Less talking, more hitting!
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Avalikia
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Joined March 2022
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Post by Shayera Hol on Mar 23, 2022 5:51:59 GMT -7
As Hawkgirl arrived at her intended destination, she peered curiously at the large figure she'd landed upon. She actually didn't know very much about it, except that she'd double-checked to be sure that it wasn't some sort of religious icon or something along those lines - it would definitely make for a bad first impression if she desecrated something with her presence the moment she arrived. But apparently, it was merely a visual representation of the concept of Justice, so she was reasonably confident that she wouldn't offend anyone by landing on it - not by someone with her reputation, at least. She'd picked the statue's highest point - the top of the hand that held up... something. What was that, anyway?
Though she was hoping to have some company, she couldn't be sure how long it would take to arrive - or even if it would arrive, for that matter. Just because one makes what should be an extremely clear invitation doesn't mean that it will be accepted, after all. She certainly didn't know enough of the protector of this city to gauge how he would react to her presence - in fact, she didn't even know for sure that he wouldn't be hostile. Knowing this, she was quite alert to her surroundings and focused on her senses, especially her hearing because her eyesight became less useful the moment the sun went below the horizon. True, the statue was lit by bright lights from below, but only so much of it reached all the way to the top. Still, though she didn't wish to diminish her hearing, she was also curious and likely to get bored quickly if she didn't do something to keep herself occupied while she waited, so she pulled a small device off of her belt and spoke into it. "The origin and symbolism of the Statue of Justice in Gotham," she stated.
The device quietly beeped an acknowledgment of her request, pausing for a brief moment as it processed her words and retrieved the desired information from the internet. Because she wished to retain most of her ability to hear anything else, she turned the volume down low enough to hardly be audible to human ears, though it was still quite clear to her. "The Statue of Justice was a gift from the people of Germany in the late 19th century to the people of the United States. It is a figure of Justitia, a robed Roman justice goddess. She holds a set of scales above her head with her right hand, and in her left she holds a sword pointed downward with the tip resting by her feet. A blindfold covers her eyes, and she is clothed in a Roman toga.
"The scales are an ancient device designed to compare the weights placed on each side, and she uses it to carefully measure the strength of the support and the opposition of a case. The sword shows her authority, and that she is swift and final. The blindfold leaves her unable to see the wealth, power, or other status of the one whose case is before her. The robes show her to be a philosopher - a lover of wisdom - and thus qualified for her role." As the device explained the statue, Hawkgirl glanced at each element of it in turn, though she otherwise remained silent and still as she waited. The sword she'd immediately recognized as a weapon, but the item held in the other hand was a set of scales? Much of it actually reminded her strangely of home - not that they'd had any depictions of abstract concepts quite like this, but some of the ideas behind it were very familiar to her.
Of course, though she learned much from the explanation, like always it led her to even more questions: Where is Germany? What are Romans? Is it normal for countries to give each other giant statues? Probably basic questions, but she's only been on this planet for about half a year now so she's only had so much time to learn - especially about history when the present is already difficult enough as it is. She learns very quickly, but these things still take some time - especially when she has so many things competing for it. But, even so, if she was more deeply concerned about what she was doing right now she'd not risk distracting herself even this little bit for the sake of her curiosity.
On the other hand, this location was not picked for its educational value, but its tactical value. She knew that this Batman favored the night so she did him the courtesy of arriving just after sunset, but in every other respect she's given herself as much of an advantage as possible in this - unlike Superman, who is quite open about who he is, she knows little of the one she hopes to meet here and that does nothing to encourage any level of immediate trust. Not that she was completely relaxed about meeting someone who was so overtly so much stronger than she was either, but at least she could be more confident that she would be meeting an ally.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 23, 2022 10:43:31 GMT -7
“Master Wayne, I trust that Mr. Fox’s new ‘Bat Wing’ is performing satisfactorily?”
Batman pressed a small green switch on the control panel. “Yes, Alfred. Send Lucius my regards and let him know that we’ll really put her through her paces soon enough.”
While the final product differed from the initial design documents, Lucius had still risen to the challenge and managed to do what many would’ve thought impossible. The design was completely proprietary, taking influence from existing Wayne Tech aircraft, but ensuring that the design was unique enough to draw suspicion away from the company. This meant building nearly everything from scratch in almost complete secrecy from separate contractors. It was a trick they’d managed to pull before with the construction of The Batmobile and the central computer, but a jet was an entirely different prospect.
Batman had been testing the aircraft when the probes picked something small and fast flying through the Gotham airspace. At first, he assumed it was The Kryptonian, but the object was too slow to be him. Before he could even guess, social media and local news sites were already reporting on a “Hawkgirl” sighting in Gotham. He had the footage of her flight over the streets of Gotham streamed directly to the Bat Wing’s holographic HUD. She was clearly trying to get his attention, likely in the hopes of arranging a meeting not dissimilar to the one she had with Superman in Metropolis.
He had heard about Hawkgirl of course, he had made a habit of keeping tabs on every hero that had cropped up since The Kryptonian made himself known. Most of them, Superman included, seemed to be well-intended at the very least – however, that can change at a moment’s notice. Hawkgirl, on the other hand, had publicly admitted a formal relationship with an unknown alien civilization. This fact alone made her an anomaly, bringing into question her allegiances and reasons for being on Earth.
There were more unknowns here than Batman was accustomed to. He’d prefer to take more time and assess her from afar, dig deeper into government databases, and generally find out a bit more before confronting her face to face. However, she was the one requesting an introduction, and his gut told him that she was acting in good faith. He would respond in kind and give her a chance to make her case, everyone got one chance.
