5379/All Along the Watchtower

All Along the Watchtower
Date of Scene:	15 September 2018
Location:	Watchtower
Synopsis:	Wonder Woman and Batman spar and shoot the breeze.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Wonder Woman

---

Batman has posed:
    It is no secret that Batman prefers his own company - and that, perhaps, he feels he should not pull monitor duty given this and his role in financing. Even if he thinks it, however, he keeps it to himself and attends his scheduled hours diligently (even if there are rumors that he occasionally transfers the feed to his cowl and goes out on patrol). Batman may bend the rules of the Justice League from time to time, but he avoids breaking them.
    On a mandated break between shifts, he occupies the gym aboard the Watchtower. At present he dangles high above the floor from the rings intended for those practicing aerial maneuvers. An uncushioned fall would be a painful experience, but he slips from ring to ring unperturbed. He wears his full costume - partly to avoid being identified by any visitors or members not privy to his identity, and partly because it is just more comfortable for him in the end.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana, for her part, hid nothing about herself. Her identity had been made public Day 1 of her reveal to herself to the world. The day she'd shown up to a massive fight and aided in stopping it and the threat, she'd become a world reknowned figure and she'd declared her name and where she'd come from to the world immediately there-after. She had to take cautious measures because of this, to protect those she cared about... but Diana also wasn't in a relationship with anyone, she didn't have a 'family' in the conventional sense of the word. She does have a few other Amazonian sisters with her in America, but they were just as skilled warriors as she was (In her opinion anyway).

As such, Diana strides into the training center of the Watchtower and she holds her sword and shield in the same hand, she's in her Eagle armor and she's stepping to the center of the sparring area to perform her form practice. She'd come to the Watchtower to speak with the science technicians up here, she'd be here for a day or so before she'd return. Generally she tried to be up here at least once a week.

In the center of the sparring area, Daina prepares herself and begins her exercises, whether she's aware of Batman's presence or not is not recognized.

Batman has posed:
    As Diana enters, Batman ceases to swing from ring to ring. Instead, he simply dangles high above by one arm. He waits a moment and watches the Themysciran Princess from above, whatever thoughts he has hidden behind an implacable mask and a grim half-frown that is his 'neutral' expression. Finally, he simply let's go of the ring and tumbles towards the ground. As he descends, he catches the wind beneath him in his cape and slows his descent. When he lands, his boots touch the floor with barely a whisper.
    "Thought it was my shift," he says in the grave baritone that is his 'Batman voice'. It is difficult to imagine he wouldn't be apprised of shift changes. So, in spite of all odds, this may be an attempt at ... conversation?!

Wonder Woman has posed:
With the aide of her advanced hearing and senses, Diana doesn't react to his sudden appearance with any measure of 'shock' or surprise. She just continues on with her practice and the steps/twists/turns and swipes with her sword as she hears him speak. It takes a second before her closed eyes open and she glances at him when she turns in her moves in his direction. She shows a smile too, but keeps going.

"It is." She says, turning back away from him again as she keeps up her footwork and her 'dance'. "But... I came here to speak with the lab technicians. They are working on explaining a strange substance found... in a freighter off the coast of China." She comes back around to put her eyes in his direction once more. "Nothing serious. Just, curious." And she sweeps her sword in the air a few feet in front of where he stands.

Batman has posed:
    "Hmm," Batman answers, making a mental note to obtain whatever data the technicians come up with for his own analysis and records. Because. He doesn't move as the sword passes through the air in front of him, supremely confident in Diana's ability not to his anything she doesn't intend to hit. Suddenly, he speaks up again:
    "May I join you?" He rolls his shoulders slightly in preparation. There are holographic facsimiles of every Justice League member available as sparring partners in the training room back in the Batcave, but they pale in comparison. He strategically neglects to mention that part, however.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana comes to a stop with her practice a moment or so after he asks that question then and she shows a smile to him before she nods her head a single time. "Of course." She tells the Bat. She turns to the side then and deposits her sword and shield onto a metal rack designed just for that purpose and then she steps back over to him. "Things have been quiet here?" She asks him then, moving around in front of him to face him again, she in her red/gold/blues and him in his dark tones. She's a very good partner to scrap with as most anyone can go 'full strength' on her and not even cause her to break a sweat or put a dent in her stamina. She waits for his attack, standing ready for it.

