9894/Ivy Island: Flybys and Leverage

Ivy Island: Flybys and Leverage
Date of Scene:	03 November 2019
Location:	Batcave - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Jason, Steph and Dick make plans and discuss Bruce amidst the usual Batfamly hijinx.
Cast of Characters:	Red Hood, Spoiler, Nightwing
Tinyplot:	Ivy Island
Tinyplot2:	Knightfall

---

Red Hood has posed:
After his talk with Batman...er Bruce... Batman the First? Whatever the hell he's called now, Jason had been fixed on tracking down magic folks and planning for the impending fight with the demon they dubbed 'Mom' and her minons. Though that was far from the only massive problem on his plate, there was also Ivy's little 'botany gone wild' experiment on South Channel Island. Oh yeah, and Dick was Batman (yay), his life was a mess oh and super extra bonus he might be going to hell...

Whether he was going to Hell or not, he looked like hell, no sleep, a little strung out, and on entirely much caffine as he punched away at the Batcomputer pulling up files on Ace Chemicals and the sort of industrial herbicides they made. His focus, at the moment on the Ivy Island problem.

Spoiler has posed:

  "I was having this discussion
  In a taxi heading downtown
  Rearranging my position
  On this friend of mine who had
  A little bit of a breakdown."  

  "I said breakdowns come
  And breakdowns go
  So what are you going to do about it
  That's what I'd like to know
  You don't feel you could love me
  But I feel you could..."

The sounds of Paul Simon's voice precede Stephanie Brown as she emerges from an area where a few cots are kept, for those not willing to take the time necessary to go up to the manor to grab a real bed. She has a case of bedhead going. Her blond mane manages to pull the look off in what might possibly be an appealing way even, though if Stephanie herself saw it in a mirror she'd likely not see it that way.

Her fingers do muss through it though as she realizes she isn't alone in the Batcave. She turns off her phone, killing the music as she walks over towards the Batcomputer, and Jason, wearing jeans and a t-shirt that also looks like it was slept in. "I started some chemical... things... simulations, running, before I turned in," she says, shuffling over to the console and the enormous screens. "Figure it should be done by-" she says, and then stops up short. Over in one corner is the window she'd been working in. It's currently where she left it when she tiredly went to turn in.

Begin Simulation: Y/N

"Fudge."

Nightwing has posed:
The rushing air from the speed and force of the returning batmobile is often quiet when out in the open, but when it is coming into a quiet cave (even filled with the music Stephanie is working by), it is a force of vibration and sound. It doesn't last long: the sleek black car approaches, turns, and parks with perfection. It's something out of the past - an action Batman took thousands of times before being bound to his bed upstairs. To those that are barely functioning on caffiene, it could even bring a surge of hope or normalcy, like a vision of things back when they were how they SHOULD be.

Similarly, when Batman emerges from the car, cape flung off a forearm to slip backwards as he emerges and walks like a slippery column of black up out of the hangar, steps entirely silent on the walkway.

It IS Batman, it isn't anyone else. The suit is a newer version, it has a sleeker feel to it, as if the armor might be more technologically heightened and less bulk is needed, but all of the styling of it matches. The posture and weight of the presence matches, as well: there's no hurry to the movement.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason doesn't even have to look to know it was Steph coming from the sleeping area, nobody else in the family would listen to music that upbeat. Well maybe the new girl Misfit but he wasn't sure anyone else would.

"What no 'Sound of Music'?" he says as she shuts off the music. Glancing over he takes in Steph with the sleep ruffled hair and on another day he might have let that look linger or made a comment, today he was just confirming that it was her he was speaking to and that Damian didn't suddenly develop a taste for the better half of Simon and Garfunkle or something like that.

"Hgn," Jason ackowledges about the simulations, before nodding to the little corner of the screen where he'd shunted Steph's work when he'd sat down at the computer, "You mean that simulation?" he asks her. "Was going to hit yes, but didn't want to fuck up anything you might be doing..." yeah, he's tired, there's no follow up about how he'd have definitely hit yes if it was Tim or Dick's work.

Speaking of Dick... the cave fills with the sound of a powerful and familar sound as the Batmobile makes its entrance. "Yay... Dick's home," Jason says in tones so dry that they'd make Raven sound like Steph by comparison. Still, past the layers of cyncism, anger and general bitchiness, there was something about the sound that took him back, made things feel a little bit like better days.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie groans at her having forgotten to start it before sleep deprivation had hold of her. "Yeah, the hills are alive with it," she says with a grumble as Jason gives the callback to a previous conversation. "Crap. I figured that would run long enough I could get in some sleep," she says with a sigh. "Hit run on that puppy for me, would you?" she asks. "You having any luck with it?" she adds as she sees a bit of what Jason is working on.