A small orange dot pinged on the HUD, indicating the Bat Wing’s destination: The Statue of Justice. An interesting choice of locale, the ideal spot for a meeting where both parties can fly. Given his name and general reputation, The Thanagarian might be forgiven for assuming that Batman could also naturally fly. It’s an assumption that many have made in the past, but his instincts told him that she wasn’t the kind of person to jump to conclusions. She might just be playing to her strengths and had chosen the venue accordingly. Smart, he would’ve done the same.
A chirp from the control panel indicated that the Bat Wing was above its destination. Batman pushed the control wheel forward, sending the plane into a nosedive. The clouds parted as the aircraft’s jet-black nose poked through the burnt orange sky and broke free from the troposphere. He watched on his display as the altimeter began to count down. Rapidly the meters ticked by as the glittering sea water drew nearer and nearer until, in a sudden jerk, Batman raised the pitch on the Bat Wing and leveled itself out. Just as soon as the vessel was steady, he slammed the release on the cockpit and was launched into the sky, a few meters above the statue where The Thanagarian was waiting.
The Bat Wing autopilot kicked in, it shot forward into the horizon unmanned, leaving the Batman alone in the sky. He spread his cape like a pair of massive wings and glided down the rest of the way to the monument, landing on the statue’s hand opposite of The Thanagarian. The cold evening wind whipped past him, billowing his cape as he raised himself up from his landing. He looked her over with a probing gaze. The reports were more or less accurate, but she was certainly shorter than he had expected.
“You wanted to see me,” Batman said. “Here I am.”
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Avalikia
12 Posts
Joined March 2022
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Post by Shayera Hol on Mar 23, 2022 13:07:28 GMT -7
One of the many things that Hawkgirl hadn't learned very much about yet was aircraft identification. She knew many general things about them, like what a jet engine is and what it's capable of, and enough about air traffic patterns to make a long flight like the one she made to Metropolis a few days ago without disrupting anything. But though she knew most commercial aircraft looked roughly the same (albeit a bit larger or a bit smaller), private and military aircraft were so varied that she hadn't the slightest idea how to tell what might be a standard design and what was unique.
Even more so, she couldn't do so at night with the darkness limiting her vision. And though her hearing was acute enough to detect subtle differences in jet engines that might hint at which are standard and which are not, she didn't yet know them well enough to tell the difference. She also didn't necessarily know what the standard practices were for aircraft in and around cities, so though she heard an aircraft overhead, it didn't actually grab her attention until it was quite close even though everything about the jet itself and how it was being flown would have otherwise seemed unusual.
But even if a downward plunge in her direction didn't catch her attention immediately, when it came close enough for its tragectory to be nothing but intentional she not only noticed it but assumed it was some manner of response to her prescence - she wouldn't think that such maneuvers would be standard practice so close to such a valued statue. Even so, it began to get so close that her wings spread slightly in instinctive anticipation that it may be possible that she'd need to move - she was slow to assume that it was attempting to crash into her on purpose, but human aircraft were incredibly clumsy in her eyes and the maneuver it was attempting was delicate enough for her to have some concern that it couldn't manage it.
Yet not too concerned, because it began to slow and prove itself to be more nimble than expected long before she really considered whether or not to get out of the way. Instead, she remained still except to silence her device and clip it back onto her belt, simply observing as the aircraft ejected its pilot and continued on without him, and then his glide to a landing on the other side of the giant hand of the statue - not an impressive move by Thanagarian standards, though she'd yet to see a human do such a thing at all. Then again, she didn't know whether or not he was human - a planet with two known aliens on it could easily have a third, after all - though for the moment she saw nothing about him that indicated he wasn't.
For an instant, their eyes locked as each cast a careful, probing gaze at the other. Even with the darkness hindering her eyesight and about as much of her expression hidden beneath her helmet as was hidden by his cowl, there was a certain very predatory intensity to her eyes that seemed to bore right into whatever she was looking at, especially when she was as focused as she was at this moment. Furthermore, though he'd carefully crafted his image to strike fear into criminals, to the point that some flinched at the very sight of him, there was no sign of that here - in fact, she held the bearing of someone who could strike plenty of fear in others on sight herself.
Except after that instant, she spoiled it with an amused smirk of her lips. Not that she found him the least bit funny - actually, he'd managed to impress her to a degree with his whole... thing. Though she'd attempted to learn what she could about Batman before coming here, he avoided the spotlight far more than she did so she had much less to go on and she hadn't really known what to expect. And she knew enough about subtle intimidation tactics to know when they were being applied, even if it would take a lot more to truly move her - she could easily imagine that they worked well enough when she wasn't the target.
As it was, she allowed herself to relax to a certain degree - his words indicated a willingness to talk, a small but positive first step, so she reciprocated by allowing the subtle tension of one who is ready for anything to leave her features as she folded her arms across her chest. Not enough to remove the air of caution that surrounded her at this moment, but if they were having a conversation then the only thing she expected to have to guard against was words.
"Yes, and I hope that it's right that I am here," she replied, her words slow yet confident and the smirk slowly faded to a more serious expression, "But I wanted a first meeting with you - you have taken my interest and I would like to learn more." Already her words and how she says them provide little hints about her - though Batman surely would have come across some of the few, short statements she'd said that had ended up being recorded, already these sentences are longer than those. And that reveals a certain lack of fluency to them, the words still somewhat foreign to her, yet she pronounces them without much of an accent - she would almost fit in with the people of New England generally, with only the slightest hint of a Southern twang. Which is strange because only about three days ago she was only known to have been in Louisiana, and the few, short sentences she'd spoken there were with a Southern twang in full force - neither now nor then was there any trace of whatever alien language Thanagarians presumably speak in her tone.
