[ This isn't his cave - except it is. The geological structure is the right shape. There are elements that are highly recognizable to him even beyond that - or rather the organizational system and layout are reflective of a mental process that is recognizable to him.
As his own.
There are more things - too many to count - that are unfamiliar to the point of being classified as alien. Chief among those is what is recognizably a batsuit, with red, being worn by someone with a build Bruce hasn't possessed since puberty.]
This is a problem.
[Not the first time he's been somewhere he doesn't belong. Usually he has some idea what happened, or at least the start of an idea? This one, not so much. He'll start deducting soon enough but this? Is not good.]
[ It's Ace who senses their new guest before Terry does. Bruce always reminds him to be aware of his surroundings, but sometimes, he still slips when he's in a place he thinks is safe. Ace doesn't growl or move in a way that suggests danger, but Terry still follows him with trepidation. The old man was out, so it was his job to ensure the cave was still there when he returned.
He pulls his cowl back in place before he closes the space between him and the stranger. ]
Sorry, pal. This is a private party, and I don't see your...invitation?
[ His voice trails off when he gets a better look at the man in front of him. He is familiar. Familiar enough that Terry takes a few steps closer to ensure his eyes aren't deceiving him. He is someone Terry's seen in pictures. Or on that island after a dip in the Lazarus Pit. But it couldn't be. ]
Bruce? Is this what you left to do? I thought the Lazarus Pit was gone.
[Bruce appears to ignore the dog, aside from flipping the hand closest to Ace palm outward. He's close enough to Titus to be at least cautious.
The vast majority of his attention is on the figure in front of him. His voice is level, steady, and calm. He's also got some information already that explains... several things.
Probably.]
Bruce, yes. Lazarus pit, no. [Hell no] What year is it?
[ Ace is eager to accept the pets. Terry isn’t quite ready to be as accepting. The Lazarus pit was his best lead and it’s dead in the water with Bruce’s denial. What else could it be? An imposter? Ace didn’t seem to think so. He at least wasn’t trying to eat him. A clone? Possibly.
When the dog clearly wants pet, Bruce pets him. He does not turn his direct attention there. No one in a Bat suit is safe, regardless of suit. Never mind that even if this is exactly what is appears, the cave isn't exactly lacking at least the potential to be actively hostile to intruders.]
I'm relatively young because until the moment I arrived here, it was 2007.
[ Time travel was considered, but briefly. It wasn’t the strangest possibility but it seemed the most unbelievable one. Terry knows he shouldn’t use that word in this line of work, but come on. There had to be limits. Right?
He’s using Ace as a metric to gauge how to proceed and considering the mutt’s been glued to Bruce’s side since they found him, Terry isn't considering him an immediate threat. ]
2007? [ he whistles. ] That's ancient history. If I believe you.
2007 is not ancient history - it's less time than I've been alive.
[ dryly said, and he continues not to panic. Once it's clear that the dog is accepting him gives the dog some actual, direct, attention. Even crouches down to do it. Not quite openly affectionate, but it gives him some space to try to get his mind together.
While not being panicked.
35 years in the future is not where he wants to be. He wants to be talking to a guy in a different batsuit even less.]
Damian has a black great dane named Titus. [That's evidence.]
[ His response is automatic. Old Bruce did not like to be reminded of his age. So even if there's a decades difference between the old man he knew and the younger one in front of him, he is still familiar enough for Terry to offer the apology without thinking.
The name drop unfortunately doesn't ring a bell. It doesn't mean anything on it's face. Bruce talked but there was still some things he held back. Like the Joker. ]
I don't know who that is. Don't tell me the old man's got more partners he hasn't told me about.
[He has the ability to present whatever sort of image he wants, and that extends to his facial expressions. In this case, though, the confusion on his face is both mild and sincere. He has no idea what the apology is about.]
Sorry, for - [It's a prompt, before his expression smooths back out to neutral] Damian isn't a partner. He's my son. [Pause] Biological son. [And... he isn't exactly surprised that hasn't come up with anyone. Especially from a version of him whose son would be... in their forties, if he's even still alive. Which somehow doesn't seem likely.]
[ The confusion Terry notes. Normally, they'd just move on. Pretend he hadn't just said something kinda insensitive. ]
Uhh...cause I called you old. To me you kinda are.
[ Terry's sheepishness gives way to confusion. Bruce talked a bit about Dick and Tim. But never mentioned a son. Not once. If he had one, it was his best kept secret. And Terry doesn't know what to do with that information. ]
Bruce doesn't have a son.
