9571/Knightfall: Keys to the Kingdom

Knightfall: Keys to the Kingdom
Date of Scene:	14 October 2019
Location:	Auxiliary Batcave, Wayne Foundation Bldg
Synopsis:	Carrie follows instructions from Batman to reveal her role in a Gotham without its Dark Knight.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Carrie Kelley
Tinyplot:	Knightfall

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Batman has posed:
The flashdrive in Carrie's parcel had provided her with a map which had led, of all places, to the Wayne Foundation Building in Central Heights. The path was not a secret one, following the main roads into the parking garage beneath the building and then directing her across the lobby to the foyer. It is there that the receptionist sits, typing at her computer until she sees Carrie approaching and raises her head.

"Welcome to the Wayne Foundation," she says with a smile, "You're Ms. Kelley, aren't you? Mr. Wayne told us to expect you. Go right on through - you can take his private elevator."

The receptionist rises from her desk and leads the way towards a mass of ornate, green foliage that clings to the central column of the open-air Wayne Enterprises foyer. She taps a button and some of the foliage slides away to reveal a simple, cube-shaped, and mirrored elevator carriage with a panel sporting only three buttons: 'P' 'L' and 'G'. Carrie is escorted inside, and the doors close to leave her alone in the small room.

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley had done her best to memorize the map before she got here, just in case. It wouldn't do to keep looking at a map on her phone of the building she was entering. While it was quite possible that no one would notice, or even care, it probably just wouldn't look good if someone did notice. Suspicious things, that, carrying a map of a building you're in.

Perhaps some of the cautious paranoia Bruce had rubbed off on her just a bit.

When the receptionist greets her though she offers the woman a warm smile of agreement along with a nod. "Oh that's perfect. Thank you!" Then she's ushered into the elevator, and she stands there just a second.

Did he mean to actually say it? She stares at the panel a moment before glancing up toward the lights in the lift checking for signs that this might be wired up to a computer system for more than just an elevator. Lightly clearing her throat, she stares back at the panel, and then says the word she was told to:

"Kestrel."

Batman has posed:
As soon as Carrie speaks the word, the lights in the elevator dim. No longer are they the pleasant, white fluorescence of an office building. Instead, they go out and are replaced by red running lights that cast the whole carriage in a bloody glow. The mirrored surfaces vanish, instead projecting a number of reads from various sensors - surveillance footage of the Wayne Foundation building and its surrounds, weather, time, date, and even news footage from one of the twenty-four-hour news channels owned and operated by Wayne Entertainment.

She can feel the elevator as it descends, moving fast enough to be felt in the pit of the stomach but without any sound of mechanisms to go along with it. The text on the screens fade to read, in blue lettering:

WELCOME KESTREL

After several moments, the elevator descends and the walls around it - door included - lift up and away into the ceiling. Carrie finds herself standing on a platform, lowering soundlessly into the center of what looks like all-encompassing darkness on either side. Once the platform settles on the ground, lighting panels hum to life to reveal a long, rectangular bunker with concrete walls and floor that extends for several hundred feet in both directions.

And then, like a ghost, the disembodied voice of Bruce Wayne speaks.

"Carrie."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
The entire elevator ride has Carrie having flashbacks to old movies she grew up watching about 'the future' that they lived in now. Things that never came to pass. Logans' Run, or in this case more akin to Tron. That little bit of nostalga earns a grin as her eyes skim over the various readouts that appear to give updates to the current situation of Gotham itself.

Then the ride ends allowing her stomach to settle back to normal. That freefall feeling was something she'd grown accustomed to when she had the grapple lines out, or was swinging from rooftops, but in an elevator there was that little element of trusting the machines and not just herself that left her uneasy. When the lights turn on she steps out letting her gaze sweep from end to end in the ... bunker. That's all it could be called, really. A bunker.

The voice earns a jolt as she blurts out, "Bruce?" Even though she knew he wasn't here. No, she knew exactly where he was when she left the manor. This had to be a recording.

Batman has posed:
"I'll spare you the platitudes," Bruce's voice continues, "We both know why you've been led her. I am unable to carry on as Batman. Be that permanently or temporary, I've seen fit to activate a contingency plan I had set aside for you."

The lights finish illuminating, showing the true scope of the bunker that must stretch at least the length of the city block the building above occupies and perhaps even further. As though prompted, the concrete floor before Carrie slides away and a series of display screens mounted to a steel frame rises from below. As it settles into place, a keyboard emerges, and the station takes all the semblance of the Batcomputer.

Bruce's face appears on the screens. He doesn't have that world-weary look he had in the weeks leading up to the fight with Superman, suggesting the recording may be a little older.

