truth_and_justice | The Bat and Superspy (AU)

The Bat and Superspy (AU)

[ Clark is about three seconds from filing an inter-agency complaint. Three seconds, because the lengths to which the CIA spook on this assignment, sharing this assignment with him, has been avoiding him to such lengths that it’s gone beyond interdepartmental shenanigans. It’s skirting obstruction of justice now; just skirting it, unfortunately, which gives him a clue as to who it might be.

Wayne has pulled this nonsense before.

Today, however, he’s hoping that Wayne or whoever else it might be is going to actually check by the checkpoint to get the warning he left. Given his luck, they won’t. Which is why he’s keeping his ears open to listen for trouble in the definitely-not-abandoned warehouse. ]

---

[ The problem with this case is it's the Joker -- someone Bruce has dealt with extensively in the past and is the kind of criminal that gets tetchy when people who he doesn't know pops up. Tetchy in the murder way. The Joker's a ghost, hundreds of counts of murder and the mastermind beyond a few terrorist plots too many. His MO is essentially what gives him a laugh and he's wiped all his DNA from every record possible so it's even harder to get a read on who he was before he slashes his face into an eerie smile and crawled out of whatever pit of hell he's from.

The FBI gave him Clark Kent, someone Bruce has... vaguely worked with before but never for long and always brief but who Bruce knows by reputation to be one of their best and the boy scoutiest boy scout to ever boy scout, really. That doesn't fly with Bruce's usual standard -- go dark, come back when he has something feasible. He's better alone and the Joker has an odd fixation on him, calls him the Bat (a reference to a joke within the Langley, that Bruce is one of the most terrifying agents and lurks in the shadows) and Bruce hasn't figured out how he found out about that nickname either. So, yeah, Bruce doesn't want Clark caught up in this.

Today, the "this" is something... not great. He found the Joker, in some ACME warehouse in the middle of downtown Gotham (does he know -- who Bruce's family is?) and after a pretty nasty fight on a catwalk, Joker got the upperhand. He's tied Bruce up and has him dangling over a pit of a acid which, well, admittedly this isn't great and is lounging above, knife in his hand, gloating.

So, yeah, Bruce didn't want Clark in this mess but he's feeling a little stuck. He could probably use some help? Oh boy, he definitely should have asked for help. ]

You know, I do actually have back up coming. Either drop me already or you're going to get arrested.

[ Who, the specs that left you a note earlier? It was in a bag, under a bench. Very subtle, Batsy.

-- A note? From the checkpoint? Shit, was it about this? ]

Yeah, the specs. He's worse than me, Joker. Remember that time in Spain? But worse.

[ Ooh, I'm looking forward to it.

Ugh. He's so fucked. At the very least, Joker can't hear how his heart's beating a thousand miles an hour. It wouldn't do to let him know how scared he is right now. Jesus, this is really, really bad. ]

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[ Clark's been listening to the conversation for a few minutes and he's rolled his eyes a few times, half at Wayne and half at the Joker, who he knows from more than a few experiences has an obsession with Wayne that borders on ridiculous. It means that Wayne is somewhat compromised, and Clark isn't thinking about the fact that Wayne is currently hanging over a pit of acid. Wayne thinks that that obsession makes him the only one who can handle the Joker, and Clark couldn't disagree more. At the same time, he knows how unexpected the Joker can be, not from experience but from reading the case files, and that means indirect action is better than direct.

He moves faster than either of them can see, unscrewing the screws and popping out the bolts on the scaffolding that the Joker's standing on, carefully adjusting them so that the next shift in weight the Joker makes will bring the whole thing tumbling down. The other thing he does, between one blink and another, is turn off the heat beneath the acid vat and pop one of the chemical vat covers on top of the vat that Bruce is hanging over. He doesn't do anything to Wayne or his ropes or his restraints. Instead, he waits until the Joker balks, until the scaffolding starts tumbling down, before shooting at the rope holding him above the vat to fray the rope just enough before slamming the nearest door to him and swinging his flashlight widely... ]

Freeze, FBI!

