The Batman (Reagan)’s Comments (group member since Jul 08, 2024)

The Batman (Reagan)’s comments from the 𝓐𝖗𝖐𝖍𝖆𝖒 𝓐𝖘𝖞𝖑𝖚𝖒 group.

((Thankfully I was able copy my post before the site went down. Not that it's very long.))

Batman contacted Alfred and sent him a scan of the note. "Find out where 'Gloria' lives. She works for the Gazette. Her address will be in their records. I would like to pay her a house call when I finish here." He moved to the parlor with the drone. "Trauma survivor" is the answer you are looking for."
~~~

((I want to imagine that a tickertape prints with the answer? And Robin's like "Dude, I had it!"))
Robin moved to help the judge and her husband, administering first aid. "Anything I should know that might be pertinent information regarding tonight's events?"

((Oh, I see. Thanks. Yes. If you wouldn't mind replying, I wanna think about it.))

((Yeah. I thought it was half finished. It seemed to cut off and you said something to the effect of 'I'll finish once Batman continues.' I thought there was supposed to be a second part somewhere.))

((If you can't think of anything, yeah.))
~~~

Batman went into the kitchen and started a kettle of tea for Maria. He added honey and a few other things he'd seen Alfred use. Unsure how to help further, he continued searching the house for what he assumed would be the second half of the riddle. ((Mind reposting it? Thanks.))
~~~

"An honest trial then?" Robin, having broken one of the drones arm's, tried to swing his his leg up on the side where it would have trouble blocking him. Hopefully he could knock it backwards into the seat. "It's either that or 'kangaroo court', which is what this is." He knew neither was right, but oddly he felt safer drawing the drone's attention to himself than to the judge.

((Sorry it took so long.

"It's a good song. Totally worth listening to at least once first." Nightwing joked. Yin looked at him with a raised eyebrow. That was going around lately. She wasn't disagreeing, but... "Priorities, I know. Just a joke. It's a bad habit of mine."

Gordon blew air through his teeth the way he sometimes would when he smoked a pipe. "Great Scots!" He muttered.

"Our team is working on it." Nightwing tried to assure him.
~~~

Batman listened silently impressed by the woman's clarity of memory and her eloquence of speech despite her grief.
Unbidden, he saw the accursed alleyway in his mind's eye. He heard the sound of the gun being cocked. He felt his heart jump as he imagined the gunshots. He had been reduced to a babbling fool as Gordon placed his trenchcoat over his shoulders. He picked up decorative throw blanket and draped it around the woman's shoulders.
He couldn't imagine allowing her to leave the room until the morticians had cleared away the body. "Where are the servants?"

~~~
"Thank you." Robin holding out his hand as if to allow the drone to thanks it. But he feinted at the last second and grabbed is wrist. He tried to twist its arm so he could break it at the elbow.

((About to head to work. I'll reply tonight.))

"Jackson answered a question before you arrived." Yin said, then pointed to the phone. "We can't run dispatch and it's playing 'The Riddle' from The Scarlet Pimpernel." Other than that?" She shrugged and glanced at Gordon. "News from the outside is scarce." Gordon brushed his mustache with a finger as he thought. "I'm hoping Flass can come back with any information." ((Flass is an informant for Gordon but as crooked as they come.))
~~~