"Little is said of you, and it is not in agreement with itself - I would like to have knowledge of the truth," she added, wondering to what degree that feeling was mutual. She had little beyond first impressions to go on, but she already noticed that there were a number of apparent similarities between them in addition to the obvious differences. Already he didn't strike her as being nearly as innocent as the Kryptonian.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 24, 2022 0:13:58 GMT -7
The woman before him was an officer of some kind, there was no doubt of that now. As her eyes looked him over, he could feel her sizing him up, assessing him as a skilled tactician would any potential threat. He could tell right away that she was familiar with the kinds of theatrics Batman employed, and he wouldn’t waste either of their time by demonstrating any further. His display had sent the intended message; that he wasn’t out of his element up here and he could adapt to anything she threw at him. If your enemies have guns, buy Kevlar; if they can fly, build a multi-million-dollar experimental jet.
Of course, he didn’t yet count The Thanagarian amongst his enemies. Neither was she necessarily the reason he built the Bat Wing, that investment had far more to do with that unknown variable from Metropolis…
Either way, she was here now, which was unexpected but not completely unaccounted for. He had been working on tactical appraisals of all these emergent heroes. For Hawkgirl, he had less intel to go on than many of the others – she was considerably more publicity-shy than The Kryptonian or that speedster from Central City. Her most obvious weakness was her wings, immobilizing them would rob her of an advantageous position. However, any attempt to do so would likely be a temporary measure and must be followed by another critical blow to keep her from rallying.
Sound? Light? If her senses are that attuned, then maybe the device designed to target the Kryptonian’s heightened hearing could double as a contingency against her.
As the Thanagarian relaxed, Batman kept his guard up. She was an unknown, someone with allegiances and intentions that he could not yet verify. The only proper protocol was to tread cautiously and carefully. As she began to speak her words were awkward and often misplaced, but her meanings and pronunciation were clear. An impressive degree of fluency for someone who’s only been on Earth for several months.
Fascinating, no lingering hints of an alien accent. Does this imply a cognitive difference between Humans and Thanagarians? Mental note: Acquire further material relating to human language acquisition to establish a baseline. Edward Sapir and Chomsky would be good places to start.
The quality of her English aside, Hawkgirl’s demands seemed reasonable, but there was still the pressing question of her motivations. He began to slowly approach her as he spoke, the fall of each step echoing through the hollow copper. If she wanted the truth, she was going to have to provide some of her own. “I couldn’t agree more, Peace Officer,” he said in a stern, gravelly voice. “Let’s start with a simple question: what is the nature of your business in this part of the galaxy? Why are your people interested in us? Tell me the truth, and then I’ll decide whether or not you’re welcome here.”
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Avalikia
12 Posts
Joined March 2022
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Post by Shayera Hol on Mar 24, 2022 9:51:16 GMT -7
Though Batman may have felt that he'd demonstrated a familiarity with the skies, did Hawkgirl agree? Not really. True, she'd never seen such feats performed on this planet before, but she came from a planet where everyone has wings and, while it's true certain individuals are lazier or clumsier than she is, they at least have the possibility of being able to do better than he did without any equipment at all - they are born to do it, while he merely showed that he was capable of getting there at all. Then again, she simply had extremely high standards for all things airborne - she'd noticed plenty of things she could have critiqued about the Kryptonian's flying abilities.
Even so, she hesitated to come to too many conclusions too quickly about the person before her. In fact, though she was quick to assume that he probably couldn't fly on his own accord because he used an aircraft and a glider built into his cape, she knew that just because someone does something using equipment doesn't mean that they can't - in fact, in some cases, it could be a good tactical move when meeting someone who is unfamiliar with you to pretend to weaknesses you don't have so she wouldn't rule it out completely without more evidence. Especially not immediately after meeting someone who could fly with no wings at all.
Speaking of her wings, even loosely folded behind her as they were now they proved to appear even in person that they were as real and bird-like as they did from the photos and videos he would have seen. And it was even more clear to see that they weren't actually hawk-like in their shape, broad and designed for soaring, but more tapered like the wing of a falcon or a swallow - designed for speed and maneuverability over stamina. Then again, that's assuming that alien biology matches Earth biology just because it looks the same, which must at least be partially untrue in this case because even her impressive wingspan wouldn't be enough to lift someone her size off of the ground otherwise, and yet he's seen her fly without difficulty while carrying heavy loads.
When he continued to appear quite a bit more guarded than she was, this actually did amuse her - her relaxed state didn't really mean that she was unable to react quickly if something should happen, only that she wasn't expecting something to happen. This Batman was quite the suspicious person, that was for sure. She could be quite suspicious herself if she thought she had a reason to be, but as things stood thus far she didn't think she did.
Which was why she was unbothered by his approach - if he dared to do so then she dared to allow him. What she cared far more about at this moment was his words, not his actions. Not that she was especially concerned when they revealed that he'd paid attention to some of the answers she'd given to the inquisitive press - it's not like she hadn't paid close attention to such things herself - or that he had questions and suspicions about it. Though the answers she had given then and would give now were mostly lies, she was no amateur and knew that there was literally no way on Earth for him to know otherwise. If he was suspicious it was only because he was a suspicious person.
"I have no business here - coming here was a thing gone wrong. My people have no knowledge of this place, to my knowledge," she explained quite easily. But then her words became much slower and more uncertain and a frown of concentration reached her lips as what she had to say began to reach the limits of her vocabulary, as impressive as it was for someone with the limited amount of time she'd been on this planet, "I was brought here by a... ray... of six... spatial... measures..." Or at least that was as well as she thought she could describe it at the moment. Perhaps this Batman would understand at least somewhat of what she meant.
Or perhaps not, because she added, "It is a thing not known to this place and not right to use by my people." And it was certainly difficult to attempt to even describe it when there may not even be correct words for it on a planet without the technology - in fact, she suspected that they didn't even know it was possible here yet. "I was attempting to stop a group of smugglers when it came about," she explained further - a perfectly valid reason for a peace officer to have come in contact with it.
