2017.01.13 - The Bat Out of Time
Robin is in the Cave already, working on his tumbling on the mats - leaping off the pommel horse and hitting the floor with his shoulder, rolling, and then coming up to a standing position. Then he goes back to do it again. Repetition builds perfection.
After changing into costume, Batman heads to the batcomputer. Seated before the powerful machine, he begins going through the police report Commissioner Gordon has sent via a private email address hidden behind many proxies.
"Robin," Batman calls, "Did you see this?"
Robin gets a towel to blot his neck and walks over. "Yeah. I can't make heads or tails of that," he says. "I mean, unless it's a nutbar like Maxi Zeus involved." He walks over and stands beside the chair, looking down at Bruce. "And where the heck was The Penguin? I was /sure/ he was going to show last night. I mean, it's just not /like/ him not to take center stage if he thinks he can get away ." He shakes his head. "Jay went to check out the waterfront, so far nothing."
"Jay? Who's Jay?" Batman asks, scrolling through the report. "Look here, the Penguin is still behind bars," he adds, pointing out the pertinent part of the report.
Robin blinks and then quirks a smile. They must have had an argument again. "Jay, you know. Jason," he says, leaning in to look at the reports. "Huh," he says, scratching his chin.
"Jason who? I don't know any Jason," Batman says, a confused note in his voice.
Robin does a double-take at Batman, and frowns slightly. The Dynamic Duo have been through some weird things in their years together and Robin has by now developed a keen sense of when something, somehow, has gone off the rails with Batman. Still, the young man tries to keep things light. "Jason, you know, the dude you trained to be Robin when I was sidelined. Like three years ago? You just saw him last night." Or DID YOU? Shapeshifters. Mind Control. Lots of different hoo-ha can cause something like this.
Batman's attention is fully fixed on Robin now. "I have no idea what you're talking about. You're the only person I've trained to be Robin. But I did see the other two people in Robin costumes last night. I was about to ask you about them."
Robin keeps his expression carefully schooled. "Bruce.." And it's not normal he uses Bruce's name when they are in costume - it's a discipline thing Batman has drummed into him - "Bruce.. are you certain you're feeling alright? Should I get Alfred to check you out?"
"I feel fine," Batman is quick to reply. "But I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. You think I trained another Robin?"
Robin blinks. "You trained two others; Jason, and Tim. They.. " He pauses, still unsure. There are so many reasons this could be happening. "Bruce, do you want to change, go upstairs, and I can show you their rooms here?" he says, his voice gentle. Something is wrong with his mentor, or he's been replaced, or.. the list is too long. It's something the Teen Wonder wasn't prepared for, and it's got him a little flumoxed. Still, you ride the trapeeze you're been given.
"Wait, *two* others? Tim?" Batman rises from the chair in front of the batcomputer. "There is something definitely wrong here," he says.
Robin nods to the Dark Knight. "Yeah, there is," he says flatly. "Come on, let's change. Oh, hey, there's Jason's motorcycle boots, where he never puts them back the way he should," the masked boy says as he walks over to the changing area and the costume vault. "And, well, I'm not fitting in that red bodysuit Tim wears," he says, canting his head at the other suits here.
Robin looks back at Batman carefully, trying to weigh his reaction. Bruce is.. difficult to read at the best of times, though.
Batman follows Robin, taking note of the items pointed out to him. He looks around, looking for other signs of things out of place. "The bo staff wasn't there before," he says, nodding toward the racked weapons.
"But let's change and go upstairs. Clearly we need to figure this out," he says, pulling off a gauntlet as he starts to get undressed.
Robin nods as he sees Batman at least has not lost the keen senses and eye for detail. Good. That's hard to fake, so he's probably not a shapeshifter or clone. Still a lot of other possibilities. The Teen Wonder unmasks and takes off his gloves, then the rest of his costume - he slips into casual jeans and a Gotham Knight's t-shirt, then does a quick weapon check of his utility belt. He also takes the opportunity to slip a couple of gas capsules into his pocket. Just in case.