Stephanie turns, and as she sees the figure climb out of the car, there's that brief moment, that little uplifting surge. But then Jason confirms what her struggling-awake mind was trying to. "Right. Hey Dick," Stephanie says, raising a hand to wave towards the approaching figure, her tone making it an actual welcome.

"How'd things go... ah... with the, driving and... patrol? Looking all, you know. Scowl-scowl-scowl?" Stephanie asks the figure in the Batman armor.

Nightwing has posed:
"Steph. Jason," returns the modulated Batman vocal. Dick's still in character, apparently: or whatever he just did has reduced his friendly quality down to a dull roar, and the voice-mixer of the suit takes care of the rest.

"Batman was visible," Batman answers Stephanie's question. "Though not in the way planned."

Coming to stop near the computer, he does an excellent impression of Batman Looming, arms crossed. Much of it is the costume, but it may also have a sense of practice to it - and experience. "I had a lengthy Killer Croc altercation, he evaded into the water at the end. However, I know where his current lair is."

A small head motion indicates the screens. "What are you each focused on?"

Red Hood has posed:
Jason 'hehs' at Steph's 'Sound of Music' quip. "You sound like hell," pot-kettle, "And sure." He reaches across the control panel and hits the Y on Steph's simulation getting it going.

"Been hititng the same wall all over, we can wreck Ivy's shop chemically, but at the cost of poisoning the soil and everyone still on the island... and drinking from that water... for about the next ten years, so came up with a new way..." he pauses for Dick's arrival.

The deeper voice and lack of Dick's annoying cheeriness, gets an actual round of applause from Jason as he spins in the chair to face him, "Wow, Daniel Day-Lewis, you're really getting into the part, for a moment I thought I was talking to the man himself."

Though there's a nod for the fight with Croc, he'd done that a time or two, and for Dick to come back looking this uninjured and not stinking of sewer water is an accomplishment, "Any fight Croc runs away from..." he says giving Dick his due props.

"Generally, organizing an ambush for the 'Mom' demon, but since that's involving a lot of telephone tag right now, I'm switching gears to Ivy for a moment, I was just telling Steph most of the chemical options have a big downside to them, but, thinking what if we don't need to use them. What if we just let Ivy know we had them, use it as a bargaining tool, she can't expect she's going to hold the island forever, so she's got to have an endgame so it might be worthwhile finding out what that is."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie rubs a bit of sleep out of her eyes, moving over to pour herself a cup of coffee. She motions towards the mugs and then back at the two men to see if either of them wants a cup.

"I was trying a different approach. Instead of killing the plants, a way to either disrupt her control. Or just plain knock her out so she can't control them," Stephanie says. "Though I'm having to retake Chem 203, just so you're not expecting a miracle solution to come from this direction," she adds with a grimace.

Stephanie turns back, giving Batman-Dick a hard pat on the back to make sure he feels the attaboy through the armor. "Yeah, great job standing that guy off," she says of Killer Croc.

"I think maybe I have an idea what Electrocutioner is up to as well, but I haven't had time to run it down further and confirm," she adds. Steph sinks into a chair, sprawling in it and letting her head hang back. "I could use an extra hour of sleep. Hour, year, something like that."

Nightwing has posed:
The applause gets a dark look, and a scowl is brought out to cover the smile that was tempted to surface. This being dour thing is difficult when 'annoying cheerfulness' is the default. "I'm practicing," is all Dick will say to Jason's vote of mocking confidence. "Continuation of Killer Croc will require one of the aquatic modifications," Batman says simply. Meaning, there was no point in chasing the leaving Croc without ability to fight in water. His current suit wasn't modded for that or expecting to go into deep water. Can't always have the right thing for the right situation; he was expecting demons.

For the reports, he simply listens silently, taking them in. "Chemical options that will cause serious hazards for those who would return to live there are out. Poisoning the island for everyone is a poorer result than her holding it." Steph then pats him, and he endures it. Endures, because he's not un-bruised, but Batman doesn't show weakness. Still, ouch. "Get the sleep, leave the coffee. You can have /three/ hours," suggests the Bat to Stephanie dryly, edge of a joke in there: he's not actually Batman. The 'ouch' from the pat ends up just adding some force to his voice. Batman impression going well, considering.