"And what of you?" she asked, opting for one of the most open-ended questions possible, just to see what he would say if given free rein. Already he didn't strike her as being especially chatty, but she'd take whatever he was willing to give up freely and decide what else she wanted to know and how to get it out of him from there.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 25, 2022 0:22:30 GMT -7
It was nearly night by now, the oranges and pinks of the sky were slowly fading into a deep black. The vast cityscape behind the detective glittered in the gloom of twilight, their lights and shapes captured by the still waters of Gotham Harbor. It was those same lights, however, that hid the stars in the sky above. That was just one of those things you had to get used to in Gotham.
As the Thanagarian spoke, Batman took further note of her unusual speaking pattern. Her word choice provided him with little to analyze, it was unclear if certain phrases were chosen to conceal the truth or simply due to poor English. It occurred to him that this language barrier may simply be a ruse to throw him off balance; if that was the case, he needed to be especially wary.
He took a special interest in her mention of the means of her transportation. It seemed that whatever it was, there was no direct translation to English, but Batman had a solid idea of the circumstances that had brought her here. “What you mean to say is that you did not arrive by conventional means. Instead, you were brought, unwillingly, and through the use of illicit technology -- some kind of teleporter, I presume -- to a planet that is outside of your people’s reach.” It was a strange story, but he figured that any tale that featured a winged alien would seem somewhat incredible.
Regardless, he had no way to verify the details of her story. He could press her more for details about this supposed technology, her civilization, and her duties as a peace officer; but without anything to cross-examine this against, that would serve little utility outside of satisfying his curiosity. As such, the ultimate test of her character would be through her actions.
“If you say you and your people pose no threat to us, then I will hold you to your word. Based on your actions alone, I have no reason to believe you would harm the people of my city; you made no such move in Metropolis, and there is little to suggest that you intend to do so in the future. However, do not mistake my goodwill for trust; I am only choosing to take you at your word because I have yet to find reason to believe that you are lying. If I discover that your presence here poses a threat, I will not hesitate to act against you. Is this understood?”
The lines in the sand had been firmly drawn, and now it was up to Hawkgirl to see where she stood. Batman wondered what the one in Metropolis had said, did he present her with a similar arrangement? Probably not, Superman didn’t seem the assertive type, someone with his powers must be used to getting what he wants with little resistance. He might not even be aware of how afraid those around him must be.
When asked about himself, Batman chose to be deliberately enigmatic. “I am the vengeance enacted upon those who would harm this city,” he said in a firm, cold whisper. “That should answer enough for you.” It wouldn’t, and Batman was aware that his response left much to be desired, but he wouldn’t take the obvious bait presented by an open-ended question. If she wanted to know something, she was going to have to get more specific.
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Avalikia
12 Posts
Joined March 2022
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Post by Shayera Hol on Mar 25, 2022 2:37:53 GMT -7
There were few things on Hawkgirl's mind at the moment beyond the conversation at hand. Though it hadn't been something she'd had in mind when she decided that she wanted to meet Batman here, the fact that there weren't many distractions was a bonus. In your typical city landscape, the omnipresent sights and sounds within the range of her highly acute senses and her natural instinct to be on the alert for danger at almost all times was a bit of a distraction. There were still plenty of sights and sounds even here, but most of them were so overtly harmless it was easy to pay them no mind - though she wouldn't mind returning to this location again at a more relaxed moment simply to enjoy the view.
For now, however, she was extremely focused as she listened to Batman rephrase what she'd attempted to say. It caused her lips to shift into a satisfied smile. "Yes!" she said with some enthusiasm, "Almost - but I do not have in mind the words to say it more clearly. Maybe I will when I have a chance to better learn what your people have knowledge of in science." Yes, his understanding wasn't quite perfect, but it was definitely very close and certainly enough to satisfy her. The specific details weren't very important anyway, as long as he understood that she'd been separated from her people because that was the essential point.
It all came down to trust - if she could freely return to her people then too many would forever assume that she would act in their interest over anything else. If she was a castaway with no means of return then at the very worst she could only be assumed to be acting in her own self-interest, which she could easily make appear to be tied to the fate of the planet itself - only the most crazed and deviant would seek to destroy the planet they themselves live on. She would need to gain even more trust than just that, but it was a quick and solid way to start.
As he stated his willingness to believe her story for the time being, which wasn't a surprise because he really didn't have any other options besides that except to decide that she was too risky to interact with at all, her expression grew serious again and she was quick to nod, "Yes. The only people in this place who need to fear me are those who harm the good - but I know that it will take time for you to be certain of this." That much was true of nearly anyone, but it was easy to see that this was especially the case for someone like Batman. But that was fine, she could work with that.
One interesting thing to notice at this point in the conversation was that though Batman had now talked at greater length than Hawkgirl had, including more complex sentence structure and several more difficult words, she didn't show any sign of having any difficulty in understanding. Something that she could be faking - perhaps she'd only understood the gist of it, but not everything - but it could also be that she did understand all of it. And if the latter was the case, that meant that her comprehension was greater than her ability to create - a common stage for language learners to go through, but that also meant she might be even further along in the process than she initially seemed to be.
When her question was answered so evasively, at first the only response Hawkgirl gave was a thoughtful tilt of her head. Yet it was a pregnant pause as it was easy to see from her expression that she was carefully mulling over the words with as much care as a chess player considering their next move. Still, she didn't let the silence hang for very long before she stated, "You break the law. The police do not like you. Many of those you keep safe fear you, not only those you fight." Yet the words were not accusatory - simply a statement of facts, really - and if anything she simply looked curious to see how he would react to them. "Maybe I am not the only one who is hard to believe," she observed.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Mar 29, 2022 5:43:37 GMT -7
Trust was a luxury that Batman could not afford. He had been burned before, badly. He had watched the noblest of men betray their duties and wear their true colors. The only thing that could be counted on was for people to behave in their own self-interests, basic human nature. He was not naïve enough to assume that didn’t also apply to aliens.
