5578/Private Bat-vestigations: The Batcave, reprise

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Private Bat-vestigations: The Batcave, reprise
Date of Scene: 17 October 2018
Location: The Batcave, Gotham
Synopsis: A great deal of investigation later, Bruce learns a startling truth that Kate already knew.
Cast of Characters: Shadow, Batman, Batwoman




Shadow has posed:
    New York may be called the City That Never Sleeps, but it's an oasis of quiet sometimes compared to Gotham, at least from the perspective of its chief protector. If it's not Crane experimenting with the latest variant of his concoction on the homeless population, it's the Joker cruising through town killing everyone whose name is a palindrome in alphabetical order, or Nygma deciding that he needs to challenge the Batman in a battle of wits right this instant and has taken hostages to ensure he gets the attention he craves, and that's not even counting the conventional muggings, robberies and myriad other ways the criminal element preys on the helpless...

     It's no wonder that investigations that aren't crucially important sometimes get shelved until the next time Bruce has attention to spare. Such as, for instance, the file and web-of-clues labeled 'Cranston' and 'Ying-Ko'...

Batman has posed:
    As the Batmobile rolls to a stop on one of the Batcave's many suspended platforms, the Batman climbs out of the pilot's seat and glances over as Batwoman climbs out after him. The Bat himself is worse for wear, his suit scuffed and looking as though he has been rolling around in the mud. He doesn't take a moment to be coy as he pulls the cowl and upper half of his costume off to splatter on the floor, revealing a number of wounds - bruises, cuts, and even a bullet wound - both healing and fresh. He looks like he's taken quite the beating, and even his ironclad stoicism can't prevent him from wincing a bit as he moves towards the computer.
    "Upload your bodycam to the Solomon Grundy case file," the Bat says, setting the Batcomputer to do the same, "Want to review it next time he comes crawling out of that swamp." And maybe avoid taking such a beating again, says the subtext.
    "And when you're done, I want to get your eyes on something else I've been working on."
    That said, he hits another button on the keyboard and the Natasha Cranston file fills the screen.

Batwoman has posed:
    Kate's flowing locks are left behind in the batmobile, as well as her cowl - It's been cracked right through, and the normally pristine makeup underneath is failing to conceal a large bruise on her right cheek, and a smear on her lipstick. Her suit is scuffed, chips taken out of her elbows and knees. While she doesn't look great, and she seems a little bit uncomfortable in her movements, she is doing a hell of a lot better than the bat. Her collapsible rifle is tossed back into the car, bent beyond recognition. Another toy written off.
    "Consider it done. As for you, you need to lie down and let me take a look at your wounds." She states, and those who know her best can hear the fury that lies barely restrained behind her voice. And then, there's a photo of Natasha Cranston, and Kate shakes her head. "Natasha Cranston - The Shadow. A friend of Gordon's and Part of that new group I am helping out. Big business by day, hero by night." A bitter chuckle. "Remind you of anyone?"

Shadow has posed:
    The Batcomputer obediently opens the requested file, showing Natasha's photo and public biographic information on the main monitor, while the auxiliary monitors show various leads branching away -- the events concerning Kevin Cranston's death, the various... accidents affecting the board members likely responsible, a precis of Quentin's ravings in Arkham, Shiwan Khan's rant about 'Ying-Ko' linking to an opium warlord in post-WWI China as well as a recent warehouse incident. It looks like the Batcomputer's automated analytics have been busy, as it has linked the description and M-O to a slew of similar recent incidents, mostly in New York, attributed to a vigilante describing themselves as "The Shadow". No description beyond "Tall, strong, scary, black cloak, black hat, red scarf, guns, scary." Presumed to be superhuman, although the list of theorized abilities, powers and dietary habits is almost as long as that attributed to Batman himself -- the debate as to whether or not the outfit would be sufficient to protect a vampire in sunlight is particularly creative -- but almost all of it is pure speculation due to limited sightings and unreliable witnesses...