The transformation from Batman to Bruce Wayne gradually takes place. The man gets out of costume, hanging each piece neatly in its place. He puts on his normal clothing, black jeans, a gray cable knit sweater and a pair of sneakers. Last of all he puts on his sole piece of jewelry, a watch that he wears on his left wrist.
Dick Grayson's eyes never really leave Bruce, looking for some mistake or mistep, but so far.. nothing. He keys the elevator and gets inside when it comes.
For all intents and purposes, Bruce seems to be acting perfectly normal... with the exception of his complete lack of knowledge about Jason and Tim. He follows Dick to the elevator and steps in, his features an inscrutable mask almost as impenetrable as when he is wearing the cowl.
Dick Grayson walks along with Bruce, mounting the stairs, until they come to the main upstairs hall - just next door to his own room, the door is open and inside is the room of a typical teenaged boy. More typical, that is, than Dick - it's messier, with posters and a more muted color scheme.
Bruce follows along and when he comes to the room, he frowns. "I don't remember this being like this. This was just a guest room." He looks inside, keen eyes taking in the evidence of someone obviously living there.
Dick Grayson puts a subtle hand on Bruce's shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Are you feeling OK, Bruce?" he asks at last, gentle concern in the boy's voice. By now.. this is something else. An imposter would have taken a different tack, and mind control would have incorporated the inconsistencies into some sort of narrative. This... Dick chews his lip. He needs to talk to someone.
Dick says, "We can go back down into the Cave, run some tests...""
"That... might be a good idea," Bruce admits. "But I feel fine. I would swear this was just a guest room when I got up this morning and walked down the hall."
Dick Grayson sighs and squeezes the man's shoulder again, and walks back down to the Cave with him. Once there, he runs Bruce through several tests - he's been trained well - and watches the supercomputer run various analysis. He fusses over the man, and talks to Alfred about a couple of the procedures - the man overseeing the shopping at the moment - through the comms. Then at last the Teen Wonder leans up against a console. "There's something there. A radiation tick I've never seen before. See, right there," he says as he passes the data over to Bruce.
Bruce studies the data, his brow knitting in thought. "I think..." he begins then pauses, his frown deepening. "I may be experiencing a temporal shift," he finally concludes.
Dick Grayson hmmms. "I think we should ask Superman about it. Or one of the other League scientists," he says. "I'm not an expert in high-energy theoretical physics." Only maybe a Bachelor's equivalent.
He blinks at Bruce. "Well... that would explain things. What year is it?"
"It's 2017," Bruce answers with surety.
Dick Grayson nods and hmms. He thinks for a bit, then begins a series of questions designed to try and isolate when and what Bruce does and does not remember. So far it seems just Jason and Tim are not present, but he widens the scope to try and see if there is anything else 'missing'.
Bruce answers the questions. He seems accurate on pretty much everything with the exception of lacking all knowledge about Jason and Tim.
Dick Grayson finally sits down. "Weird. Just those two. Like something wanted them.. gone.." he mutters.
LATER....
Bruce is just stepping out of the master bedroom. He pauses in the hall to study the door to Jason's bedroom. A frown of consternation settles upon his handsome features.
Jason emerges from his room, looking a bit wary. He's changed clothes and had a shower and such, but he still feels rather off-kilter, having spent the night with Tim at the Drake Estate. Seeing Bruce, he looks startled. "Oh. Hi, Bru--uh, Mister Wayne."
Dick Grayson is just coming up the hall towards his own room when he sees the pair, and changes course to meet up with them. He puts a hand on his 'brother's' shoulder, lending his quiet support as he encounters Bruce. "Bruce, Jay, hey," he says casually, as if nothing were wrong.
Bruce studies Jason and Dick, a look of concentration on his face. "Dick tells me you live here," he finally says to Jason. "I have no memory of that. You are a total stranger to me."
