2017.01.18 - Snowy Evening
Late night, snow blowing through the tangled winter-dead trees that claw at the night sky, the park long abandoned for warmer clearer days. The Dynamic Duo have heard police band chatter about three unusual assaults on the perimeter of the park in the last twenty-four hours - random people attacked by unknown assailants, the vics unable to give a coherant description... So, the caped crusaders leave the warm confines of tbe Batmobile and strike out along the perimeter of the park, lights in hand, looking.
Robin sweeps his light this way and that, out into the depths of the park, then back along the ice-patched sidewalk. "Think this might just be nothing?" he says to the Dark Knight.
As he often does, Donovan Sanders is enjoying the crisp night air in the park. Settled in on a bench, with a large oak as protection from the wind, he's got his sketchbook laid out on his lap and a pencil in hand busily sketching one of the numerous fountains that dot the park. He hasn't heard the radio scanners, but he's been pretty focused on his recent work.
Moving silently along the icy path, Batman looks off into the darkness which is illuminated by his flashlight. "Seems too coincidental for it to be nothing," he answers Robin. "Let's see what I get on sonar," he adds, touching a pressure sensitive control on his cowl to turn on the sonar sweep of their immediate surroundings.
Tak tak tak go the branches of the old oak, stiff and huge, it's outer limbs rustling in the slight wind, otherwise it holds a fair amount of snow off Donovon for now - or does it, as a shuff of snow cascades down and patters on the boy's notebook. There is a bone-deep creaking sound, more felt than heard.
The Teen Wonder nods to Batman, frowning slightly as he takes steps out into the park itself, trying to see if there is anything unusual. And there is, a boy sitting on a nearby bench, drawing one of the more famous fountains, now a crystal ice sculpture.
And behind him, a branch moving against the wind, thick bark flaking slightly as the thick limb moves slowly down, down, towards Donovon....
If the snow weren't enough to break the college student from the reverie of his art, the strange noise would be. As one hand wipes the snow from the pad with a few impolite expletives, something on the edge of his senses tugs at him. At first dismissing it as the wind or some critter moving through the snow, Donovon catches a glimpse of movement, something larger, out of the corner of his eye.
Turning his head as the last bit of snow is pushed from that pad of drawings, Donovon looks around him, not quite noticing or expecting the tree movement by itself.
Who would be out at this time of night and in this weather? Batman turns off the flashlight and tucks it away as he heads toward the landmark fountain. He scans the trees and the area around the fountain, looking for any other late night visitors.
Robin sweeps his light around to peg Donovon with it, briefly, then he follows Batman towards the college boy. Maybe he's seen something?
As the Caped Crusaders get closer, though, one of the large primary limbs of the tree twists slowly and begins to drop towards Donovon, it's crown of multiple branches writhing like the tentacles of an octopus as it reached for Donovon. Several things happen at once....the light flashes in Donovan's face, causing him to shield his eyes...luckily that also causes him to look away towards the tree. Instincts born of keen observation kick in and warn Donovon of the impossibility of a tree 'reaching' for him, but his eyes see it.
In a rather non-heroic moment, he lets out a gasp and tumbles backwards off the bench, moving out of sight of the Duo but also narrowly avoiding the tangle of branches as they slap on the back of the bench.
Uncertain if it was only a branch falling from the weight of the snow, or something more sinister, Batman darts forward. He skids to a halt in front of the now empty bench, warily regarding the tree.
Robin also runs forward, eyes wide as he sees the tree moving, and he drops one hand to his utility belt. Before he can do anything, though, one of the limbs whips out and catches him across the chest, flinging him backwards. Then one of the other branches gropes for Donovon - the tree seems, well, 'blind' might be the best word to describe it, moving by touch instead of direct perception. But then how did it go for Robin...?
"Hey!" is the first exclamation to escape Donovon's lips as he spots who appears to be Batman. Then, a crash sound causes him to look towards Robin and let out a surprised yell "Watch out!" though it comes too late.
With his attention elsewhere, he misses the branch coming for him as he sits up and gets rolled to the side from a knock upside the head.
Batman springs into action. He jumps over the bench and heads for Donovon, keeping a wary eye out for tree branches. One takes a swipe at him and he narrowly manages to avoid it by diving to the side. Rolling along the ground, he comes up in a fighting stance and tries to reach Donovon again.