    Another branch leads away from Natasha, detailing her history and paper trails; despite the analysis programs' best efforts the period between her graduation and her resurfacing in New York remains almost entirely unaccounted for, but the hacking subroutines report success in infiltrating the school's private archives. Apparently the school takes its students' privacy seriously -- three different heads of state have their progeny currently attending, as do two industrial heavyweights Bruce knows personally, and at least three major underworld kingpins -- and all students are referred to by their /mothers'/ maiden names for an additional layer of security.

    Natasha Vasilyevna's grades are excellent but unremarkable -- so unremarkable, in fact, that a more paranoid observer might theorize someone deliberately holding themselves back to avoid undue attention -- and aside from the usual business and management curriculum, she seems to have taken a disproportionate number of psychology electives. Not an entirely unconventional choice, as knowing what makes people tick is a significant advantage in boardroom negotiations, but there is one 'freeform' essay that stands out.

    Apparently, for that particular assignment students were encouraged to pick their own topics, the more esoteric the better, and Natasha wrote a monograph on 'the psychology and motivations of the modern vigilante'. In it, she posits the question as to why, in this age of flying humans and speedsters, a normal human might decide to don a mask and cape to fight crime. She does a fairly decent job at sorting through possibilities -- arrogance and ego are both explored thoroughly, as is the kind of anti-authoritarian streak that makes someone simply not trust or respect regular authorities to do a good job of it... And almost as an afterthought, she adds the notion of a 'formative trauma' -- some unspeakable tragedy suffered in the past, that the legitimate authorities failed to satisfactorily address somehow, spurring the desire and decision to "step outside the light and into the shadows to set right what they believe conventional justice can't touch."...

Batman has posed:
    Bruce stares impassively at Kate for a long, long moment. His expression is an implacable mask, but those who have known him long enough can easily read when a ten-ton bomb has been dropped on him. Now is such a moment. He turns back to the screen, flicking through several articles and photos as he internally puts together what he already knows and superimposes it over what he has been told. The pieces clatter into place all at once. He clears his throat slightly and glances sidelong at Kate.
    The notion that he tend to his injuries is duly ignored, even as the bullet wound (a leftover from several nights past) begins to trickle slightly where the stitches have come loose. His hand idly lifts to another dark, savage bruise on his chest as he narrows his eyes at the Batcomputer.
    "Yes. Her."

Batwoman has posed:
    "She doesn't play by your rules, but she follows in your wake and after another inspiration of her own." Kate straightens again after being ignored, sliding her cellphone out of her belt and admiring her reflection in the shattered glass, before she tosses it to join the rest of her ruined equipment. "You need to quit that face, Bruce. It's the same thing you pull whenever another wanna-bat winds up made an example of by thugs." What face? That face. "Sooner or later you'll have to accept that civil disobedience breeds civil disobedience."

    Kate looks over the screens again, "And that not everyone will take the same meaning away from what inspiration they've given - You don't have to like it, but sooner or later you'll have to accept it. At least for her, she's been reminded of the rules in Gotham. We bring justice, not death." A pause.

Shadow has posed:
    "Water, Sir?" comes the dry, inflappable voice of the one human being on this planet who can routinely sneak up on Batman, holding a tray with a chilled crystal carafe and two glasses. "Ma'am?" Alfred continues, turning to Kate with the same offer, then takes a glance at the files on the Batcomputer's monitor. "The Shadow... Now there's a name I haven't heard in ages..."

    He pauses, then looks at the bloodied and damaged outfit with a disdainful sniff. "I hope your evening's endeavours were productive, at least? I'd hate for this degree of dry-cleaning to have been in vain..."

Batman has posed:
    Bruce is not ready to admit that who Natasha Cranston /is/ was a mystery he had been mulling over for months. Admittedly in his off time when he isn't otherwise engaged, but that he didn't make the connection before now is an unacceptable failure in his mind. Instead, he goes with Kate's immediate assumption of his displeasure over another vigilante operating in 'his territory.' It's as good a misdirection as any other, and good enough for concealing the truth of that look in his eyes.
    "They're coming out of the woodwork. Oracle's outfitted a college kid and set her loose to feel her way out. The Black Canary is setting up shop in Gotham. Even /Ivy/ is asking for training to do her bit of good. It's like a game-"
    When Alfred speaks, Bruce turns slightly and stands up to accept the water gratefully. His words cause his brow to knit curiously, "Care to elaborate, Alfred?"