Batman almost started to say something more, but Dick catches himself. Stay in character, learn it. So instead of commenting, he looks over the screens, silent, and then heads back into the armory. The time of evening will reveal what the task is: changing out of the Batsuit. Possibly applying any bandages needed after a Croc battle, without complaint. And more particularly, shedding this persona he's trying to maintain that clashes with his personality.

Red Hood has posed:
Jason has been verbally sparring with Dick long enough to read between the lines, and snorts amusedly, at the 'practicing' response before nodding about Croc. "Yeah, just about drowned the last time I faced off against him, he really goes for that whole death roll thing like the real deal," he says in support of the need of aquatic equipment.

As for chemical options? "Definitely out, but the threat of them might get Ivy to at least talk and see what she wants..." though he drops that thread at Steph's suggestion. "That's not bad," he admits, smirking a little at her bit about not expecting any miracles from her corner. "If the computer doesn't come up with something talk to the Squirt, he's crazy good with that sort of thing." Like that certain toxin he showed Jason a couple of days ago.

"Well, you did get an extra hour just now, daylight's savings, so, yay for that," he says knowing that was going to offer no help at all. "But yeah, sleep, we all probably could use some of that."

As Dick goes to go get changed, Jason calls after him, "Got something to talk about when you're back out," he says before adding to Steph. "And we should go take a look at the island when it's dark again."

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie says, "You know, as great as the aquatic armor is? I can't help thinking about what else was in the water when I went to the island that way." She shudders. No one was around to realize her post-mission shower needed the hour column for measuring it.

Stephanie looks at the status bar on her simulation. 5%. Yeah, plenty of time for a little more sleep. "Wait, daylight savings time ended. Ended? Started? I can't keep it straight. How is it we haven't ended that by now?" she says, shaking her head.

Stephanie moves behind Jason, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Sure thing. I want to find out if the police I left the sat phones with need any other supplies. I think Ivy's letting them get medicine for the infirm they were taking care of, but the supplies on the island have to run out at some point," she says. She pats his shoulders then and turns to shuffle off towards the area with the cots.

Her mind is already on sleeping, not really thinking about too much else though she diverts over towards the locker room area. "Dick, by the way. I know you gotta portray him. But, if we don't see that smile of yours from time to time we're going to worry too. So, you don't need to be all Stradivarius Method all the time," Stephanie says as she rounds a corner sleepily, giving her a view of the locker area. And probably making Stanislavski turn over in his grave. Assuming he's dead.

Nightwing has posed:
"You don't like my method acting?" Dick's voice returns from where he is, proving the cowl is gone, at least. His tone still matches what he'd had with the hood on, just lacks the voice modulator on it. There's a floated, quiet laugh in his voice, that gives no questions as to if Dick is still himself. He is.

A look into the locker will reveal Dick with the top half of the Batman armor removed, slightly twisted to aim his left shoulderblade towards a mirror. A forming bruise is there, angry, but his front is facing the door. That part of his musculature is unbruised, just kind of sweaty and tensed from the pain of the twist to his posture. "This is more Schrödinger's style. Wherein Batman does and also does not exist," Dick adds, still looking backwards, before settling blue eyes on Steph, rubbing one hand up through sweaty hair. But she wanted a smile, asked for one, so he gives her one: one of his hooked sideways grins.

Red Hood has posed:
Making a face, Jason says, "I try not think about what's in the water," he surpresses a slight shudder as he does exactly that. He hadn't been in any of the rivers for weeks but the thought alone is enough to make him long for a shower.

"Which is it when the clocks go back? Start or finish? It's that one, and yeah, figured they'd have gotten rid of it by now, helps literally nobody at this point."

The hands on his shoulders having him tilting his head back to look up at Steph, "Sure, we can work a supply drop into the flight, when you reach out see if the cops on the ground have any fresh intel too. Doubt Ivy has worked out how to use her plants to take down a plane, but just in case..."

Dick's reply has Jason turning towards the armoury, "Nah, it's great definitely Academy material..." he sees the incident that's about to happen annnnd does absolutely nothing to stop it. Hey, he had to have a little fun after all.

Spoiler has posed:
Stephanie Brown possibly didn't think there was time enough for Dick to get out of his armor at all. Or more likely she's just thinking about her bed. She rounds the corner and sees his bare back.

"Uh... yeah, it... Schrodinger.. ah... you did fun," Stephanie stammers. "Fine, you did fine." She stares for a moment before Dick turns his head to see her standing there and flashes that smile.