Hawkgirl pressed him further, raising the question of his methods and casting doubt on his motives. It was the typical case against The Batman, consisting of the same talking points one could find on phone-in radio shows and newspaper editorials. If she wanted to rattle his cage, she would need to try harder. However, he doubted that she came all this way to pick a fight. Besides, her intonation and demeanor didn’t carry the weight of an accusation - she was merely being blunt and deliberate. Through the eyes of her helmet, he could see her probing him with a disaffected curiosity -- not unlike a chess player waiting for her opponent to make a move.
He remained silent for a moment, allowing the sound of ambient wind and the distant wail of fog horns to fill the vacuum between them. Behind the cowl, he maintained his icy stoicism – glaring down at The Thanagarian through white lenses. He was difficult to read at the best of times. The dim glow of the twilight sky shrouded his face in shadow, giving his already enigmatic appearance an added layer of gloom.
“There’s a lot that you miss soaring up there in the sky: the ugly parts of the world, the pits of utter desperation. That’s where I dwell, the places where the supermen don’t go.” He spoke calmly and with a deep, gravelly timbre. “If you don’t think it’s necessary to go into those places; to make fear and suspicion your allies, then you’re a damn fool.” She had tried to force him on the defense, and it was only fair that he respond in kind.
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Avalikia
12 Posts
Joined March 2022
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Post by Shayera Hol on Mar 29, 2022 9:08:18 GMT -7
As relaxed as she was, Hawkgirl did not cease to hold the one she was talking to under careful scrutiny, gleaning what she could from an exterior even as stoic as his. It wasn't only that his earlier theatrics had failed to move her, but that she was even now within her element - meeting someone of unknown provenience in unfamiliar surroundings on a planet she was only beginning to understand was not really that unfamiliar of a situation to be in. She had confidence but also caution borne of long experience.
And his response to her words was given as much attention as the rest of him, though when it was turned back on her she didn't become defensive. Instead, the implied insult made her laugh - a short, deep sound that brought another smile to her face. Because it wasn't really her that he may have insulted and, what's more, she didn't disagree. "Those ideas were not mine, but are what he told me when I asked his opinion of you," she stated, "And you're right: he is a fool. But a good one."
But her humor didn't last for very long as she added, "I hope he keeps that goodness when his not true ideas are shaken by what is true, as they surely will in time." This was no small matter given that she was talking about an individual with so much more power than anyone else that he shared the planet with, though there wasn't really anything to be done about it at the moment except keep a watchful eye out - something she certainly intended to do.
Though all of that was merely an aside to what brought her to here and now. And Batman had made some assumptions that she ought to correct. "I myself have knowledge of darkness - there is much of that even far from this place, and I have far more experience than you would take to be true to look at me," she said, a flicker of the intensity that had crossed her features when he first arrived briefly returning. But it was gone again when she added, "But in connection with things of this one place I am very much at the start of things and have a great amount to learn. So I fly with great care through currents of air not yet experienced by me." She was, after all, a very different alien from the one she'd spent the last few days with.
Still, there was one other thing she knew she ought to make clear, though the severity was lessened somewhat when amusement returned to her face yet again, "But that doesn't make me in agreement with you - I still do not have that knowledge." Just because she wasn't as quick to judge him without even meeting him as Superman was, felt like she'd learned a lot about him already, and believed that she had a better basis for understanding him than an idealist like Superman could ever have didn't mean that she automatically trusted Batman's motives and methods. She didn't even fully know what they even were, after all.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Apr 1, 2022 21:04:56 GMT -7
As Batman had predicted, Hawkgirl wasn’t taken aback by his challenge If anything, she seemed somewhat amused by the implication that she was uninformed regarding the dark realities of life. She was older than she appeared, that much was obvious, but how much older? Again, he wouldn’t bother asking -- he’d come to his own conclusions in time.
What really intrigued him, however, was her mention of The Kryptonian. So, Superman held his own suspicions. That wasn’t surprising, if anything it was good to know that they had some common ground.
He had reason to believe that Superman had honest intentions; he had been nothing if not transparent about his beliefs, naïve as they were. He wasn’t The Batman’s enemy, not yet anyway. However, he was a banner-waving sycophant who spoke in slogans and platitudes, which made him dangerous. It would be easy for someone to turn him into their puppet; simply apply the right pressures, appeal to his patriotic zeal, and you could have the perfect weapon. Or, even worse, he could simply lose control – it’s happened to better men than him.
“He can’t afford to be any kind of fool, ‘good’ or otherwise,” Batman said, the animosity in his voice clearer than ever. “That power would make anyone dangerous, especially a naïve boy scout. You met him; you know what he can do. Do you think someone like that can be allowed to continue unchecked?” If he had learned anything about Hawkgirl, it was that she was smart and intuitive. She had been deliberate with him, watching him carefully even through her relaxed exterior. If she was smart, and she was, she would understand where he was coming from.
“I imagine he said something similar about me; how it’s dangerous for anybody to act outside the law, that I can’t keep taking it into my own hands.” That would be Superman’s style, words backed up with nothing but blind ideology. Talk is cheap, and The Detective learned long ago that words are only worth so much. “If you want to know what I am, spend some time in Gotham. You’ll learn quickly how necessary my methods are.” Again, talk is cheap, and she was too smart to trust words alone.