Edited 2017-12-06 01:51 (UTC)

[ It all happens so quickly that Bruce isn't exactly sure what happened. He just feels something go kind of... wrong? In the air and his senses are on high alert. Then Joker takes a step and everything -- and boy does Bruce mean everything -- goes crashing down quickly. Including himself. There's a quick gasp of shock here because he's going to die, he's going to die but then he finds himself landing in the pile of debris on top of a covered vat of acid.

What the hell?

He's still injured though, heavy pipes and railing hitting him hard and he feels a gash on his head immediately at a rather heavy pipe. One also lands on his leg, snapping the bone and Bruce lets out a muffled yell as he bites his tongue and tries to focus. Joker, Joker, where the hell is Joker?

He looks over to where Clark is, gun drawn and at the ready and back to where Joker should have been if he fell down with him. Except, the guy isn't there at all and Bruce can't help but feel a little more panic. He was so close... they were so close.

Did he escape in the madness again? ]

... Fuck. [ And then a little louder, as Bruce punches the cover of the vat. ] Fuck! Where did he go, Kent? Why the hell did you spook him?!

[ Sure, he was this close to dying himself but he would've figured it out. He always does. ]

[ If Clark was as much of a putz as he pretended to be most of the time, it's likely that the Joker would have gotten away. Because the Joker recovered quickly and he'd started to crawl off to try and slink out the back. But Clark isn't that much of a putz, which is why the Joker is laid out unconscious on the ground near the rubble, just far enough to perhaps have been thrown free.

Not that he had. Sneaky bastard. But Clark wasn't letting him get away. Not when they had enough evidence assembled and Bruce had-

Oh damn, he'd let a little more damage hit Bruce than he'd been hoping for.]

He's right here, Wayne. I didn't spook him, I found him unconscious.

[ And was going to ziptie him, right now, just in case. Bruce wasn't calling for help so he wasn't going to give him any. ]

[ That doesn't feel right, how did Joker get all the way over there? But all Bruce do is frown and watch as Clark ties him up. He should probably figure out a way down from here and also a way to wrap his leg -- which hurts incredibly but Bruce has a pain tolerance that's off the charts. Pain that would have normal people screaming in agony just gets mild annoyance and shaking fingers.

He ends up digging around in the rubble, wiping blood out of his face and ignoring some of the dizziness so he can get a flat piece of metal to align his leg with. Then he pulls off the suit jacket, tearing a sleeve off to use as a cloth. He doesn't bother asking Clark for help, the guy is useless and wasn't even needed here. Bruce will figure out his way through this himself, like he always does.

God damn FBI, always getting involved. ]

He's going to break out again if I send him with you. Give him to me. Langley will know what to do with him.

[ Of course. Wayne is hobbling and he still thinks he's the more capable agent in the room. To be fair, he does his best to undercut his capabilities in front of people, but he's never shown himself to be incompetent. He's not sure what Wayne has against him. ]

Or [ and he is decidedly neutral-toned ] the two of us escort him together. Langley hasn't known what to do with him the four other times you've caught him, though. Did they change something and forget the inter-department memo?

[ ...the last was probably unwise and unfairly antagonistic, but something about Wayne's attitude is infuriating. ]

[ There's a sharp look at Clark's words and his upper lip curls because no, Clark wouldn't know this, there's no reason for him to do so but he still can't help but be angry. He's rough on himself as he ties the metal to his leg and snaps, ]

He killed his way out three of those other four times. One of those times by literally biting a man's throat out, so I'd be careful how close you stand next to him, Kent. Agents trained to deal with someone specifically like him still can't predict his movements.

[ It's just ridiculous. He has a fixation on Bruce and the CIA is better equipped to throw Joker somewhere and lose the key. But fine, if the FBI thinks they can handle someone like Joker, fine. When Bruce is done with his leg, he's going to move over to the ladder leading down from the vats, trying very hard to ignore the pain even as he begins climbing down the ladder on the broken leg.

Damn, he hopes Clark called a medic. ]

[ Clark has been sending the encoded message for a message even while sasssing Bruce, and he only looks up when he hears the clanging and- ]

I would have helped you down, you madman.