[ He sounds unsure because he doesn't know if he's saying that to refute the Bruce in front of him or to convince himself the old man wasn't keeping more secrets from him. ]
[ If this is his future, and he tells this kid about Damian - explains it more - he is going to have to face those consequences. It won't be until he actually is an old man, but it will eventually be him. Does he want to do that to himself?
Kind of, actually.
Damian deserves better, if he ever existed here at all]
Alternate timelines are a possibility, but not a probability or certainty. Has he ever mentioned the al Ghuls?
I've met them. Well, Razz anyway. [ He knows he's not saying it right. But after the shit he pulled on that island, he can't be bothered to get it right. ]
He convinced Bruce to take a dip in one of those Lazarus pits so he could do some kind of freaky body swap with him.
I agree. [ With the benefit of hindsight anyway. ] But it makes sense now why he did it. He never said, but I knew that woman was important. If Talia is Damian's mother.
[ But then he shakes his head. ] There's no way though. Razz did the body swap thing with her first. That's how he got Bruce to agree to go to New Cuba. She's been dead for a really long time.
[Bruce is more than smart enough to put quite a lot of this together. He's not smart enough to fill gaps the size of the Grand Canyon in to create a detailed picture. Yet, anyway.
[Instead of answering, Terry pulls the cowl off. Seemed like a better answer than a verbal one. If this guy was up to no good, he wouldn't have wasted time with the small talk.]
I'm Terry. The mutt is Ace. I should've known the minute he abandoned me. The little traitor. [He's only teasing. Mostly.]
[There's a brief flicker of surprise through his eyes, before his expression settles into approval.
His follow up to the question about being believed had, in fact, been that he was about to request that the cowl come off. He uses the cowl, he understands the purpose, but that doesn't mean he's comfortable looking at it]
I'd say it's nice to meet you, but the circumstances are somewhat less than ideal for that. We need to figure out if 'I' have traded places with myself. Do you have any idea where he went?
No. He just said he needed to look into something and left.
[ But what Bruce says puts a thought into his head. Or rather, pulls it to the front of his thoughts. He frowns. ]
But I've got an idea. He doesn't trust me. [ He points to the display cases on the other side of the cave. The suits are all neatly arranged, except the Robin one. It's been torn to shreds. ]
We've been dealing with a Joker problem and he hasn't been exactly forthcoming on the details. Maybe you did switch cause he doesn't think I can do this myself.
[He barely glances at the display cases. He doesn't need more than a glance; his memory is a problem.
It's also the key to why this makes perfect, horrible, immediate sense to him.]
He'd remember me coming here, and whatever I do here. [ Aged or not, he doesn't see himself going senile - crazy, maybe, but not having memory problems. That would be the kinder option.]
Apparently, Joker really messed up Robin. Turned him into some kind of twisted Joker jr. He didn't want to tell me about any of it. I had to hear it from Barbara.
[ It's a touchy subject. Mainly because the Jokerz compromised him. Put Dana in the hospital. Terry could deal with Bruce's secrets; he signed up for them. He just wishes those secrets didn't cast such long shadows over everything. ]
Joker got away and went to ground. I'm still looking for him. [ Right now, he won't admit he hasn't had much luck with it either. Not to Bruce - any version of Bruce. ]
[Older him should be glad this is an exchange - or at least that he knows when it'll be safe to come back. Because Bruce instantly understands why he chose this time point to pull him from, and for all he can' fault the logic and has to acknowledge that he would (will) be that ruthless, especially to himself-
He is instantly pissed off about it. Not that it (much) shows. He pushes himself up to his feet.
Talk about having bells rung]
I'm going to need equipment - and something to obscure my face. [There's already a Batman here.] Is Robin still alive?
His old utility belt is still stocked. There's some newer stuff I've been using. Should be enough to split between us.
[He's not entirely happy about this turn of events. He was gonna have to talk to Bruce about all this again. But he is also admittedly curious what it's going to be like to be in the field with him like this. He'd gotten a taste of it in New Cuba. But it was short lived. ]
Tim Drake? Yeah. He's still alive. He's the Joker. You wanna be Nightwing? [ Said casually, as if he hadn't just said something incredibly morbid. ]
[ He has started to look at the cave to figure out what he could pull together. Then Terry opens his mouth, says that and he turns slowly back to face him. There is absolutely no expression on his face. The kind of... absence that is notable, and means a hell of a lot is going on behind a mask more metaphorical than his usual preference.]
No.
[To Nightwing. His voice fits his 'expression'.]
Nothing with an insignia or emblem. No color. Nothing with any history, striking or memorable. I'll pull a mask of some sort together. Don't worry about capabilities or armor - just find me black that will fit and I can move in. I will need a cape and gloves.
