2989/Returning to the Cave

Returning to the Cave
Date of Scene:	27 October 2017
Location:	Batcave
Synopsis:	Batman comes back from a night's work and finds company in the cave.
Cast of Characters:	Oracle, Batman

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Oracle has posed:
She isn't pulling all-night patrols every night of the week anymore -- Barbara has been slowly settling into a more balanced kind of role. After patrolling until around 3am, she returned to the Cave to put in some time on the computers for another case. It's good that she works from home on her day job, too, because it's here in the cave that he finds her still late in the morning. The main screen has reams of data scrolling through -- an analysis of shipping schedules, perhaps? Much like Bruce, she's kind of a workaholic sometimes, and it appears it caught up with her before she made her escape back to the Clocktower. Barbara is sitting in Bruce's rather comfy chair in front of the main computer, her chin dropped to her chest and her glasses still perched on her nose, fast asleep.

Batman has posed:
    It's that hour in the night when the horizon threatens with the hint of orange and red. The time when the city's fallen quiet save for the faint and distant hum of traffic, when even the dwellers in the night and the vigilantes upon the rooftops have packed it in mostly and are awaiting the coming of dawn. And the Batman is no different.
    The roaring whine of the batmobile's engine is heard as the vehicle pulls into the batcave, the car rolling to a stop and the canopy whispering back even as the turntable begins to rotate slowly, prepping the vehicle for relaunch even as the Batman plants a hand and vaults out. He lands light upon the gangway, starting to cover the distance towards the gantry that leads to the batcomputer and the main habitation area. At first his stride is steady, methodical, boots clanking faintly upon the metal... but then he'll espy Barbara.
    Despite his manner, the gruffness, the severity, he is not a man without empathy nor emotion. He slows his pace a touch, footsteps quieter as he places a hand to the side of his cowl, pushing it back from his features and freeing the man from the mask. A faint half-wry smile touches his features as he closes the distance.
    The first hint she might have of his presence is just the small touch of his hand upon her shoulder. Gentle pressure to perhaps draw her back from what dreams may grace her thoughts. Then his voice.
    "Barbara. Barbara? It's late, you should go home. Or grab a blanket and take one of the cots."

Oracle has posed:
The car's arrival started to rouse her, but she's too used to the sound for it to be the thing that draws her completely out of slumber -- she's too often slept on the cots down here. But the hand on her shoulder brings her to the land of wakefulness. Not startled awake, just a simple opening of her eyes. When she registers and actually comprehends the words of the man who woke her, she moves to sit up straighter and smile up at him, one hand coming up to shove the mass of coppery waves back off her face. "Yeah, probably," she agrees on a yawn.

Shaking off her weariness a little, she turns the chair more fully to look up at him. "There were just a couple of things I wanted to verify for Nightwing before I headed out," she admits. "And I wanted to talk to you, too. I think we have yet another new player in town." She knows how he hates that. Smothering another yawn, she reaches under the desk to the floor by her feet and picks something up. When she holds it out to him, it's an arrow. Not a crossbow bolt -- an arrow from a longbow, one that appears to be equipped with a gas canister.

Batman has posed:
    That smile remains there even as he rises back to his full height, the cowl resting over the part of the cape that covers just between his shoulder blades, letting that mask peer at her upside down as he walks away. He begins to remove his equipment, starting with the gauntlets as he disengages them with a faint click and then begins to place them on the mannequin. "I can have Alfred make up a room for you upstairs if needs be," He says, looking slightly over his shoulder but not to her.
    Then his belt clicks free and he places it around the waist of the mannequin, taking a moment to check the supplies in a few of the pouches. But then she mentions needing to check a few things for Nightwing and he gives a nod of agreement. But when the topic moves on to a new vigilante or operative in Gotham his brow furrows.
    A few steps carry him back towards her, and without all of the equipment, without that mask, he seems just like Bruce and less so the Bat. "Not Oliver?" He asks as he extends a hand to take up the arror and examine it with a casual glance, knowing that she most likely has run her own exam on it.
    "There is the other archer from the Avengers, Hawkeye."

Oracle has posed:
"Nope... pretty sure it's Oliver. Haven't actually spotted him, but... you know, green arrows pretty much give him away." Barbara smirks faintly, amused. Although now that he mentions that other archer, she gets a thoughtful expression. But no... she's pretty certain. "He just hasn't wandered out of Star too often lately, so I figured you might want to know he's lurking about."

Removing her silver-rimmed glasses from her nose, she sets them on the table and studies him. "You look tired," she observes quietly. "Have you been getting any sleep at all since you found out about Shiva?"