Jason smiles at Dick, seeming reassured by his presence, but Bruce's words hit him like a physical blow. He hardly reacts -- much as he'd hardly react to being slapped, thanks to his training -- but those who understand body language will still note the stiffness in his features and posture. "And you're like a father to me," he says quietly, meeting Bruce's gaze for only a moment before looking away. "I'm sorry, sir," he says quietly, still taking a very formal tone. "I know it must be strange and unpleasant for you to hear that from me."
Dick Grayson swallows and shoots Bruce a serious look past Jay's shoulder. "He does live here. He has for years," he says firmly. "Bruce.. maybe we should go talk to Superman. I'm sure he has more experience with... this sort of thing than any of us," the young mans suggests.
Bruce looks between Dick and Jason, his expression closed. He could be thinking anything but not a bit of it shows on his features. "All right," he agrees at Dick's suggestion.
"Superman, huh?" Jason asks. "Sounds pretty serious if you're going that far." He looks between the two. "I guess he'd probably be able to give some pretty unique advice and all."
Dick Grayson nods, shaking Jay's shoulder a little - smiles at both of them. "Good, I'll send him a note," he says. "I'm sure this will intrigue him." He pauses. "So, Bruce, want to get into costume and go clear our heads a little? A nice run on the subzero Gotham rooftops should do wonders.."
A hint of a frown shows in the momentary narrowing of Bruce's eyes. But it is uncertain exactly what that might signify. "The three of us I suppose?" he ventures a guess.
Jason Todd says, "I'm game," Jason says, then looks to Bruce uncertainly. "I mean, if you don't mind," he adds. "I don't wanna overstep or anything.""
It's rare that Dick really does contradict Bruce, but weird times... "Of course the three of us," he says. He takes out his phone and uses the special app on it to send up a message to Superman - surprisingly, he gets a reply almost at once. "Oh, hey, Supes is close and he can talk. Let's go meet him?"
Meanwhile... at the Hall of Justice....
Batman strides into the Hall of Justice, his dark cape flowing behind him in the wake of his passage. Spotting Superman, he makes a beeline for the Man of Steel. "I think there is a problem," he begins.
Robin follows Batman closely, the brightly-clad young man looking serious and concerned. "Oh yes," he says. Robin the second follows his counterpart, looking subdued and a bit concerned about the whole situation.
Superman's waiting in one of the lab areas of the Hall of Justice. Seeing Batman and two of the Robins approaching, he gives them each a nod. "Batman. Boys. What seems to be the trouble?"
"I may be experiencing a temporal shift," Batman says, getting right to the point. He motions to Robin II as he explains, "I have no memory of him. Yet Robin," and here he motions to the original Robin, "Claims I trained him three years ago and he has been living with us since then." A folded set of papers is produced from one of the compartments of his utility belt. "And look at these readings," he says, pointing out the unusual radiation spike. "The only time I have ever seen something like this before is when something not from the correct time was in our time."
Robin folds his arms over his chest, cape draping to cover his shoulders and part of his arms. "I did the tests twice in some cases but we don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing and we were hoping you did," he says. He tries to maintain a serious expression as befits a companion to Batman, but the young man manages a slight smile nonetheless - the hero worship Tim might have for him, he has for Superman.
Robin II just seems quiet and a bit withdrawn, feeling awkward. It's somehow like the whole situation is his fault, and he's caused trouble and confusion for everyone. He's very grateful for the first Robin's support, and for all that he's nearly as grateful for Batman just being... Batman. He's treating the whole thing very professionally and intelligently, which helps.
Superman glances over the pages, nodding slowly, and says, "Well, we don't have the equipment here to do a proper scan... but, Batman..." He glances at the Robins, then lowers his voice so that only the Caped Crusader will hear, "I'm afraid *I* remember him. There were at least three of them, weren't there?" He looks distinctly concerned, now. "Let's hit the zeta tubes. Computer! Set destination for the Fortress of Solitude."