"This place has its own serenity to it when all is calm." She adds in her Greek accented voice.

Batman has posed:
    "For the most part," Batman answers, "a few brushfires on the Kahndaqi border but nothing the local talent couldn't contain in the end. I didn't call the alert."
    He takes a moment as he gets into position to size Diana up. He has studied her and every other member of the League countless times, but the thing about living, breathing people is they always manage to surprise. He bows slightly at the waist - an inescapable habit from his youth - and immediately moves to attack. He drops to one knee, his other leg pistoning out to sweep at her ankles in an attempt to knock her down.
    "It's quiet," he concedes, "helps me think."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana dips her pointed chin in a nod about the small fire. "I hope there were no injuries or worse." She quietly adds on to what he says about that before she prepares for his attack. She's trained for hundreds of years with some of the greatest close quarterse combatants on the planet, and though Batman is certainly a honed and skilled fighter, she's ready for his incoming attack and she steps over it with a quick stride before she darts off to the side and tries to destablize him with a sweep of her leg out toward his chest!

She steps back then and keeps her hands up with her protective wrist bracers gleaming in the light of the sparring room around them. "How are your associates?" She asks him then, likely meaning the young ones who follow him and look up to him for training and guideance.

Batman has posed:
    Batman drops backwards as Diana's leg sweeps towards his chest, allowing it to pass over him by a fraction of an inch. Once the danger has passed, he kips back up onto his feet without the use of his hands.
    "Good. Red Robin is back from Russia. Did well out there. Working a case with him - what looks to be a masked vigilante from the Thirties becoming active again. He's chased up some interesting leads."
    To hear him talk about the Bat Family in this way, it is easy to hear the 'proud father' aspect of him in his voice. It is a shame, then, that he keeps it bottled up around the very people to whom it would mean the most. His next attack is a flurry of strikes aimed about the neck, jaw, and shoulders. He noticably avoids any pressure points - not wishing to cause discomfort even with someone as durable as she - instead gauging his own speed and accuracy against her formidable defenses.

Wonder Woman has posed:
"Good." Diana replies to him as he speaks like a proud father of his young associates. "You have been a... beacon of inspiration in their youthful lives. I hope they remain safe though." These wore the issues Diana had with him taking these young ones on as he has, she knew why he was doing it... because to train them young would set them up for a life of being able to better protect themselves and that of Gotham and beyond... but it also set them up to be immersed in much more dangerous scenarios.

When he advances on her she raises her hands to deflect his attacks with her bracered wrists and his strikes clang off of her aremored forearms, a few sparks even burst into the space between them as she deflects his swift and precise blows. She blocks his attacks as she steps backward toward the edge of the sparring area, then she is quick to duck UNDER his arms and do a handless cartwheel that leaves her back near the center of the practice ring.

"And Gotham?" Diana asks then. "I still volunteer to help you with it, yet you never call..." She shakes her head and teases him a little about that.

Batman has posed:
    "If I volunteered to help solve a problem that arose on Themyscira," Batman asks, straightening up as Diana disengages for the moment, "would you take me up on it? Gotham is ... different. It needs a different kind of touch. I appreciate what you're capable of, Diana, but Gotham requires a different set of skills." A nice way of saying she doesn't wear enough black, it seems.
    He doesn't move to engage again immediately, instead holding back and wordlessly encouraging the Amazon to attack him. It's his turn to defend, it would seem.
    "And ... how are you?" The strangeness of the question coming from Batman is only challeneged by how genuine he seems.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana cracks a grin at his comparison. "Themyscira lacks any shred of crime." She responds to him then. "You would hate it there." She chides the Dark Knight. And then she advances on him and she comes at him with a pretty hefty amount of speed in upper body strikes with her own fists. One after the other that are aimed at his stomach and chest, she wants to push HIM back on the training ring now.

"That being said, if there ever word an issue that arose that I felt you could assist with," She says then, now going to sweep HIS legs out from under HIM. "I would not hesitate to ask you, Batman." She says then, hopping back up to her feet with a bounce in her step on her armored boots!