He did want her to remain in Gotham, at least for the time being. He wanted her close by so that he could monitor and if need be, detain her at a moment’s notice. Besides, he didn’t suspect that she posed any risk in the short term, and she might even prove a useful resource. As long as she demonstrated the same restraint with criminals that she had shown in St. Roch, he didn’t see her posing too much of a problem.
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Post by Shayera Hol on Apr 2, 2022 3:12:44 GMT -7
The thing that Hawkgirl found the most interesting at this moment was just how easily her talk of Superman caught Batman's attention, and yet she knew that neither man had really attempted to interact with the other. She already felt she knew why Superman left Batman alone, but it didn't make immediate sense to her why someone like Batman would do the same - not when the journey to Metropolis was so short, even by human standards, and not when so much could be learned from even a short conversation. Not that she wasn't short on theories, but she'd keep them to herself - she expected to be able to improve upon those theories before they mattered anyway.
At the words, and more especially the hostility in them, that Batman said in regard to the Kryptonian, Hawkgirl's head tilted in curiosity and interest, though by the time he finished with that particular question she was frowning with a mixture of frustration and disappointment. She paused before answering, giving herself some time to choose her words, though the mood of her thoughts was reflected by a certain restless shifting of her wings, which had been relatively still up until this point. "You do not give him enough credit," she said first, her tone suddenly very firm and suggesting that she was not open to argument on that point. "But you are right," she conceded, though that hint of agreement was immediately subdued when she added, "But you are right for the wrong reason."
She calmed somewhat as she attempted to elaborate by adding, "In the short length of time, he is not a trouble. In the longer length of time..." But then her words trailed off and her frustration seemed to return with a vengeance - the problem was that they'd ventured into a topic that was getting very delicate, speaking tactfully wasn't her strong suit even at the best of times, and attempting to do so in a language that still gave her problems was getting so difficult that she really didn't want to continue. When she noted to herself that it was also not something that they really needed to discuss at length right here, right now - she'd hardly come here to argue with Batman about Superman - and, furthermore, they were more likely to agree or at least understand each other on this matter if they knew each other better first, that encouraged her to drop that line of thought completely. She sighed heavily to release her frustration and simply said, "One step at a time."
When Batman guessed more of the details of what Superman had said, Hawkgirl simply nodded without further comment. Though it was the contradiction she'd noted in Superman's opinions that had been the last impetus to convince her to go and see this Batman for herself - if Gotham's protector was such a problem, why hadn't Superman gone and taken care of him as he did with any other person he called a criminal? There was a nuance here that she didn't quite understand because it didn't exist on Thanagar - yet another cultural difference to learn, but this time much more important than those she'd learned about previously.
Which was one of the actually several reasons why she was instantly interested in his invitation. Though she immediately indicated that she saw right through one of his reasons. "And you need to keep an eye on me," she said with a small smirk, "That doesn't trouble me. I need to put myself in a different place anyway - St. Roch is too small for me and doesn't need me very much anymore. And I also need to be where I can keep an eye on our friend - this is close enough." It was a big step to decide upon so quickly, but the very fact that her main hesitation about Gotham was that she knew so little about it meant that she'd probably learn the most. Besides, she'd always have the option of moving back out if she regretted it later.
Her mind quickly shifted over to the logistics of the idea. "I like to work by day so we should not get in each other's way too much, but I also need to learn from you directly from time to time," she commented, smirking again as she perceptively added, "And you need to see how well I fight."
If she was correct in what she understood about him already, she knew he would have some of the same concerns about her as he did about the Kryptonian. And regardless of what Batman had learned about her before now, she knew that he didn't know the limits of her fighting ability - mainly because the criminals of St. Roch simply hadn't been difficult enough to provide her with a real challenge, so the only thing he could possibly have seen was that she could absolutely dominate rank and file thugs, which would have only told him so much. So if he saw her as a possible threat, which she didn't doubt, he'd want to know that.
Not that she didn't have even more reasons than she'd mentioned for wanting to move to Gotham, and not that none of them had nothing to do with finding out more about what Batman could do - not just how and why.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on Apr 10, 2022 5:43:41 GMT -7
Meetings like this were unusual for him, he usually preferred to analyze in secret and plan from the shadows. There was an obvious utility in a face-to-face meeting; however, arranging such a meeting typically meant tipping one’s hand by revealing oneself to the opposition. Secrecy and illusion were valuable tools in The Batman’s arsenal, they made up for his own human shortcomings – weaknesses that the Kryptonian lacked. The less Superman knew about him, the greater an advantage he had, and Hawkgirl had confirmed his suspicions that Superman indeed knew very little. He was aware that was likely to change with her arrival, she was a two-way street; just as likely to share information about Superman as she was to relay info back to him. He needed to be mindful of what he shared.
Their conversation had encroached on sensitive territory, she clearly had respect for Superman, but it was clear that she wasn’t entirely unsympathetic to Batman’s concerns. She wasn’t comfortable answering those questions, perhaps due to her unfamiliarity with the language or her own apprehensions regarding how much of her own intentions the answers would reveal. Possibly both. It would take time and a better understanding of her motives before he had any real answers, and there was no rush. They could both agree that Superman wasn’t likely to pose a risk in the short term; in the long term, however…
He disregarded the thought, there wasn’t any use in dwelling on that right now. Hawkgirl already posed plenty of questions of her own, his attention needed to be in the here and now. He needed to keep an eye on her, especially if she were to remain here in Gotham. It wasn’t that he anticipated that she would pose a threat to the people of Gotham, in fact, she might even prove a useful resource from time to time; but if she were to remain here, he would need to be able to track her down at a moment’s notice. Any device he planted on her wouldn’t be permanent, she was going to come across it eventually. But in the short term, it would help establish her consistent patterns and haunts. Humans were creatures of habit, and Batman was willing to guess that Thanagarians shared that trait.