The Fortress of Solitude
"I don't exactly have a lot of experience with this either," Batman admits once they're all gathered in the Fortress of Solitude. "Everything seems to indicate that I am the only one affected. Alfred agrees on their timeline. Even the computer has entries which agree with their timeline."
O M G! It's... THE Fortress of Solitude. As much as Robin tries to act like 'he's been here before' - and he has! - it's difficult for him not to rubberneck a little as they pass by strange devices or weird crystalline structures. "the big question of course is why, and how?" He pauses. "And who."
Jason's eyes are wide behind his mask, and unfortunately, the conforming material makes this easy to see. *He* hasn't been here before, and the whole thing is really, really cool! Still not quite feeling up to his usual self, he keeps his mouth shut.
Kal leads them from the teleporter into one of the Fortress's many labs. Once there, he gestures to a part of the floor where a circular groove has been cut. "Just step inside the ring, Batman," he explains, "and I'll activate the temporal scanner. I've had to deal with some odd time distortions before, so the Legion of Super-Heroes were kind enough to help me develop one using Kryptonian technology." He smiles a bit fondly. "I wonder how ol' Brainy's doing? He was always a lot of fun to hang out with." Then, more seriously, he steps over to the controls.
Batman steps into the indicated ring. He gazes steadily at Superman and the pair of Robins, his mouth set in a neutral line.
Robin settles back to wait on the results, eyes now on his mentor, a look of concern and curiosity on his young face. He glances to Jason to see how he's doing, and his smile flickers broader for a second - he well remembers his first time in Superman's fortress. Bruce had to prevent him from climbing on the alien crystal.
Jason also remains silent, not wanting to distract from the seriousness of the situation or what Superman's doing. Still, he's definitely fascinated by all the equipment, watching with great interest. He does meet Dick's gaze with a small smile, nodding. He's playing it cool, but mostly it's easy because there are bigger concerns on his mind--like Bruce's well-being.
Kal touches a crystal, and a ring of similar crystals rise from the floor to surround Batman. These begin to pulse in a random-seeming (but actually quite specific, yet complex) pattern, running specific scans in a very detailed sequence. Meanwhile, a holographic projection begins to appear, hanging in the air around him, with various readouts indicating radiation and particle readings. After a while, the pulsing lights stop, and the crystals retract into the floor. The holograms remain. Superman looks thoughtful.
"The good news," he says slowly, "is it shouldn't pose any danger... but you've definitely been targeted, intentionally or at random, by a temporal Event." He indicates the various indications. "Tachyon particle distortion is very clear, but it's more than that--it's almost like you represent a--!" He snaps his fingers, blurring as he darts over to another console, and starts to pass his hands rapidly over the crystals there. Additional holograms flash around him. "That's *it*! It makes sense. Batman has become a *temporal focal point*. Somehow, he represents the union of multiple potential timelines into a single, cohesive whole." His brow furrows more. "Think of it... like Batman is the lynch pin holding part of our timeline together, keeping it from fragmenting. Almost like someone went back in time... and used Batman to repair some kind of fracture."
"A temporal focus? Lynch pin? Fracture?" Batman asks in clear disbelief. "Who or what could have done this? And why?" A bit of frustration creeps into his voice at the last word.
"Holy Gallifrey," Robin mutters. "And, um, why focused on Jason and Tim?" he ponders, looking at the results from the alien tech and trying to stretch his mind around the various concepts.
Mouth dropping open, Jason says, "Yeah, what Robin-1 said. How the h--heck--? And why us?"
"This level of time manipulation is beyond anything we can do today," Superman explains. "I can only think of two groups who could manage it. Either the Legion had something to do with it, or it might have been the Linear Men. Of course, there are other options, but those are the only ones I'm completely sure could do it and *might* do it this way." Looking to the Robins, he says, "If the fracture affected those close to Batman, it would make sense for him to be the focal point to repair the timeline." He frowns. "Unfortunately, I just don't have the equipment to fully investigate what might have caused a time aberration on that scale."
