9919/Knightfall: Life Outside

Knightfall: Life Outside
Date of Scene:	05 November 2019
Location:	Grounds - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Diana and Bruce talk about the future.
Cast of Characters:	Batman, Wonder Woman
Tinyplot:	Knightfall

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Batman has posed:
It's been just over twenty-four hours since Bruce accepted the means to heal himself. So far, the 'potion' he had been given had worked just as promised. He'd slowly felt the feeling and strength returning to his arms and legs, and for the first time he was able to breathe fully without the aid of the respirator. In fact, this was the first time he had been out of bed in almost a month.

He sits on one of Wayne Manor's manicured lawns, several dozen yards away from the house itself and under a weeping willow tree. The chair itself appears to be of advanced design, rugged wheels capable of most kinds of terrain with an illuminated control panel built into the left armrest.

At present, Bruce wears a black and grey bathrobe that is open to the waist. The coolness of the weather doesn't seem to bother him. Both legs are in casts and suspended before him, and much of his bare chest that is visible appears to be covered in fresh, clean bandages. He stares out across the gardens, where Crest Hill dips away to reveal the gothic spires of Gotham City far away to the south.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana had been met at the door by Alfred and together they walked through the home and talked about all the recent going-ons since their last moments together, she'd gotten a run down on things from him - at least as much as he knows - and he lead her to where 'Master Bruce' was located.

Once she spies him off in the grass a small smile spread across her red painted lips. Wearing a black leather jacket, a pair of dark jeans and a white loose shirt beneath the jacket, Diana walks across the grass in heeled black leather boots that lead her to approaching his chair.

"Up and about." She says to him as she knows... that he knwos she's here. "You're looking stronger every time I come here." A hint of a grin now plays across her lips as she moves to stand beside him and place a hand cross his shoulders to hug him against her hip and side, her body's warmth more evident when contrasting outside in the cool to chilly winds.

Batman has posed:
"With a little help from 'Bwon Sahmdi'," Bruce calls to her, putting the thick Creole accent on the last two words, "Yes, I am. The spinal swelling's gone down. Not enough to regain full use of my legs, but ... it's better than it was."

He tilts his head, looking up at the Amazon and squinting into the sun that seems to hang behind her like a halo in the overcast sky. His own skin is pale and his eyes sunken, looking every bit like a man who has been ensconced in darkness for weeks on end. When she draws him close into that side hug, his eyes close for a moment and he lets out a faint sigh. The corner of his mouth ticks up, something like a smile - something he'd almost forgotten he was capable of.

"So, you got my message?" he asks, speaking of the new Batman and his meeting with her at the Hall of Justice, "I'm sorry to be passing notes like we're in high school, but I thought it was easier than leaving a message with the League or your embassy."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana is looking down at him with the sun behind her, though she doesn't really think of how it must appear, instead she's simply focusing on smiling at him with a calm and pleased expression. She's happy to see him up and outside like this, its encouraging to say the very least.

"One step at a time." She replies quietly. "Pun not intended." There's a hint of a grin playing across her red lips then before she affectionately glides her hand over his shoulders and steps over to a small stone wall that is just a step or so away. Its there at the Princess seats herself and places her hands in her lap so that she can be more on eye level with him and not require him to stare upward to see her.

"I rather liked the way you delivered the message." She relays then, her smoky Greek accented voice is soft in the moment of this serene setting on the lovely Wayne Manor grounds. "I am happy to see the Batman out and about... as were many civilians who happened to witness his arrival at the Hall of Justice. I think... he'll do a great job in this role. Inspiring others in positive ways, was always one of your goals, yes?"

Batman has posed:
"I read the article in the Gazette," Bruce says of his successor, nodding his head faintly, "He helped some refugees. They snapped some photos of him. I saw the pictures from the Hall of Justice, too. It was good to see. I worried I was asking too much of him but he's ready. I can see it."

As Diana seats herself on the wall, Bruce adjusts the controls of the chair and prompts it to roll a little closer. The way he's angled now, it's as though they're sitting together - the wheelchair not as obvious an elephant in the room. He reaches up a hand, running it through his dark hair that seems to be growing a little shaggy. Indeed, he is well on the way to a beard by this point - black hair run through with silvery grey.

"He'll inspire hope better than I ever did," he admits, a wan smile on his lips, "He was always better at that. Being loved instead of feared. I'm glad it's all in good hands."

He lifts a finger then, pointing it at Diana with a sense of mock reproach: "Don't let the rest of the League give him any grief. He's still Batman. Just because I'm not wearing the uniform anymore doesn't mean I can't make them regret it."