[ But the damage is already done, no doubt, and he knows Wayne won't let him help him down now. Better he focuses on keeping an eye on Joker. Wayne isn't wrong about how wily he is. And he's not sure that the FBI will do any better with him, but he intends to put his firm recommendation that the man be given therapy though a loudspeaker and his food via a dumb waiter. ]

Don't you worry about me, Wayne. You're the one walking wounded. Will you be all right to accompany me to the rendezvous point?

[ The truthful answer is no, of course not. He needs to be in a hospital. He's still bleeding from his head wound. Bruce is an idiot.

But what he will say instead is: ]

Of course.

[ Because he needs to see this through to the end. It doesn't really matter to him that it was only a few minutes ago that he was dangling over an acid pit. That's irrelevant. What's relevant is that Clark is here, they've tagged Joker, and if Clark was an agent worth anything -- he'd have let their handlers know and there'll be a spot to deliver him. Then they can go back to their agencies and debrief and... get treated, in Bruce's case.

When he's on steady ground again, he wobbles slightly and grabs another spare piece of pipe for balance. He holds up a hand to the gash in his head and then hobbles forward towards where Clark is. ]

Come on, let's get to work.

[ Clark winces and reaches out a hand to offer a bit of support even as he (somewhat thoughtlessly) hauls Joker up with his other hand. He hadn't been especially careful with Wayne because he'd figured Wayne could manage, but he'd miscalculated and the man would probably end up having to heal for a few weeks time. Fair enough, given the amount of paperwork they were going to have to do on this case especially.

Of course, he's never worked with the Joker before, which is why he's not looking to see if the Joker is still out. Because he isn't, and a knife flashes as it goes swinging at Clark's side.

...and goes skittering off with a giggling screech before Clark reaches over and flicks his forehead to put him out again.

Then there's a slow look over at Bruce. ]

...you didn't mention he wakes up so quickly in your 'note'.

[ Everything happens so quick that even Bruce's reflexes aren't quite a match. He's about to say something when he sees Joker stir but then there's a knife and it's -- gone? It's gone and Clark... flicks the man in the forehead, but he looks unconscious the next moment and now Bruce is confused. That -- that didn't make much sense, did it? ]

... Hh.

[ No, seriously, this doesn't make any sense. His eyes narrow as he looks between Joker and Clark, and then he just kind of glares at Clark. Did he drug him when Bruce wasn't looking? ]

Let's just get him into lock up.

[ Because seriously, he's in some major pain here and Clark's stupid everything isn't helping him. He feels itchy, like he's trapped here and it might be in the injuries, might be Gotham, might be Clark, but it might be all three and more and he'll be happier when his leg is wrapped and he has a drink in his hand. ]

[ It totally made sense... if you knew that Agent Kent could knock down a wall with an errant sneeze if he was so clumsy. And he's not, actually, that clumsy. What clumsiness he has is either faked or the result of the kind of control most people would be astounded was even possible let alone handled so well. But Clark just smiles over at Bruce and reaches over to grab a piece of one of the girders that's roughly the size of a walking stick. ]

Come on. There should be a medic when we get out there and the car will take us where we need to go.

[ Bruce doesn't hesitate from there, assuming Clark has Joker ready. He'll use the metal for balance, breathing a little heavily from the pain because every step onto his foot is absolutely killing him. He's going to try not to pay it much mind, biting into his lip instead. To the door, he's pushing it open for Clark and Joker and it's only when he steps outside does he realize -- ]

... Wait, how far do we have to --

[ But thankfully, there's a sudden burst of noise and an ambulance and a few police cars pull up. Bruce feels a little faint then, eager to get off his leg. ]

[ Clark feels... just a little awful that Bruce'd gotten so hurt. He'd made his calculations and he'd obviously slipped up; he'd thought the drop would be relatively short, had counted on the fibers holding a little more, having a little more stretch, but alas. As it is, he intends to check in on Agent Wayne as best he can until those injuries are all healed up. It's the least he can do, after all.

As for the issue of the Joker, he is restrained further, settled in the back of a car, and Bruce takes a moment to watch them work before pointing over to Wayne and getting the medics to come over and take a look at him. ]

I'll watch the car while they get you patched up a little, all right?

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The Bat and Superspy (AU)

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