"I'm sorry." Bruce said softly, dropping his voice. His heart broke for her. He had tried to contact the police, but to no avail. He stood awkwardly in the doorway for a few moments. "I need you to tell me anything you can."
~~~

((Had to look at the answer. No way I'd get that level of specificity in a million years. He totally had it. It's just a matter of semantics. Very Riddler.))
Robin thought this over. He'd have to play this smart. He moved to stand near the drone, but just out of reach. "Yes. I'll take her place." Hopefully he could push the drone down into the seat once the judge stood.

((Been meaning to reply, but It's been a bit busy the last couple of days and now I'm not feeling great today.
I think I did pretty well on my test though.))

((Sorry. Gotta study. Won't be able to reply.tonight.))

"You don't know the Life Alert commercials? With the old lady?"
Nightwing asked Batgirl. He let it go for now and nodded to the cops as they thanked him. "No problem. Happy to help!" He moved to speak with Gordon Yin and Bullock., his eyes passed to each in turn. "Any idea what all this was about?" Bullock filled his mouth with pretzel as Nightwing's glance met his. It could just have been poor timing, but it bore remembering.
~~~
After determining that the drone was disabled, Batman entered the as slowly and quietly as he could. "He's not here. It's just me. I'm a friend." He spoke calmly and sympathetically, hoping to coax the woman out.
~~~

Robin winced. Phrased like that, it did sound bad. But that was something. The man had taken the bait, but was still trying to hold onto the original quarry. Time to sweeten the deal. To his credit he was persistant.
"Her life was already on the line. I'm taking her place." He thought about the riddle. Truth amongst lies. A basic human right, but not one given freely. Lengthy process. The promise of Justice. He looked at the judge. It seemed related. Probably intended to make a point. "What is a fair trial?"

Nightwing laid an escrima stick against the second droid's exposed circuitry and it spasmed before burning out. "Someone call Life Alert, 'cause it's fallen and it can't get up!" He looked at Batgirl apologeticly. "Not my best joke." Turning to the officers, he asked, "Everyone alright?"
~~~

Batman swore under his breath as he took in the crimescene. The Elliot family had founded Gotham along side his own ancestors and now here was his childhood friend's father disfigured and lifeless. The man had often been unkind and let his anger consume him, but even this felt... excessive. Unable to stand the sight any longer and realizing someone else was in danger,he moved to enter the second room marked with the question mark.
~~~

"I don't suppose you could repeat it for me?" Robin asked. He wasn't sure if he was really just asking the judge's husband or if he was hoping the mastermind behind this would oblige. Deciding on the latter, he figured that given the criminal's sense of self-importance, he couldn't resist a wager that seemed stacked in his favor. "I'll play your sick game in exchange for her life. Two questions. If I win, she goes free." He decided to let the man make his own counter wager, hoping to get some insight.

((Yeah. All Robin knows is that she's being held captive and has to answer a question. He wants to know if they'll be penalized for anything they say that isn't an answer. It was a yes or no question so it could be answered nonverbally with a nod or headshake))
~~~

((Will finish later))

"Stolen evidence?" Bullock guessed eventually. Several officers put their hands on their guns. hoping this was right.

~~~
Nightwing got up with a groan. He rubbed his side. "I hippie that like really cool, because it didn't feel great. Go news is, nothing's broken. But this drone's about to be!" After trading a few blows, he realized the drones were anticipating every move. He stepped closer to Batgirl and when she made an attack that the drone parried, he tried to attack a chink in its armor with an electric escrima stick.⁸

----
Batman picked up the receipt. He pressed the side of his cowl and the Bat-suits eyes flashed a brighter white. Another press opened his comms. "Alfred, I'm sending you a scan of a reciept. I think our mystery man did a little shopping. Lotta items here that look loike donations. He's removed the top half, but you should be able to cross reference the listings against any retailers' records. Try narrowing it down to locations running charity sales or hosting charity drives." He then looked through the items as carefully as he could, wary of traps. ((I have a guess, but I'm gonna wait for more context.))

~~~
Robin addressed the judge after assessing the situation. "Are you able to speak freely?" He wondered if she could say anything that wasn't the answer to a question. Hopefully she could repeat it for him.

((The judge's. Sorry.))
~~~
((Had to go ahead and look. Don't think I'd have gotten it.
without a hint.))
Bullock scratched his forehead as he thought. "Now hold on!" he demanded trying to buy more time, "if it's half correct, I should get half credit, right? Means I've got one and a half guesses." He hoped this prankster would tale the bait and try to figure that one out."