Batman has posed:
    "Surrounded by Amazons," Batman answers, "Yes, I'm sure I would." A joke? Impossible.
    He moves back with each attack, dodging and deflecting but nevertheless losing ground to the assault. When she sweeps his legs, he springs vertically up and over her head in a smooth somersault. As he lands, he drives an open-palmed strike towards her back. He hasn't managed to land a hit yet, but he's pleased enough that he's been able to hold his own.
    "Likewise Gotham. It's nothing we can't handle." As nice as it would be to have Diana swoop in, bind all the crazies up in her lasso, and cart them off to jail that is just not how the game is played, "That said, if you want to make a social visit ... "

Wonder Woman has posed:
Batman does manager to get up and over her head and his jab to her back connects, slamming her forward against the back of her armor right in her spine. She stumbles a step and gains her composure before she spins about and just dips her chin and locks her eyes on the left over at him. "Social visit is also acceptable." She says back at him then with a soft smile vaguely visible on her red lips.

He's seen her go full in on a fight, he knows she's holding back for the sake of the casual sparring session with a friend. But still! he did land a hit!

Diana goes vertical herself now, though, leaping into the air she launches up into a flight-assisted arch that takes her up about ten feet above their sparring ring before she then angles herself down for a charging lunge at the Batman, moving at a very fast speed!

Batman has posed:
    "How does one go about arranging a social event with Diana of Themyscira?" Batman asks, the grim line of his mouth twisting into a half-smile, "Do I make an appointment with the Embassy?"
    Something he doesn't often get to do is make jokes. Most people just assume he doesn't have a sense of humor but he does. Buried deep, deep down there where only his fellow League members have ever really encountered it - and then only sparingly. The dive attack comes as something as a surprise to him, and the speed is formidable for a mere mortal. Although he side-steps the full brunt of it, he is still caught by the force and knocked backwards. He lands on his back, quickly turning it into a tumbling roll and landing once more on his feet.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana lands in a crouch as her move set him off balance and dropped him, she doesn't press the attack though since this is a spar and not a real fight, she lets him bound back up to his feet and she just grins at him and his words.

"Come now." She says to him in that accented English of hers. "You have my e-mail address and I imagine you have every phone number tha thas ever been connected to me since the telephone was introduced to the public." She knows how thorough Bruce is in his dossier's on... everyone, especially League members. He holds them to just as high of standards as she does herself.

Diana steps right a few times, then left returning. She keeps her eyes locked on his cowled face and she has a measured intense gaze on her finely crafted facial features. "Is it time for another Wayne Manor gala event night? Where all of Gotham's 'finest' come dressed to the nines?"

Batman has posed:
    "It may be," Batman admits, not charging in to attack again and instead circling about her in turn, "Alfred was talking about a few social engagements that he's had to 'indefinitely postpone' - I'm sure he'd be more than happy for me to put on a /different/ suit for the evening. And I'll make sure to give you the credit - you'll have a friend for life."
    He takes a few steps forward, raising his hands as he prepares to dart in for another attack. As he does, the muted beep of the Monitor's alert tone fills the gym. His almost-lighthearted half-smile suddenly vanishes, replaced by the grim countenance of the Batman as Bruce Wayne ceases to shine through. The personable, sociable side of him switched off a light switch.
    "Rain check?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana is stalking/watching him in return as their spar continues. "My life is a lot longer than that of the friends I have had. To many have I watched..." The signal draws her attention away as well and she lets that thought train wander off. Diana's bleu eyes glance over toward one of the alert strobes as it goes off on a side wall and then she settles herself down as well into a relaxed posture. She offers Bruce a light smile then and a soft nod of her head. "It is your Watch after all." She says back at him as she turns then to go and retriever her sword and shield from where she'd hung them.

"I look forward to the social event though." She tells him. "Just contact me, however you are most comfortable doing." And she gives him a light smirk then after saying that. Knowing that Bruce and his Comfort Zone are very important to each other.

Batman has posed:
    Perhaps as a show of friendship, Batman does not simply vanish when Diana's attention is momentarily diverted. He waits, standing in the doorway and nodding her head as she speaks, "I'll be in touch."
    That said, he turns and slips out. As usual, he doesn't make any sound as he moves and he's already reviewing what the Monitor has picked up as he goes. The sociable moment means more than he'll let on. He has few that he might consider actual peers. They are either people who look up to him, or people he must maintain distance from for professional reasons. Maybe, as he spends the next several hours monitoring the world for crises worth the League's attention, he lets that slight half-smile creep back onto his face.
    Maybe.