As soon as the thought had crossed his mind, Hawkgirl had already correctly assumed his motives. The corner of his mouth curled up into a subtle smirk. It wasn’t a difficult assumption to make, but she wasn’t willing to feign ignorance and ignore the obvious. He respected that, she recognized where they stood and wasn’t going to give him the pleasure of believing he had gotten one over on her.
“Naturally,” he said, his smile fading back into a firm glare. “You wanted my attention, and now you have it. I intend to keep a much closer eye on you from here on out, Peace Officer.” He may be developing some respect for her abilities, but that didn’t change anything. She was still firmly an unknown, and time would tell whether she would prove to be more trouble than she was worth.
Reaching his hand down towards his belt, he withdrew a small earpiece and offered it to her. “This device is tuned to an encrypted frequency; it’ll allow us to remain in touch while you’re in Gotham.” What he failed to explain was that inside the device was a small tracking chip, no larger than the tip of a ballpoint pen. If she was familiar with human technology, it would be difficult -- but not impossible -- to remove it without also disabling the earpiece.
“I expect to hear from you regularly. Understood?”
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Post by Shayera Hol on Apr 10, 2022 12:54:51 GMT -7
Though one might find her head-on approach to things uncautious, and perhaps be right about that to some degree, for Hawkgirl it was more that she was simply extremely confident. Not that she wasn't perfectly capable of being careful when she knew she had reason to be, but she wasn't very intimidated by the unknown just because it was unknown - not after the sheer number of times she'd confronted it in the past. In fact, she usually found that the quicker she confronted the unknown the more she caught it off guard, and that ended up being an advantage.
And that attitude also extended to her willingness to be transparent. While she was perfectly capable of pretending to be less perceptive than she actually was, and there were certain advantages to doing so, instead she preferred the other set of advantages that came with being clear about what was in the open and what was not. Not that she wasn't clearly withholding some things as well, but what was also clear was that Batman would be a massive hypocrite to complain. As she'd said: one step at a time.
Hawkgirl certainly noticed the slight smirk that came to his face, brief as it was, and it pleased her to see it - good, he wasn't completely without humor. And while her every opinion of him wasn't completely complimentary and he'd managed to conceal much of himself from even her keen perception, she too already felt a certain level of respect for him. She may respect the idealism and strength of character of the Kryptonian, but she also respected the realism and pragmatism that Batman seemed to have in much greater measure. If Batman proved his value, she just might have to insist that they meet, even if neither of them wanted it themselves.
Though the consequence of his reserve was that she couldn't make up her mind about him yet, which was why her smirk became more ironic when he so sternly told her that he'd be keeping an eye on her. "That's fair," she replied, "After all, you have my attention whether you wanted it or not, vigilante." In direct contrast to the way he said it, though, there was a certain playful undertone - just because it was serious business didn't mean that she wasn't going to have any fun.
She watched, immediately curious, when he reached for his belt and quickly accepted the offered object when he held it out to her. Even as he briefly explained what it was, she slowly turned it over in her hands to carefully inspect it. Human technology was something she'd already studied a lot, but it was a very broad subject and she had a lot more to learn about it. Of course, even if she knew everything there was only so much that could be ascertained about it without taking it apart with tools she didn't exactly carry around with her, even with her eyes.
So, after a few moments, she clipped it to her belt. Why she didn't try it out wasn't obvious, but there could have been a lot of reasons, including the fact that her headpiece ended just below the level of her ears - assuming that they're reasonably human-like under there - so perhaps it would simply be difficult to get it into place. While her hand was at her belt, she traded the earpiece for the device she'd used while she'd been waiting for Batman.
It was a small, white cylinder that fit easily into her hand. Nothing about it appeared to be alien - in fact, the materials it was made from looked common enough. Though the exact design of it was probably custom, or at least Batman wouldn't have seen anything quite like it before. She made a slight adjustment to it and, though she'd seemed to initially ignore his question between looking at his device and retrieving her own, she commented, "That sounded like an order..." And, rather than addressing that further, she spoke into her device, "Define 'encrypted'."
The device beeped an acknowledgment, now quite a bit louder because she'd increased the volume so that Batman could hear it - it was only polite. It was a much easier query than her question about the statue so its response was immediate. "Coded or ciphered. In computing, information that has been changed using a computer code to make it unclear to unapproved users, while allowing approved users to convert the data back to its original form." She frowned in concentration as it explained, and for a moment after it finished, but then understanding came to her. "Ah, edj bokboh! Useful," she commented mostly to herself, before asking, "In Gotham but not further?" That seemed a bit limited to her, but the aircraft led her to believe he didn't share her sense of distance.
"It will take a couple of days for me to finish what I need to, get a place to stay, and all of that - I don't have nearly your resources," she said with a smile, "But after that, I'll be ready for anything and I might get started even sooner if there is a trouble." And at that she turned her head to look at Gotham, currently illuminated with the lights of early evening. Though nobody would describe St. Roch as small, this city was certainly on a different level and she suspected its problems matched its scale - especially if Batman's disposition was anything to go by.
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Post by Bruce Wayne on May 1, 2022 1:42:15 GMT -7
Batman never pretended that he wasn’t a vigilante. While he had been evasive and distant in his dealings with Hawkgirl. he had never misrepresented what he was. He was a vigilante, and so was she. She may have been an officer on her planet, but she was far outside of her jurisdiction and had repeatedly taken the law into her own hands. Powers or no, she was no better than he was, and to suggest otherwise was nothing short of hypocrisy.