"This is an auxiliary installation - one of several throughout Gotham, the Tri-State Area, and the world. These are set up in the event that I can't reach the Batcave or need to do field work. It is now, for lack of a better word, your office."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
"Yeah, that's Bruce all right," Carrie mumbles to herself at the first of the ongoing recording. Right to the chase. It did at least help her curiosity as she moves forward further seeing the size of this place. It was massive.

She doesn't go far, especially when the lights illuminate the concrete floor that rises up into the familiar semblance of the Batcomputer in the cave.

Hands clench at her side while listening. A contingency... from before this entire incident. How long ago had he planned this? The thoughts run through her head even as she finds herself striding up to the computer with hands lifting to rest at the keyboard not quite touching. Not yet. There was more to hear. More to see, and learn. So for now she watches the recording of him looking so healthy and hale, unlike how she'd recently seen him, and listens.

Batman has posed:
"Your training isn't finished," the recording of Bruce explains, "And I don't imagine it will be for some time. You're making strides now - I imagine even more so by the time you're seeing this. But you still have a great deal to learn. Barbara and Dick can teach you a great deal of that. Likewise, Damian is your student in some ways - as much as he'll deny it - but could also be your teacher in others. You have promise, Carrie. You had the strength to persevere when I did everything I could to push you away from this mission. If you ever think you lack strength, look to that."

The recording of Bruce regards the camera, and for a moment it is as though he is staring at her across the gulf of time and circumstance that now separate them.

"But, you are ready to go on to your next step. I left that in Alfred's hands, and he's made that call. While I'm gone, it will be difficult for our organization to adjust. There will be gaps that need filling. A vacuum of sorts. To that end, south Gotham - China Basin, South Hinkley, East Park Side, and here in Central Heights - are your beat. This is where you'll patrol. This is where you'll cut your teeth. These are the people who will now look to you to be the shadow watching out for them in the night."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
The thought of allowing Damian to teach her earns a grin at the thought but only because she already was asking him for help on things. He was far more skilled martially than her among other things. As for being his teacher... She knew that, too, though Damian would deny it to his dying breath. The others were already known otherwise. It just earns a slow nod as she agrees silently that she knew she had much left to learn. Doubtless she would always be learning something.

When the areas are listed as her beat she lifts her head fully again to stare back at the screen with her jaw tightening. The others were already working to fill the gap of Bruce being down.

"Guess it's going to be a busy night," she reasons with a smirk.

Batman has posed:
"The bunker is outfitted for you," the recording carries on, "Everything in here - replacement uniforms, equipment, a crime lab. This computer is hooked up to the mainframe at the Batcave, which will allow you the access you need to perform your duties out here."

Along the seemingly featureless concrete wall, a panel slides away to reveal a wide and well-lit tunnel that stretches off into the distance and curves away to the south.

"You have vehicular access. The exit is a Wayne Enterprises-owned warehouse in China Basin - its unused. To that end, vehicles ... "

At this point, a dais further down the bunker is suddenly lit and reveals what looks like a simple, black muscle car atop it. It doesn't look unusual in any way, not at all flashy like the Batmobile might be.

"I used this car for a while about eight years ago," Bruce explains, "It's inconspicuous, but it's fully outfitted. Armored plating. Remote driving. Other features. I've installed a tutorial program to help you understand it better, when you're ready."

A pause.

"It's no Honda Civic, but it'll have to do."

Carrie Kelley has posed:
Carrie Kelley allows her attention to shift away from the computer as each new area is lit up. Bruce really did have a flare for the dramatic that wasn't at all unlike the theater stylings she was used to. Just more high-tech. When the car is lit up on the dias she finds herself grinning at the sight, only to chuckle quietly with his remarks.

"It'll do," she agrees with a solemn nod. This entire situation... It sucked why this was coming about. That he had thought of it well beforehand though, somehow that made it all the more touching. She would do right by this.

Batman has posed:
"As well as the car," the recording continues, "there's the penthouse at the top of the Wayne Foundation building. Upon your receiving this parcel, the staff would have been notified that you're taking up residence. You're not under any obligation to stay there full time - I've already moved home on your behalf once already - but if you feel as though you need time away from the house, this is an option."

As he speaks, a small drawer beneath one of the computer terminals opens to provide a set of keys with the Wayne Foundation logo emblazoned on them.

"And that's everything, Kestrel. I hope you'll make the best of what you find here. If you check the computer, I've opened an account in your name with Gotham National Bank that contains enough to help you finance the operation out here. This will include a monthly stipend from the Trust should you need it."

There's another pause, and the recording on the screen seems to regard Carrie again.

"It's not likely that I ever said it," a wry smile crosses his face, "But I'm proud of you - and immeasurably grateful for what you've done for Damian. You deserve all the peace and happiness in the world, but I know you'd never be content with it. Goodbye."

And with that, the image vanishes and the bunker becomes silent.