Stephanie steps back around the corner, cheeks turning rosy. "Right. Oscar," Stephanie agrees with Jason's assessment. "And..." she sees Jason's expression as he saw it coming before it happened, and he gets a hands on hips glare back that would probably only be even more funny to him.

"I'm going... Going," she says. And then does so, moving off to sleep once the embarrassment passes. Great job Steph.

Nightwing has posed:
Dick shakes his head a little, smiling privately, as he finishes up changing clothes now that it's clear he won't be walked in on further. The suit is returned to proper position, leaving Dick in loungepants and a soft dark blue t-shirt. Socks mean his pace on the floor is silent as he comes padding back out, still sweaty and unshowered, but Jason said he needed to talk right away.

Dick is distracted as he returns to the computer: he's rigging up a medical strap across his torso to support an icepack that he's applying to his left shoulderblade, to hold the pack in place.

After a glance following where Stephanie must have disappeared, Dick upnods to Jason. "What've you got?"

Red Hood has posed:
Yep. That glare only made it funnier. Jason actually grins in the face of it replying, "Hey, you've been cooped up in the Cave all night, figured it was only fair you saw the moon," and couples it with a (not-so) innocent shrug.

When she hurries off all flustered, he just waves calling after her, "Wheels up at dusk, make sure you reach out to the cops before then," amusement still touching his voice.

That done, Jason gets back to work, still chuckling to himself as he waits on Dick to be done. He's quicker than Jason anticipates, figuring he'd go for the shower and all that, and jumps a little at the greeting as Dick pads all but silently towards him.

Jason turns, and glances back towards the stairs, before turning back to Dick growing a bit more serious, "Talked to Lucifer about Bruce, he said, he was the one to bring Bruce back to life, 'sent back his soul' he said," he takes a moment both to let that sink in and to steel himself for the rest, things he wasn't sure he fully believed in. "He also said the demons followed Bruce's soul back, that's why all the chaos started when he was revived."

Nightwing has posed:
That earns a blink. Then, following that, a thoughtful but doubtful expression. "That suggests a variety of things I'm not willing to buy without evidence," Dick answers, moving to one of the available chairs. He settles into it, deliberately pinning the icepack to his shoulder against the chair's back. Out of the cowl, he can look a little bit more beaten up. Still, a bruise still aligns with having done well, and he doesn't seem downcast.

"What I make of that is that demons, maybe this Lucifer, were involved just after or during the Superman fight," Dick says, working it out verbally as he goes. "'Sent back his soul' could just mean something mystic happened at that event, maybe even something connected to Superman. We do know we lost Bruce briefly, but all of that? I'm skeptical. Did you talk to Bruce?"

Red Hood has posed:
The change in Dick in the suit and out is noted, as he comments, "Looks like that hurts," but for a fight with Croc it's still pretty damn good.

Then it's on to the Exorcist shit...

"Yeah, talked to Bruce, he and Lucifer have the same story of what went down when Bruce was dead, they met, they talked, Lucifer told Bruce he was going to Hell, asked Bruce if he'd change his path, Bruce said no, then Lucifer sent him back, for basically what amounts to shits and giggles."

Okay Bruce didn't have that last part in his story, but Jason was editorializing a little.

"Hey, you and Bruce are on the same page there, he's doing everything in his power to not believe this too, and I'll admit, I have time equating the guy in the club judging show girls, with a guy who can bring souls back from the dead, but at the same time Zach says the guy has power, but isn't sure he's the real deal either."

He gives a look to Dick, frustration and confusion writ deep into his expression. "I am not sure what I believe about any of it, don't think he's the Devil, but I don't think he's entirely faking either, but anyhow, Bruce was convinced enough to want to make stopping the demons our top priority on the chance it's related to his return so passing that on, both so you can do your leader thing and so you can maybe talk to Bruce, if he believes it, the Coventry murders have to be eating him alive."

And Jason wasn't really the comfort and morale support type.

Nightwing has posed:
"It sounds to me like Lucifer is trying to make himself more important in the investigation," Dick says. He starts to fold his arms but finds that uncomfortable, and instad rests one hand on the console, the other loose on a thigh. "Or shifting blame: saying that it is Bruce that caused the demons, but it may be entirely Lucifer's doing." Fingers drum on the edge of the console.

"Let's pretend for a moment that Bruce's brief death involved some kind of magical power, and something happened connected to it that caused demons. That much is logical, based on timing." Dick clears his throat, willing to walk through it. "At the very least, this 'Lucifer' saw, using whatever magic he has, and chose to warn us: after you hunted him down. At the worst, what, we have the actual Devil running a nightclub in Gotham, possibly allowing demons in while tricking us to make us blame ourselves."