Batman nods, lips pursed a bit. "I can only see something like this happening if someone wants me out of the way. But they would need to go a lot farther back in time to stop me from becoming who I am today. Could it have been a mistake?"
Robin gives an involuntary shiver. "Or.. they wanted you isolated. They couldn't erase me without erasing almost all of your history, but they could remove to significant sources of aid. We're your closest allies. Nobody else knows what we know," the Teen Wonder says. "Which means something else might be planned for me," he ponders.
Jason falls quiet again, but he edges closer to Robin-1, reaching out to put a hand on his arm, offering silent support.
Shaking his head some, Superman says, "I'm not sure about why or even what exactly happened, but this *looks* more like a patch job than an attack. It's almost like someone already fixed whatever was wrong." He looks to the first Robin, considering his concern. "It might be they were trying to weaken Batman, but it might be they were after a different target entirely. Batman might have, for example, volunteered to be the one to take the risk and act as a focal point. That would put him just slightly out of sync with the timeline, since he'd be 'holding together' the fabric of space-time while it 'healed,' so to speak. That could manifest as selective memory alteration."
Batman nods slowly, considering Robin's and Superman's words. "It would be like me to volunteer for something like this," he admits. "If the safety of others depended on my life being turned inside out, I would do it."
Robin blinks and looks at Jason, then at Batman, then at Superman. "So.. there might be no way to restore his memory - I mean.. his experiences?" He looks at Batman. "And here I see why you dictate everything into the bat-computer ..."
At the news that Batman's memories might not be easily restored, Jason deflates a bit, looking pained, but he has to nod along with his mentor's words. It *does* sound like something Batman would do.
"I agree," Superman says quietly. "It sounds *exactly* like you. And... I'm sorry, Robin. Both of you. I don't think there's anything to recover. Whatever was lost was probably affected by whatever damage had been done to the timeline. Batman's memory gaps might correspond with the temporal zones that had to be fused together to make the 'patch' in space-time."
"I guess we will be getting acquainted then," Batman says to Robin II. Turning back to Superman he adds, "Thank you for your help. If there is anything else you might think of about this, please let us know."
Robin squeezes Jason's shoulder hard. "Don't worry, Batman. There's.. a huge record of everything." he says quietly, knowing that's cold comfort to two boys who have followed the man into Hell and back multiple times, and now.. now they are cyphers to him. Knowledge he'll have, yes, but... no emotional connection, hard as that is to come by for Bruce in the best of times.
Jason gives Dick a grateful look, but he stands up straight and nods to Batman. "I'll do my best to live up to your expectations and earn your trust, sir," he says, folding his hands in front of himself and trying to look level-headed and at the ready.
<OOC> Robin says, "And believe me, that is a hard look to pull off in pixie boots."
Superman offers the other a sympathetic smile and says, "Maybe you should all go home and take some time. This must be a lot to process. I'll keep processing this data to make sure we didn't miss anything, and... if you need me... please don't hesitate to ask."
Batman nods at Robin. "I will be going through all the records." Looking back to Robin II, the Dark Knight pauses a moment before saying, "Robin speaks well of you and says that I trained you. I have to believe that." Nodding to Superman he says, "If we think of anything else, we'll be in touch with you."
Robin flashes a bright smile at Superman. "Thanks for your help, Superman. I knew we could count on you," the Teen Wonder says.
Jason gives Batman a nod that's at once grateful, frustrated, sad, and tightly controlled. This will be hard, but he'll just make it one more part of the job. Someday, maybe, he and Bruce will recover a version of the relationship he remembers... but for now, he'll just focus on meeting expectations and getting through the day-to-day. He too expresses his thanks to superman, then turns to follow the others on their way back.
Waiting for the Robins to be a bit on their way, Kal steps very close to Batman and says, in a voice too soft for anyone else to hear, "Bruce... I know it can't be easy suddenly having another adopted son in your life. If you ever need to talk or anything... just let me know, all right?" He steps back, then, and escorts his guests back to the zeta-tubes to return them to Gotham City.