But he can't seem to hold that stern look for too long, and a moment later he's smiling at her. Perhaps the first genuine smile he's had in months.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana's smile is aimed right back at him, that kind that has her cheeks light up at feeling a wealth of happiness inside her, and she feels it because she sees him there and now feeling 'chipper' again, though she'd never dare use that word to vocally describe him as she'd worry it might tear his whole mood down!

"He was quite dapper in the suit." Diana teases then. "I thought I might ask him out on a date in fact. But I am afraid he would turn me down. Being that he is new and shiny and I am so old and 'uncool'." She even raises her hands up to give air quotes to that last word before she drops them back down again onto her lap, and just grins.

"He will prove himself over time, there will be grief, but he is skilled and capable and they will come to recognize him for his efforts going forward." Diana draws in a breath then and lets it quickly huff back out. "This means....." She draws that word out then as she raises her dark eyebrows and gently sways her head right to left. "That you are able to focus entirely on your rehabilitation. With nothing else to worry about... mm?" She poses that question with a sassy little look over to him.

Batman has posed:
'If it makes you feel any better," Bruce adds, unable to keep that smile on his face from splitting into something like a grin, "You've been old and uncool since the nineteen-hundreds. How old are you now? Eight hundred?"

When her words grow a little more serious, Bruce's grin fades and he once more nods his head. No somber, but certainly appreciating the gravity of all she has to say. He'd thought a great deal about his recuperation, and just how far it would take him. There was a very real chance he might walk again, certainly, but there was a world of difference between being able to walk and being the Batman.

"I'm acting purely as a consultant," he assures her, raising his hands defensively, "Helping fill in the blanks when they hit stumbling blocks. I'm not about to put on the cowl again. It's ... it's not mine anymore. Not really."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana shows a mocking expression of being offended by this teasing question from him. "It is impolite to ask a woman her age! If Alfred were here, he would wheel you down into the lake at my request." A moment later and she shows him a soft smirk. "Lets just say... Yoda and I have more in common than most." Yes, she's seen Star Wars. She saw it in 1977 when she was in Los Angeles on a art exchange trip with a Museum there, and her co-worker who was traveling with her at the time would not stop talking about it. Of course, Yoda wasn't in Star Wars, he was in the later two... but, well, she's not one to really differentiate those details too quickly in her head unless pressed on it!

"'Batman' is an icon." She says a moment later then. "You have told me that before. You designed all of this to be something another could do in your absence and that time has come. I... am not sad for that either." She shows him a quick smile then. "I much prefer spending time with you, rather than him. Unless you continue to refer to me as 'uncool', then I will go find the icon." She glances back toward the house then, hiding a small smirk.

Batman has posed:
Bruce weighs that up for a moment, and the thoughtful look shows on his face. He takes a deep breath, clasping his hands together in his lap and looking down at them. He squeezes one in the other, almost as if testing a strength that simply wasn't there yesterday and has now returned. Not completely, but still.

"When I first woke up," he explains, voice quiet with only the autumn birdsong to accompany it, "All I could think about was getting back on my feet. I'd beaten every other challenge that ever got laid at my feet, and I was going to beat this one. When things turned out to be more complicated than a broken leg? I kept myself focused. Intent on my end goal - taking up that uniform again. Finding him. Setting all this right."

His eyes are not set on her as he speaks, rather at some empty space in the middle distance. It is only when he finishes that last sentence does he turn, meeting the Princess' eyes.

"You came and you visited me. You told me you believed I could do this. Later, Barbara and Dick showed me they could shoulder all this. I never really gave any thought about what my life would be like after. I always thought it would end like this - that day in Metropolis? I thought that was the last day of my life. Maybe I wished it was. But I'll let you in on a secret. When I woke up in that bed down in the cave and saw you there? That night you came to visit me in the coma?"

Another pause, and he stretches out a hand towards her - as if beckoning her to take it.

"I've never been more glad to be alive."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Hearing these words and seeing how its given him an honesty toward her, and a clear happiness that she hasn't seen in him in a long time... she reaches out and takes his hand between both of hers, cupping his with hers. "You are a good man, Bruce. One of the best I have ever known. Seeing you happier in life makes me happier in-turn. I have... watched many good friends pass away in my 'so many uncool years'-" She smirks at him softly then for a moment, but continues. "But there are only a handful that I would really consider to be close enough that I would call them family, you fit into that group. We struggle for very similar things, and this is a bond worth protecting."

She continues to cup his hand and let one of her thumbs gently stroke over the back of his wrist. "It pleases me to see you getting better. It pleases me to see you reaching out to rely more on your family here..." A quick glance to the Manor and then back to Bruce, her brown eyes going up to his. "I feel, positive, about all of this, after a great swell of negativity overwhelmed me only a short while ago when I thought I'd lost not just Superman, but... Bruce Wayne too."