Batman has posed:
    "Hm," He considers the arrow, running a fingertip over the fletching and tilting his head to the side. "If it's Oliver and we make contact, tell our people they should aid him if needs be." Bruce turns away, footsteps carrying him back towards the mannequin and the equipment storage as he begins to undo the clasp of his cloak, spinning it off and then around the neck where it's meant to hang as he tells her over his shoulder. "I trust Ollie..."
    But then there's a beat...
    "Mostly."
    Once he's mostly clear of his equipment and the cape, it leaves him as little more than but a man in an armored suit with that bat emblem clear upon his broad chest. He looks back to her and gives a small nod. "Somewhat. I've been meditating, focusing myself. I'm going to need to find some downtime soon, but for now I can manage." He looks slightly to the side, then shakes his head. "Shiva, despite how troubling it is, is relegated to the long game. The Ukrainians and Russians fighting it out between here and Bludhaven is more pressing. That and the noise from the Yingtze Tong. Can't afford to leave any balls in the air."

Oracle has posed:
Mostly. He only ever trusts people outside their immediate circle 'mostly.' Barbara pushes to her feet, which are clad only in the fleecy socks that she stores down here for nights like this one where she's on the computer a long time. It's a cave -- it's cold! Gray sweatpants and a black hoodie over a white tanktop keep the rest of her comfortable. She pads on silent feet to the small fridge, bringing out two bottles of water. She brings them over and holds one out to him.

"The Ukrainian-Russian skirmishes look like they're going to level out pretty soon here," she opines. "They've got bigger problems if the Tong gets involved. Plus now there are all-new players in Bludhaven and it's starting to bleed over into Gotham." Opening her own bottle of water and taking a long swallow, she asks, "Where do you need my boots most over the next week?"

Batman has posed:
    Accepting the water he holds it for a moment as his gaze distances. There's no way to clearly gauge his thoughts, the man holds them too close to the vest even when he's not wearing the mask. But he gives her a small nod as he twists off the top and tells her, "You're doing wonders with our data structure and cleaning up the network. If you get a chance work with Tim, I think we're on the edge of having a very robust system. More effective than we've been using it."
    He turns and starts to walk away a little bit, tilting the bottle back and taking a few swallows of water. "But when you're feeling antsy, I could use your eyes and good judgement around Chinatown if the Tong kick anything off."
    That said he shakes his head slightly, rolling it to the side until the neck gives a faint aerated crackle, a small controlled exhalation of breath the only glimpse of fatigue he has given of late.

Oracle has posed:
Barbara flushes slightly under the praise, and lifts her chin just a bit in acknowledgment of it. It means a great deal when he offers it; it always has. "Tim's pretty brilliant. I don't think I could have gotten nearly as far in this amount of time without him."

Blowing out a slow breath, Barbara nods on the Chinatown request. "Sure. I'll angle my routes in that direction and keep an eye on them. Now... what can I do to help with your daytime plateful of tasks?" She offers him a faint smile. "I've seen the Gotham City social calendar this week -- are you planning to be at the hospital event, the mayor's Halloween shindig, *and* the benefit concert?"

Batman has posed:
    At that she may gain a glimpse of insight into the man as she mentions each event and his eyes widen with clear reluctance to even entertain the idea. Shaking his head slightly he holds up a hand as if to stay her onslaught, then tells her. "I'll try to hit the needed beats, will try and arrange a few dates, and then make an appearance here and there but make an early exit or have people spread the word that I retired to an elite suite or something along those lines."
    "Maybe I can offend someone early and storm off in some manner to give enough for the tattle rags to talk about but then be absent from the other events." He tells her this more as he rattles off his own thoughts. It's strange how he can make such clinically precise operations against deeply researched enemy elements, but the whole socialite thing still confounds him to a degree.
    "In any case, I need to wind down. Going to train some, and then try and get a few hours of down time." He tells her this as he starts to move towards the edge of the gantry.

Oracle has posed:
It makes Barbara laugh. She can't help it. She loves it when he messes with the press. But she does take pity on him. "Tell you what... definitely avoid the Halloween thing. I have to be there anyway, and Dick can represent Wayne Manor," she tells him easily. Even as he starts walking, she is moving back toward the table to locate her shoes beneath it. Because she *does* need some sleep before her day job, even if it's only a couple hours.

She turns briefly to watch him head for the training room. Her expression holds affection, but there's also genuine worry for him. He works harder than the rest of us combined, she sometimes thinks. She calls after him, only half joking, "If you don't get some sleep today, I'm tattling to Alfred. He'll roofie your hot chocolate or something."

Batman has posed:
    "I'll try and keep that in mind," He tells her as he walks towards the gymnasium's door. He presses a hand onto the computer panel at the side of it, causing the display to come to life with a flicker of LEDs awakening. He holds his hand there and looks over his shoulder, "You should get some rest as well. The keyboard left an impression on your forehead." He tells her casually in that tone of voice that is such a perfect deadpan she can never be sure if he's making light or not.
    Then it's to the door, "Computer, disengage safety protocols. Run scenario Shiva 16." Once he says that the door opens and within the gymnasium comes to life with its own defensive settings. A wave of his hand is given to her even as he disappears from view and the door closes behind him.