~~~
"That she would. And your dad... do they make scotch donuts? Or bourbon? Oh, maple and cinnamon. It might seem a bit sweet for him, but pair it with a hot cup of Irish coffee and you've got sort of a Churchill's Breakfast thing." He examined the situation for a beat. "I'll take the left. You drop in on the right?" Without waiting for a verification, he ran and jumped through the glass pane and rolled over his shoulder. He stood and tried to tackle one of the drones.
~~~

Bruce entered the house through door that has been left open by someone in a hurry. "Hmmm..." ((perception check? Haha!))

((Yep. Seems like The Batman is rewriting thinks slightly differently
https://the-batman-universe.fandom.co...
We don't need to do this storyline though if you weren't planning on it.))

((Gotham was founded by the Waynes, the Elliots, the Cobblepots, the Kanes, and the Arkhams. Tommy Elliot teamed up with Riddler when he started. Edward Eliot was the Gazette owner.
It seems like The Batman movie is going with Edward as Tommy's dad. Could be the name and the company was passed down. Tommy had to go and be the black sheep by becominga neurosurgeon/ serialkiller.))

((As often as I leave you on hold for days on end, you are under zero obligation to post "in a timely manner" ever. I'm sorry to hear they aren't doing well. Praying for you and them.

Look up Edward Elliot DC. I'm thinking he's the father instead of the Great-great-grandfather with father to Tommy Elliot.))

((Creeper and Jack are one and the same. A Jekyll and Hyde thing. Kinda thinking of a storyline where he's looking into evidence of corruption at Arkham. This would lead him to take on the Creeper persona. But we've already got way too many plotlines right now, so we'll shelf that for now.))

Bullock made an incredulous face and shrugged. "The fudge? What's the plan here? Why the 20 Questions? Your Facebook feed slow today?"
Detective Yin hissed at him through her teeth "Just answer the question, Bullock."
"Yeah, fine." He thought for a moment. "Evidence?"

~~~
"I can think of a few." Nightwing replied. "But we'd have to figure out what the assortment of flavors would be. "Bullock would eat anything and everything, but I'm 90% certain he prefers jelly-filled. Kwon's allergic to chocolate. Davis doesn't know it yet but he's a Boston Creme guy." He pulled up to the GCPD building. He wanted so badly to Akira slide, but, aside from Barbara behind him, it would be terrible for the tires. "Before you go up, is it a push door or a pull door? You know how awful I'd feel if I messed up my entrance?" He paused for a moment, then smirked. "That's a joke. I know it'll be locked. I'm going through the glass." ((Should he kiss her chhek, or is that too much?))
~~~

After Batman had ensured that everyone in the demo room was alright. He left Wayne Enterprises and called the Batmobile to him.
He raced toward the Elliot's home. ((I know that last name. I think I know what your doing.))
~~~

Tim arrived at the Mayor's. He wasted no time in making a quick perimeter check of the property before taking the front steps to the door. He tried to peer through the windows in case the door was trapped in some way.

((Oh, We need to introduce Jack Ryder at some point.
I thought you were building to something with Eve.))

"What is elevator etiquette anyway? Are you supposed to talk to people, or is that a taboo? No one on an elevator ever looks anything other than bored, but they get upset if you say 'Good morning!'" Nightwing passed between two cars that had stopped on a red light and swerved behind a third passing from the left of the intersection. Someone honked. "I swear that's the longest light in Gotham. Was not gonna wait around all day.. Hey, since we've saved ourselves some time, you think we should bring donuts for everyone?" He realized he was rambling, a bad habit of his when he was nervous. He breathed in through his nose and let it out slowly.

~~~
Jackson scoffed. "What do you think this is, some kind of LARP camp? Or an ill-considered April Fools joke? The answer is 'justice'. And you're currently in violation obstructing it. The dragon's in another castle. So move along!"

Detective Yin groaned exaggeratedly. "Yeah, you should hire someone else to write your dialogue tree from now on. That was painful for everyone."

"Dialogue tree?" Bullock took another bite. "LARP camp? What's a LARP camp? Is that one of those things where all those nerds with bad hygiene speak to each other in Klingon and whack each other with pool noodles while running around in the woods with brooms between their legs?"

"What are any of you talking about?" Gordon rubbing his temples. He opened his mouth to speak to the robots but Harvey beat him to it.

"Listen, Mother Goose, or Geese, I guess... Give us another nursery rhyme. already." He turned to the IT Kiddies. "How's it coming along? I see a progress bar." He gestured to a computer screen, nearly smudging it with pretzel grease. "That's good, right?"

Gordon glared but said nothing.