[ It's an expression he's used to so it doesn't phase or unsettle him. Old Bruce only had 3 and one of them was just as blank. And it doesn't compel him to elaborate on what he means. Instead, he'll busy himself with the costume. It's simple enough to pull together from the menagerie of items that's been squirreled away from Terry's tenure as well as Bruce's.
The last thing he gets is the cape and gloves, taking them from the display holding the most in tact version of Bruce's costume. Terry lays them out neat alongside some of the weapons he uses to restock his own belt. ]
The silhouette of thing is clearly Batman but the person operating it? Clearly not. In short, static-y bursts, Terry can activate the boots but has yet to discover the rhythm that keeps them on and him air born. So there are moments - painful moments - that he comes crashing down to earth.
And he doesn't understand it. He's watched Bruce work on this thing for months. Watched him take the tech through its paces. Watched him activate the thrusters and extend the wings like his suit's always had them. Watched him fly. So it wasn't like Terry didn't know what to do. Why won't it work for him?
Terry lands again, hard against the solid surface of a building's rooftop and he swears, as he lays there trying to catch his breath, that he's broken something. Even though the suit's done its job and absorbed the impact of the fall, Terry's afraid to move in case something detrimental has happened to his bones. And maybe, he figures, it's better to just lay here and let whoever it is the ears are picking up approaching him kill him right then and there.
That'd be less painful than Bruce finding out he swiped the suit.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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As his own.
There are more things - too many to count - that are unfamiliar to the point of being classified as alien. Chief among those is what is recognizably a batsuit, with red, being worn by someone with a build Bruce hasn't possessed since puberty.]
This is a problem.
[Not the first time he's been somewhere he doesn't belong. Usually he has some idea what happened, or at least the start of an idea? This one, not so much. He'll start deducting soon enough but this? Is not good.]
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He pulls his cowl back in place before he closes the space between him and the stranger. ]
Sorry, pal. This is a private party, and I don't see your...invitation?
[ His voice trails off when he gets a better look at the man in front of him. He is familiar. Familiar enough that Terry takes a few steps closer to ensure his eyes aren't deceiving him. He is someone Terry's seen in pictures. Or on that island after a dip in the Lazarus Pit. But it couldn't be. ]
Bruce? Is this what you left to do? I thought the Lazarus Pit was gone.
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The vast majority of his attention is on the figure in front of him. His voice is level, steady, and calm. He's also got some information already that explains... several things.
Probably.]
Bruce, yes. Lazarus pit, no. [Hell no] What year is it?
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He’ll keep his guard up regardless. ]
2042. Now I got a question. How are you young?
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When the dog clearly wants pet, Bruce pets him. He does not turn his direct attention there. No one in a Bat suit is safe, regardless of suit. Never mind that even if this is exactly what is appears, the cave isn't exactly lacking at least the potential to be actively hostile to intruders.]
I'm relatively young because until the moment I arrived here, it was 2007.
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He’s using Ace as a metric to gauge how to proceed and considering the mutt’s been glued to Bruce’s side since they found him, Terry isn't considering him an immediate threat. ]
2007? [ he whistles. ] That's ancient history. If I believe you.
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[ dryly said, and he continues not to panic. Once it's clear that the dog is accepting him gives the dog some actual, direct, attention. Even crouches down to do it. Not quite openly affectionate, but it gives him some space to try to get his mind together.
While not being panicked.
35 years in the future is not where he wants to be. He wants to be talking to a guy in a different batsuit even less.]
Damian has a black great dane named Titus. [That's evidence.]
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[ His response is automatic. Old Bruce did not like to be reminded of his age. So even if there's a decades difference between the old man he knew and the younger one in front of him, he is still familiar enough for Terry to offer the apology without thinking.
The name drop unfortunately doesn't ring a bell. It doesn't mean anything on it's face. Bruce talked but there was still some things he held back. Like the Joker. ]
I don't know who that is. Don't tell me the old man's got more partners he hasn't told me about.
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Sorry, for - [It's a prompt, before his expression smooths back out to neutral] Damian isn't a partner. He's my son. [Pause] Biological son. [And... he isn't exactly surprised that hasn't come up with anyone. Especially from a version of him whose son would be... in their forties, if he's even still alive. Which somehow doesn't seem likely.]
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Uhh...cause I called you old. To me you kinda are.
[ Terry's sheepishness gives way to confusion. Bruce talked a bit about Dick and Tim. But never mentioned a son. Not once. If he had one, it was his best kept secret. And Terry doesn't know what to do with that information. ]
Bruce doesn't have a son.
[ He sounds unsure because he doesn't know if he's saying that to refute the Bruce in front of him or to convince himself the old man wasn't keeping more secrets from him. ]
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Kind of, actually.