Shadow has posed:
    "It was a bit before your time, Sir," Alfred replies. "Possibly even before your father's time; In the late twenties and early thirties, there were tales of the so-called 'Men of Mystery'. The Green Hornet, the Phantom, the Spirit... And the Shadow. No one knew their real names or why they did what they did, but their adventures and style captured the imagination even if the tales of their deeds likely grew in the telling."

    Wrinkles crease further as the butler's eyes turn inward, to the past. "'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Men? The Shadow Knows.' There were even some attempts at making money by serializing fictional accounts of their exploits, but then 1939 happened, and everyone had other things to worry about all of a sudden, and by the time the dust from that cleared... They'd gone. No one knew where, and most people were too busy rebuilding a shattered continent to spend too much time on the question..."

Batwoman has posed:
    "Ivy wants to help. I wouldn't want to fight that, it seems like it will help her reintegrate into some form of society." Kate notes, although she shakes her head again. "And Oracle is doing what she can to help the world at large. This might not be the way you wanted it, but this is what the world has come to." Alfred is regarded with a slightly lopsided smile, and the water is taken with a nod.

    "Forgive me for being blunt, Alfred, but the sins of the fathers are a tale as old as time. While the methods and lessons might be true, the person is their own." Kate gestures at the screen again. "And this woman... Well, she isn't human. Not fully anyway. And she might be wearing her grandfather's clothing, and even following what she calls his lessons, but we can't be sure of that. I don't find her... A threat. A mystery, at best."

Batman has posed:
    "Maybe."
    Bruce doesn't seem entirely ready to accept that things have changed. This his ways are perhaps antiquated, or at the very least need to make space for others with a similar mindset. He shakes his head, still looking at the photograph displayed on the Batcomputer's monitor in silence.
    "The Shadow. We had a run in a few weeks back. I'll agree there are some meta-human qualities. Ability to turn invisible save for her shadow. Chalked it up to an optical camouflage array at first, but seems unlikely one would function that well."

Shadow has posed:
    "That matches the tales," Alfred nods. "The Shadow reportedly had 'mastered the power of his Will', enabling him to 'cloud men's minds' and render himself unseen save for his eponymous shadow. There was some debate as to whether his ability to 'see what evil lurks in the hearts of men' was yet another example of that, or merely excellent investigative skills."

    He smiles drily as he makes the empty glass vanish with an effortless flourish that half the illusionists plying their trade in Vegas would cheerfully commit murder to be able to emulate. "There's preciously little known about them, I fear. That's why they were labeled 'mystery men' in the first place, after all..."

Batwoman has posed:
    "I'm not sure that isn't part of her equipment rather than her own nature. Although based on what Alfred said, that would be some eighty years old." Kate offers her own theory with regards to that. "Regardless, she can be pacified it that turns out to be necessary - At present she doesn't require more than the barest supervision."

Batman has posed:
    "I don't have any intention of putting her in a cell, if you're worried about that," Bruce says, perhaps to the pair of them, "She doesn't follow the same playbook, but she's playing by the rules for the most part. Albeit loosely."
    He recalls the dead bodies in the warehouse, and his brief conversation with the Shadow, "I also suspect she might have an inkling about who I am. The whole reason I begun this investigation was I noticed some things about her at a dinner that seemed out of place as far as wealth heiresses go."
    He stands up, turning his head to one side and popping his neck loudly, "I've got a lot to think about."

Shadow has posed:
    "Indeed, Sir. Might I suggest you sleep on it?" Alfred replies, the hint of reproach only audible to someone who's known him since he was six years old. "I've already taken the liberties of rescheduling every appointment you had prior to noon, but some rest beforehand would do you good..."