Dick hears that he needs to talk to Bruce, dampen that potential guilt, and nods at Jason, with a meet of the younger man's gaze. Message communicated: Dick will do his morale-booster job.

"Maybe a talk did happen between them, some strange psychic ability. I agree with Bruce, that it should be top priority for us. We should plan a group strike on the known areas. Involving Lucifer seems like a dangerous wildcard, but using him on something peripheral, so we can see what he can do, would be smart. If he's willing to help with Ivy or another problem, not just one he possibly created, I'd be more comfortable."

Red Hood has posed:
Jason takes time to consider Dick's arguments, twist and turn through the logic, both in what his 'older brother' had to say but Lucifer as well, drawing into himself as he did until hitting a wall in his reasoning declares: "I fucking hate magic."

Instinctively his hand goes to the pack of Lucky's lurking in his jacket pocket but he stops himself, instead he stands an paces. "There's too many options, too many unknowns, Lucifer could be telling us the whole truth, half the truth, or lying his ass of but we have little in the way to go on, there's too many what ifs, what if he read Bruce's mind, what if he met Bruce in the I don't know, spirit world or whatever, had the talk and sent a demon back with him as part of some longer con..." he says before he growling and saying, "Though it doesn't feel like this guy's game, that said, he could just be putting up a front... See what I mean? Too many options."

He takes a breath and sits, "Anyhow, like you said, we can still focus on the problem even if we don't have all the facts, deal with the demons," he frowns though about Lucifer. "My read is that he won't be game to mess with Ivy, he seems singularly focused on this case, yeah, I know, warning sign, but, these demons are tough Dick and if he can send them back, it's a weapon I think we should use."

Nightwing has posed:
"I know. I don't want to rely on him, but I don't think making him our enemy right now is a good move either. Keep talking to him, maybe he'll slip up. Dig into his motives," Dick recommends. "If he can just end the demons, great, we have enough to do, and if that problem can fall..." A hand moves to position the icepack on his shoulder. They have enough to do.

"Use your judgment. Seek out that blonde he was with, maybe get a better clue who he is by who he makes friends with. If she's a nasty piece of work, that suggests a lot. A nice guy doesn't hang out with all demons and darkness." A quick smile shows. He doesn't consider the batclan all demons and darkness, it seems.

Dick puts his weight to his feet, and starts to stand. "Let's move on the demons as soon as we can. They'll just multiply if we don't. I've got to go to the Watchtower today, so I'll leave you with starting to plan that, with the others here." Implied trust.

Red Hood has posed:
"Yeah, we have enough of those already," Jason says of their enemies. "I'll keep up my contact with him, see where that leads and what I can find out maybe see if he'll come help me track down a couple of the lesser demons, just to get a feel for how that goes." The blonde too gets a nod, though serious as he is, there's no commentary besides to say, "He gave me a name Black Cat, I'll see if I can find out how to get in touch."

The trust being extended is noticed, but Jason being Jason goes unremarked on he just stretches, and stands turning to check on Steph's simulations before returning his attention to Dick, "Yeah, have some ideas, definitely want to give those vaporizers a try, there's a lot of ways we can turn that to our advantage. Anyhow, will work up the plan and get it kicked off soon. For now though, I think Steph had the right idea, I'll get a couple of hours and then take care of the rest of this crap."

Nightwing has posed:
"She does," Dick agrees, "let your unconscious mind chew on the problem a little while." Dick, now standing, aims a friendly drop of hand towards Jason's shoulder. One of those things Bruce never did, but Dick isn't trying to emulate Bruce entirely: at least, not while out of the cowl. "We'll get it."

And with that, Dick heads towards the upper manor. He'll need a shower before he heads out to meet with people such as Diana. No need to make diplomacy even harder by smelling like he narrowly avoided a brawl in a sewer!

Red Hood has posed:
Jason nods though the drop of a hand on his shoulder has him arching his eyebrows at Dick. "You know I still don't like you right?" he asks him deadpan, but with a hint of amusement showing on his face. He glances at the door to the cave, then claps Dick's uninjured shoulder before breaking off for the armoury, "Later Batman," he calls as he vanishes inside.

Nightwing has posed:
"No, that wasn't lost on me, you've made many efforts to make that clear," Dick retorts, immediately stepping up to spar verbally. The comment only draws a roll of his eyes, though, and a private smile as Jason tosses out that last snark. He'll leave Jason with that last word.... mostly because Dick doesn't really have an answer to it.

Batman...