He chose to let the first comment slide, it was better to disregard pithy asides than dignify them with a response, but he couldn’t let the passing remark about orders slide. “I am not your commander, nor am I your handler; if I thought you needed either, I wouldn’t have wasted a second on you.” His voice was sharp but steady and firm. A slight hint of irritation had begun to show itself through the stoic mask. For the last ten years, everything that Bruce had accomplished had been in the interest of the mission. Nothing else mattered. If they were to work together, she would leave the banter and the ego behind. She might be willing to waste energy on such things, but he was not.
Eager to move on, he redirected his attention to the small device she had removed from her belt. It was curious but not of immediate concern. The technology seemed human enough – probably not far removed from a commercial smartphone – however, the design was unique to any such device on the market. She had likely based it on some form of technology foreign to earth, even if its makeup was human. He watched as she spoke into the device, and the machine droned out a simple definition, likely sourced from some online encyclopedia or database. Still, it was far more convenient than any commercial device. It might be worth reviewing its design if Hawkgirl would let him. Although, if she did construct it herself, that would indicate a familiarity with human technology, confirming his theory that his tracker would likely only prove a temporary solution.
He nodded in response to her question. Bruce Wayne could easily facilitate a means of relatively secure communication that encompassed the entire globe, but that might prove somewhat excessive. He didn’t foresee any need for communication that went far beyond Gotham’s borders; the city’s protection was his mandate, after all. Leaving the city was already unusual for him, and now that he was working with Hawkgirl, he’d be even less eager to go for an extended period of time.
A year ago, he wouldn’t have even entertained the thought, and in truth, he was still cold on the idea of a partnership. While it was true that he had formed a small and dependable circle of allies in the last year, those relationships were created out of necessity. Batman can’t operate entirely independently of institutional power if he is to remain faithful to his purpose – he’ll always need those “friends in high places.” Hawkgirl, conversely, could be a very different resource, a blunt object that will surely raise hell within the criminal underworld. An interesting experiment, one that could pay off if she can toe the line.
The “Peace Officer” turned her attention away from him and gazed at the shimmering skyline. Out here, the desperation and the rot were hard to see. Only the shining towers, the blithe baubles that masked the inhumanity were visible. Could she see past it? He wondered. Was this same hypocrisy present where she came from? The answers would present themselves in time. He removed a small remote from his belt and pressed it, the Batwing’s recall. It would arrive in a moment, and he would be free to continue his nightly patrol.
“One last note, Peace Officer.” The eyes behind the white lenses were fixed on hers, unblinking, unwavering. His voice was grave, his lips pursed in anticipation. This was the most important thing he had said all night, and he wanted there to be no room for misunderstanding between them. “We don’t kill, not ever. That’s a line that I won’t let either of us cross, no matter the circumstances.” He spoke the words -- not as an order -- but instead with the sincerity of a promise. He would hold the both of them to this standard, whether she liked it or not.
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Less talking, more hitting!
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Post by Shayera Hol on May 1, 2022 8:20:25 GMT -7
If Hawkgirl knew that Batman considered her to be a vigilante, she would have laughed. Aside from her exceedingly questionable immigration status (and her purpose in being on the planet, but let's ignore that), she adhered to the law. Perhaps not with extreme strictness, but her violations of it were no more than your average human who speeds from time to time. There was much that a private citizen was allowed to do, especially one who had a hard time finding a situation that put her into actual danger, which was perfectly legal. Of course, Batman was perhaps the last person who would care to know precisely where that fine line was drawn.
As distracted as she appeared to be with her device, his words accidentally triggered thoughts she tried desperately to avoid - her commander, her betrothed, Hro, who she hadn't had any contact at all with for six months. This wasn't her first mission, but she had never been so homesick and she knew it was because she hadn't been promised before either. It was going to be very difficult, especially since she knew she was still only at the beginning of her mission and had a long time to go yet.
Though her helmet obscured much of her expressions, she was no actress. But she kept the reason for her slight, sad pause to herself as she quickly stepped away from it and lightly stated, "Good, that will save you a great amount of trouble." In spite of that hint of emotion, her tone still carried a confident undercurrent that matched the rest of her mannerisms thus far.
And none of it distracted her from catching the irritation hidden behind his voice, but she didn't let that bother her. He struck her as being the type who respected skill and dedication, so she didn't doubt that she'd win him over even if first impressions somewhat rubbed him the wrong way. It was easy to accuse her of having an ego, but it was difficult to argue whether it was inflated or if she was simply aware of her capabilities. She herself was tempted to make the same accusation in the opposite direction, but perhaps he would manage to impress her. If she thought he couldn't, she wouldn't waste her time working with him either.
She clipped her device back to her belt, next to the earpiece, but though her attention drifted to the lights of the city for a long moment, it instantly returned to Batman when he pulled something else from his belt. She had no idea what it was and it didn't concern her at all, but the movement attracted her attention instantly even if her thoughts seemed to be elsewhere - another hint of how keenly aware she was of her surroundings at all times.
Her eyes shifted from the unknown device to meet his again when he spoke, and she could tell that the words he said now were of importance to him. Though when they were said, she didn't react at first, allowing the silence between them to hang for a moment. And then she scoffed, saying, "Who is the naïve boy scout now?" Dismissing the line he drew entirely, her wings flared slightly and she uncrossed her arms in favor of interlacing her fingers and stretching her hands as she stated, "I kill when I have to. It hasn't happened in this place yet - humans are not very strong - but if it does you will be in agreement with me even if you can not manage to do it yourself."
The words were sharp and judgmental, striking a tone that he'd not be unfamiliar with because of the many times he'd trained under one master or another who thought one of his ideas was complete nonsense. She didn't merely disagree, she also didn't believe that he had the necessary experience to even entertain the idea that he might be right. Furthermore, she responded to that promise in his tone with a certain adversarial shift in her stance - if he wanted to fight her on that point, either verbally or physically, she was ready to do so, anytime and anywhere.
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