Batman has posed:
Bruce can't help but smile a little at her words. It isn't a smirk, it isn't that half-smile that usually passes for a grin with the usually staid and stoic man. It's an actual smile, radiating warmth all its own. Something uncovered beneath layer after layer of grief and pathos.

"I can't promise I'll ever be able to truly rely on others," he tells her earnestly, "I don't that that's ever been in my nature or ever will be. But I can try. I can try something I've never tried before. Those people in there are my family. I've trained them, loved them, watched them grow. Maybe this is their time now?"

He lifts his other hand now, both pairs clasping one another. He takes a deep breath, as though some great weight presses down on him and he is gathering all his strength to throw it off.

"What you said in the museum that night?" he ventures, "That maybe there'd be time for ... us. In the future. Did you mean it?"

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana's hair is tied behind her head in a pony tail which is gently blowing in the wind behind her shoulders, her eyes are focused solely on that of Bruce's face though and she smiles at his statements on his family, but when he speaks that last question she gently lowers her chin and raises her brows again.

"Have you ever known me to say things that I did not mean?" She asks him counter to that question. A second later she lets a grin grace her lips once again. "Yes, I meant it. Of course I did. I mean... I have searched for a hundred years now for a man that would make my mother truly frown at all of my life choices, and I do believe I have finally found him." Her grin blossoms into an earnest smile, showing off her pearly whites beneath red lips.

"I am just joking, about the mother part. The rest I mean entirely and completely." She gives his hand a soft squeeze again with her own. "I am here to spend as much time with you as I possibly can. If I can help you recover better? Then I am here for that too."

Batman has posed:
Bruce runs his thumb over the back of Diana's hand, eyes closing for a moment. It's the sort of closeness that he had always eschewed out of fear that it would intrude on his life's work. But now that work seemed over - and even if it weren't, who would understand better than the woman he stood shoulder to shoulder with to face down an alien invasion? By whose side he has been on every one of the Justice League's adventures?

A chuckle escapes him, blue eyes lifting from their clasped hands to meet Diana's own. He smiles that small half-smile that is very much him and says: "You know, this is the part where I sweep you off your feet and kiss you."

He then glances at his own legs, both in casts and stretched out before him on the wheelchair's elongated footrest designed to hold them both steady and still.

"But one of us is already swept off his feet."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana watches him as he speaks and she just has a faint smile present upon hearing his response to her. What she does next though is move to stand up and look down at him in his chair again. "Let us worry about you recovering, rather than sweeping feet... at least for now."

"As for kissing... Well." The Princess leans down over him and she moves to press her lips gently against his forehead, perhaps not what he was entirely thinking of, but she gives his forehead a good and tender kiss before she straightens up again.

"We will progress on that along with your health, maybe it will inspire you to recover faster, yes?" And there's another little teasing grin given to him. "Something to think about, at least." She glances back to the house then. "Want to go inside or stay out here for a little longer?" She then asks him.

Batman has posed:
Not the kiss Bruce was expecting, but the one he needed. There's a sigh of contentment - actual contentment - from him as Diana brushes her lips against his forehead. His eyes close and he leans back against the padded headrest of the wheelchair, looking in that moment more relaxed than he has ever looked with her before in all the years they have known one another.

"So, it's bribery, is it?" he teases her, smiling once again, "Then I've got my mission. That's good. I always functioned best when I had a mission."

He doesn't quite let go of her hands just yet, keeping them clasped between his own. He follows her gaze back towards the house, looking at it for a moment before giving a shake of his head. His eyes moved from the house back to Diana, looking at her anew - like a man finding something he was desperately seeking, yet was sitting in front of him all along.

"Out here. Just a little longer."

Wonder Woman has posed:
His questioning her of bribery or not gets a smile followed by a little bubbly laugh from the Princess before she nods softly to him. "It is part of being 'uncool', bribery." She jabs back at him then as she walks around behind his chair and then leans over behind it to place her chin upon his shoulder around the headrest so that their faces can be side by side.

"Then I will stay out here with you." She says in a softer tone of her husky voice. "But only if you take me on a little tour of the grounds and tell me a story or two about your childhood out here, anything that was happy or fun, memories of growing up in such a place as this. Deal?" She asks of him then before she brushes her cheek against his and then rises up again and walks around his chair so that he can move along with her, her eyes going back to him to make sure he's coming, a big smile upon her red lips and her dark ponytail gently breezing around behind her shoulders in the cool November winds.