I came to WayneTech." She snapped her fingers, gesturing for Ace to jump in after them. He did, and quickly settled in on the floor of the car.
Bruce: "They might have been brought here as well. It would do no harm to check." The door shut with a gentle click as Alfred closed it and then slid into the front seat.
"Where to Master Bruce ?"
"H..." he paused. "The Institute, Alfred. The clocktower."
"Very good, sir."
Bruce looked down at the dog lying comfortably by Maxine's feet. "He's very well trained."
Max:: "Well, yeah, you trained him. Well, you will train him anyway," she amended. She leaned down to scratch behind his ears.
"So, what's the clocktower? And why're we going there?" Max asked, looking at him expectantly. The car had to be secure. "And um, questions answered now? Maybe?"
Bruce: He folded his arms. Though his body relaxed, the lines transformed into something else. Something with the shadow of a twin peaked cowl. "I don't know what the City is. It's a place, and non-natives recognize it as confusing. It's not Gotham, or Metropolis or New York or any number of cities. It's all of them. With all their respective guardians."
He reguarded her again, quietly. He was answering her first set of questions. She could wait to find out where they were going, and why. He had questions of his own. "Tim is from my future as well. He hasn't mentioned the Joker." Though Tim hadn't wanted to mention much of anything. "Most of the people here are from my future." He paused again. "Or a possible future. Some people have even returned from the dead."
Bruce caught her eyes with his gaze. "Have you heard of Jason Todd ?"
Max:: Well that explained the weird landscaping she'd seen both from the manor and now as she looked out the car window. She nodded along as Bruce continued explaining, turning to look at him only when she felt his stare boring into her.
"Jason Todd? Yeah, I've heard of him," she said, shrugging a bit. Jason wasn't exactly someone who was brought up in casual conversation around the manor. His costume was still on display down in the cave, but other than that he generally wasn't mentioned. The thought of him was enough to motivate his future counterparts to do it better, faster, stronger.
Max frowned, deciding she did not want to get stuck with that topic. In typical Maxine fashion she barreled forward. "So who else is here? And I guess I could legitly call this some sort of alternate dimension?"
Bruce: He scowled, lips thin. Yet another person who wouldn't tell him about Jason. Which meant, more than ever he was going to have to find Jason, and convince him that together they might be able to get the truth out of everyone else.
Bruce looked away from her. "Yes, an alternate dimension allowing for the appearance of individuals from different or congruent timelines, for a purpose yet unkown." Outside the window, the city passed by, sometimes normally, sometimes skipping in leaps and bounds, getting to their destination through will rather than concrete direction.
Max:: At least that scowl was familiar. Something never changed, come wrinkles or grey hair.
"So, basically, anyone from any time can show up here, as proven by you, me, and Tim," Max repeated, mainly for her own understanding. "You never did tell me who else was here."
Bruce: "Barbara Gordon. Tim Drake. Alfred Pennyworth. Not too many other prominent Gothamnites that I know of. Lex Luthor is here. A Green Lantern has been spotted. As has the Blue Beetle. New arrivals every day, confused, unsure of where they are, or what's happening."
He looked over at her again. "A few faces and forms we don't recognize." He shrugged. "Jason Todd." But his eyes were still evaluating as even as he causually dropped the name." .
Max:: "Ms. Gordon's here?" Max perked up slightly, she'd always liked Ms. Gordon. She was the more relaxed of the two 'old gaurd'.
"Jason's here. S'interesting," Max finally said, conceding to the subject for just a moment. Maybe that would keep him happy. "So... have you been out? On your nightjob lately? It's kinda funny, I'm not used to refering to you as Batman. It's always Terry."
Bruce: That got his attention. Not Dick, not Tim but some unknown named Terry had taken over the cowl ? "Tell me about him."
Max:: The voice startled her slightly, she hadn't been anticipating the change. Jeeze, and Terry thought he had a good intimidation voice. She wondered if he'd heard discs of Bruce in his heyday.