Damian deserves better, if he ever existed here at all]
Alternate timelines are a possibility, but not a probability or certainty. Has he ever mentioned the al Ghuls?
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He convinced Bruce to take a dip in one of those Lazarus pits so he could do some kind of freaky body swap with him.
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Damian would be Ra's grandson.
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[ But then he shakes his head. ] There's no way though. Razz did the body swap thing with her first. That's how he got Bruce to agree to go to New Cuba. She's been dead for a really long time.
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Also:]
Are you convinced I am who I claim to be, yet?
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I'm Terry. The mutt is Ace. I should've known the minute he abandoned me. The little traitor. [He's only teasing. Mostly.]
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His follow up to the question about being believed had, in fact, been that he was about to request that the cowl come off. He uses the cowl, he understands the purpose, but that doesn't mean he's comfortable looking at it]
I'd say it's nice to meet you, but the circumstances are somewhat less than ideal for that. We need to figure out if 'I' have traded places with myself. Do you have any idea where he went?
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[ But what Bruce says puts a thought into his head. Or rather, pulls it to the front of his thoughts. He frowns. ]
But I've got an idea. He doesn't trust me. [ He points to the display cases on the other side of the cave. The suits are all neatly arranged, except the Robin one. It's been torn to shreds. ]
We've been dealing with a Joker problem and he hasn't been exactly forthcoming on the details. Maybe you did switch cause he doesn't think I can do this myself.
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It's also the key to why this makes perfect, horrible, immediate sense to him.]
He'd remember me coming here, and whatever I do here. [ Aged or not, he doesn't see himself going senile - crazy, maybe, but not having memory problems. That would be the kinder option.]
Why doesn't he trust you?
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[ It's a touchy subject. Mainly because the Jokerz compromised him. Put Dana in the hospital. Terry could deal with Bruce's secrets; he signed up for them. He just wishes those secrets didn't cast such long shadows over everything. ]
Joker got away and went to ground. I'm still looking for him. [ Right now, he won't admit he hasn't had much luck with it either. Not to Bruce - any version of Bruce. ]
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He is instantly pissed off about it. Not that it (much) shows. He pushes himself up to his feet.
Talk about having bells rung]
I'm going to need equipment - and something to obscure my face. [There's already a Batman here.] Is Robin still alive?
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[He's not entirely happy about this turn of events. He was gonna have to talk to Bruce about all this again. But he is also admittedly curious what it's going to be like to be in the field with him like this. He'd gotten a taste of it in New Cuba. But it was short lived. ]
Tim Drake? Yeah. He's still alive. He's the Joker. You wanna be Nightwing? [ Said casually, as if he hadn't just said something incredibly morbid. ]
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No.
[To Nightwing. His voice fits his 'expression'.]
Nothing with an insignia or emblem. No color. Nothing with any history, striking or memorable. I'll pull a mask of some sort together. Don't worry about capabilities or armor - just find me black that will fit and I can move in. I will need a cape and gloves.
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The last thing he gets is the cape and gloves, taking them from the display holding the most in tact version of Bruce's costume. Terry lays them out neat alongside some of the weapons he uses to restock his own belt. ]
That should be everything, Boss.
Joyride
The silhouette of thing is clearly Batman but the person operating it? Clearly not. In short, static-y bursts, Terry can activate the boots but has yet to discover the rhythm that keeps them on and him air born. So there are moments - painful moments - that he comes crashing down to earth.
And he doesn't understand it. He's watched Bruce work on this thing for months. Watched him take the tech through its paces. Watched him activate the thrusters and extend the wings like his suit's always had them. Watched him fly. So it wasn't like Terry didn't know what to do. Why won't it work for him?
Terry lands again, hard against the solid surface of a building's rooftop and he swears, as he lays there trying to catch his breath, that he's broken something. Even though the suit's done its job and absorbed the impact of the fall, Terry's afraid to move in case something detrimental has happened to his bones. And maybe, he figures, it's better to just lay here and let whoever it is the ears are picking up approaching him kill him right then and there.
That'd be less painful than Bruce finding out he swiped the suit.
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[ It takes a minute for that parse. But when it does, Terry glances over at Dick and tries not to grin too big. ]
Schway. You'd do that lil old me?
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[ nothing of it, but what Terry said before-- ]
Schway?
[ amusement sparkles through his eyes. ]
Is that like--what the kids say these days? What's that mean?
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[ Nobody says cool anymore. Terry feels like a grandpa just having said it right now. ]
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Dick raises a brow at Terry. ]
There's no way I'm saying that instead of cool.
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[ he grins a lazy, drunk grin. ]
You wanna be unschway?