The Teen Wonder oofs, rolls, tumbles and comes up in a fighting stance as the branch that hit him slides around towards Batman. The youth again reaches for his belt, clicks it, and whips a batarang at the tree where it stick high on the writhing branch. Beep beep beep beepbeepbeep BOOOM! goes the small plastic explosives, severing the branch. It crashes down to the side of Donovon, while the rest of the tree comes to deadly life.
Robin rushes in to try and get the civilian out of the way.
Still suffering from a bit of shock at the way his evening had gone, he looks to his left and stating the obvious exclaims, "You're Batman!" before he rolls sideways and manages to get into a crouch. "And Robin!" he adds as the boy wonder moves towards him. His eyes dart about frantically before they spot his sketchbook, dropped with pages cluttering.
Grabbing it with one hand, he slides it towards himself protectively. With the ease of someone who knows something intimately, he flips to a page he'd be drawing as part of a fantasy streak. the picture has a brick wall, covered in cobwebs with a couple of torches. As the young man brushes his fingers over one of the torches, there's a momentarily look of concentration and perhaps of pain.
Though there's no flash of energy or pyrotechnics, something happened. Then, he looks at Batman and calls out, "The torch might help!" Sure enough to one side of the caped crusader is a burning torch, that appears to be in grayscale color, including the flame.
Batman ducks as a shower of splinters hail down upon him. He doesn't even question the sudden appearance of the torch, he just grabs it and tries to menace the suddenly living, moving tree with the oddly grayscale flame. His other hand darts to his utility belt and he throws a batarang of his own which sticks to the trunk of the tree. A few seconds later, that thrown projectile explodes, taking a large chunk out of the tree's trunk.
The tree lashes towards Batman, the entire structure now writhing frantically, as if in pain. It surges towards the Dark Knight, but seems to sense the flame - it's ancient enemy - and flexes back.
Robin takes the opportunity to dart in and wrap one strong arm around Donovon's waist, propelling the college student towards the street. "Time to leave, dude," he says, barely noticing the weird torch.
Donovon doesn't struggle but looks at his rescuer with amazement and confusion. At once, he flushes at the fact he needs rescued. then as he stares back at the duo battling the tree, his expression changes to determination. As Robin turns back towards the tree, glancing at his partner to coordinate an attack, Donovon quickly retrieves one of his pencils and sets to drawing.
Only a furtive glances towards the battle breaks his concentration, and within a few seconds he looks down at the lumberjack two-man saw he's drawn. A smile spreads over his face and he touches the sketchpad. A familiar pulling sensation causes him to wince, but when he lifts his hand from the page, a large saw appears at the feet of Batman, one large handle also near Robin.
Blood drips from a cut along Batman's jaw, but he doesn't seem to notice it. He holds the torch up in a threatening manner while he palms another batarang and lets it fly. It's another good shot and the explosion takes another big bite out of the tree trunk.
When the saw suddenly appears, Batman stoops down to grab the handle. "Get the other side, Robin!" he calls out, holding the torch high.
The Teen Wonder is certainly used to obeying Batman without question and this is no exception - he doesn't care how or why this giant saw is here, it IS and they're going to use it. He picks up the saw, biceps straining as he coordinates with Batman to pull-push-pull, the teeth biting deeper into the tree with every move.
Not wanting to let the opportunity pass to work alongside the Dynamic Duo themselves, Donovon rushes back forward to grab the torch from Batman. He starts moving back and forth with it, using it as a small makeshift spear to prod at low hanging branches of the tree. "I will keep it busy!" he calls out, unable to hide a small grin as he looks towards Robin, as if he's proud to not look as helpless.
Batman relinquishes the torch with a warning, "Be careful." But, he wasn't above accepting help from innocent bystanders and in this instance he needs both hands and arms to work the saw. Deeper and deeper the metal teeth bite into the already damaged tree trunk, causing the tree to seemingly shudder in pain.
Robin glances worriedly at the redheaded college-boy, and continues to saw away at the oak. Deprived of most of it's main limbs, the trunk and a few smaller branches slowly twists and lunges like a huge blind eel.. until the saw seems to hit something vital inside, and the tree goes limp, then slowly freezes back into immobility. He puts strong shoulders and back into the task, and several seconds later the Dynamic Duo have sawn completely through the oak.