Max looked out the window for a moment before turning back with a small grin. "Terry McGinnis, he's Batman now. You picked him, kind of. This guy, someone who used to work for WayneTech, murdered his dad and Terry found all of his plans to use biological weapons on Gotham, so he went to you for help. I think you guys bonded over vengeance, or something else typically male, but after you allowed Terry to take the suit out for that one mission to stop the weapons, you took him on full time. He was never Robin, or Nightwing, or Batboy... nothing like that. He was always Batman. You're more of a team though, he does the work on the streets and you work from the cave doing all the detective stuff. I sorta cover everything else. Alot of researching, covering for him..." Max trailed off. That was a tangent they did not need to go off on right now.
Back to Terry. "He's only been doing it for about two and a half years now, but he's been doing a good job. At least I think so, seeing as he's got school and the night job to balance and his mom and girlfriend are always asking questions at bad times. But he manages; he's always there when you call."
Bruce: Not vengeance. It would never, could never be about vengeance. Vengeance was small. Bruce looked away again. Protection, protecting the innocent from the gaping wide horror of loss. That was something he could have bonded with someone over.
And he had to believe there was something exceptional enough about this boy that he'd been trained as Batman. That there had been no graduation up for him. Though it left him wondering about Dick and Tim. What had made them retire. Why hadn't he ?
And a teenager as Batman ? Though, if they'd stopped the spread of a biological weapon together, that more than proved backbone. Everything else could be an accuired skill if the person was smart enough. And no genius was exclusively necessary if there was a voice on the other end of the line to help decipher clues.
"How did you get involved ?"
Outside the car was slowly, rolling onto a large campus. A mixed environment with students from five to twenty five and higher. Alfred stopped the car a moment for a crossing guard with a group of ten year olds.
Max:: "Moi?" Max pointed to herself and shrugged. "I got bored one day, so I wrote this computer program which was supposed to tell me who Terminal was-- he was one of the first bad guys Terry went up against. It spit out a bunch of name of people that fit the criteria, and Terry's was one of them. We'd kinda been friends beforehand, but only because I knew his girlfriend Dana. Anyway, so, Terminal ended up attacking me one day in the school library one day and suddenly there was Batman to the rescue. It just sort of clicked into place after that... Terry wasn't Terminal, he was Batman.
"So now, I do all the research stuff that you guys can't cover. I'm the computer girl basically. Like, if Terry gets a lead while we're at school, I'm the one the one he comes to track it during study or lunch. Stuff like that. I also do all the covering, like if his mom's looking for him, I lead her off. Same with the girlfriend. The public image thing is hard to hold by yourself."
Max finished, looking up at Bruce with a small smile. She was still talking a mile a minute, but at least she'd stayed on one topic. It was a lot to get through, almost three years of history and she was the only one there who could remember it.
Terry so obviously needed to join her in this city.
While she waited for Bruce to respond, Max too the opportunity to look out the window again. Hmm. A school of some sort. Not the manor, no, but interesting. She wondered why they were bothering to come here.
Bruce: The car parked neatly in front of the clocktower.
"Alfred, would you call ahead, see if she's there." He'd mentioned the clocktower in order to give them a destination. It didn't seem wise to just try driving randomly in this city. But the car was the most private place to talk about what had needed to be talked about.
Now, well, he could find out if Barbara had ever come across anyone named McGinnis. Or Gibbons. Maybe Maxine had family that was finding themselves just as confused. If not, well, he had a responsibility to keep an eye on those who knew his secret; who were a part of it.
Max: "'She'?" Max asked, raising an eyebrow. Sometime she really hated the whole mysterious and detached aura the Bats seemed to be able to switch on at will. It was fine out in the field, but did they really have to use it on regular people? She'd been telling Terry for two years now, that if he stopped using that on Dana they'd have a more stable relationship.