Robin pants a little. "Holy Paul Bunyans," he mutters, quirking a slight smile as the snow patters down.
Though he tries to keep a stoic face, Robin's comments cause Donovon's smile to spread, turning to a chuckle as the rest of the tree falls with a loud crash of twisting limbs in the snow. "Wow! What was that thing?" he asks, looking between the two hard working heroes, as they catch their breath from the exertion.
Batman's watchful gaze lingers on the fallen tree for a moment. Seeing no more movement from it, he turns toward Donovon. "Are you all right?" is his first question.
Robin rolls his broad shoulders, wincing at the strain, and also turns to the young man, standing quietly as Batman asks his qyestions.
At once the focus of attention for the eyes of both Batman and Robin, Donovon finds himself momentarily without words. Then, clearing his throat, he nods, "Yes. Thank you. I am fine. A little shaken up." Looking between the taller man in the batsuit and the built sidekick near his own age, he asks, "What...what were you two doing here?"
"Don't worry about why we're here. Just be glad we were," Batman answers in a terse voice. "Did you have anything to do with the torch and saw appearing?" Always the detective, he narrows in on that point.
The Teen Wonder watches the other young man calmly; he folds his arms over his chest, letting his cape drape over his shoulders and partially hide his arms and chest.
"Oh, trust me, I am very glad. I never thought I would meet you two in person." Glancing between the two of you, so stern and serious, he feels a flash of heat across his cheeks. "Would you believe it was just a happy coincidence?" he asks, though it's clear even he doesn't expect you to buy it.
"Yes, the torch..,and saw," he says looking at the large imp,event, "I created them...good thing that thing dies when it did, I am not sure how much longer they would have lasted." As if on cue, the torch crumbles to ash and blows away, followed a few seconds later by the large saw.
Batman nods curtly. "What's your name? What are you doing out here alone at this time of night in this weather?"
Robin flashes a quick warm smile at the redheaded college boy; he's used to seeing civilians flustered upon meeting Batman and himself. He's still obviously interested in what the dude is saying. "So you created those things, somehow?" he says, asking his own question even if it's pretty obvious what happened.
"Yes. It is something I recently discovered I could do." Not to ignore the older man, he turns to Batman and extends a hand, "I am Donovon. Donovon Sanders. It is a pleasure." His hand has s firm but polite grip and while he appears to be an artist, his hand tells a story of hard work. He turns to Robin, offering the younger man his hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you too."
For a moment it seems like Batman isn't going to shake Donovon's hand. Then, the Dark Knight reaches out to clasp it in a firm grip, give a single pump of a shake and release. It's impossible to judge what sort of hands Batman might have underneath the gauntlets he wears. But the leather is smooth, evidently well cared for and faintly warm. "You should be careful. Robinson Park isn't the safest of places," Batman offers gruffly.
Robin takes the young man's hand in his leather-gauntleted grip and shakes his hand, squeezing it gently before letting go. "Good to meet you, and thank you for the help. And Batman is right. Case in point," he says, pointing back to the tree. "Might want to get somewhere safer. And warmer," he says as a fresh wind blows more snow their way.
"I was finishing up an assignment for my class. I needed one more architectural subject for it and on my way back to the dorms, I took this shortcut." Looking around, he laughs, "So much for that, right?" At the mention of getting warm, he nods, "Somewhere warm sounds down right fantastic. What about...that thing?" he looks at the tree.
"I think it's dead now," Batman says, not even turning around to look at the fallen tree. "Go home. Get warm. Stay safe."
Robin looks back over at the tree. "We'll make sure the police handle it properly. Yeah, you should get inside now. Weather is suppossed to turn even nastier before the night is over."
"You are probably right." He quickly sets about gathering his sketchbook and colored pencils. He tucks the box back into his back jeans pocket for now. Pulling his flannel jacket tighter around his toned frame, he smiles at the duo, "Thank you again. I cannot believe I met both of you tonight!"
Batman nods curtly, causing another drop of blood to fall from his chin. "I hope we don't meet again under similar circumstances."
Meanwhile....
Elsehwhere - a cold dark close cell - the lights flickering and a figure surrounded by plants, rich and verdant and growing. A stumble and pain, and then a hot malevolent green-eyed glare. "My baby.. my baby.. you will be avenged..."