10th July 2013
09:40 GMT -5
Batman is understandably busy, but I've made a request for a meeting. And since I'm trying the whole openness and honesty thing, I made it clear what it was about.
I…
I'm hit by a wave of remorse for my action in re-enfearing his brain.
And I accept it.
Because that's why this is bothering me. I doubt that the happily-processing-his-grief-and-on-the-way-to-recovery Batman I briefly met would… I wouldn't suspect him of doing something unwise-. Bad. Yes, that's probably the best word. Something
bad with this opportunity. But a Batman who's just had his brain rewired? Oh yes,
that's a Batman who might well make some unfortunate choices.
We
shouldn't be looking at a full Brother Eye situation.
That required him getting his brain messed up by someone he liked and trusted, rather than a serial problem child like
me. And it took longer for the paranoia-inducing near-recall of the event to produce the dreadful consequences that occurred.
Funny thing. I can think of two comics where Kal-El becomes a dictator: Red Son and that..
Metropolis thing. I can't think of one where Batman does. Even when he gets turned into a vampire nothing much else comes of it. But when you know them, you see immediately that it's ridiculous. Kal-El-.
Superman, wouldn't think like that. He wouldn't integrate into society tightly enough to build those structures. I could
sort of see him becoming an overlord in all but name, but if that happened I doubt that even he'd think of himself as being that. There'd be someone else in charge, and all he'd do is occasionally offer advice or aid.
Batman, on the other hand? Oh yes. I could see that happening. Building an organisation, establishing control, and all for the best reasons. He doesn't want power for it's own sake. Not to raise himself above others. But… What was the line? '
We've made a world where no eight year old boy will ever lose his parents because of some punk with a gun'. He wouldn't
like doing it, but he wouldn't hold back if he thought it was necessary.
But that's a problem for tomorrow. For now, I've got an appointment with the Washington Monument.
Lantern Jordan and Lantern Stewart made a point of tidying up the city after we destroyed the Anti-Life broadcasting system. But it… The only industries it really has are government and tourism, and neither are really in demand at the moment.
Maybe things will stabilise, and maybe we can just repurpose it for something useful instead.
There are a few people around, but no one pays a lot of attention as I transition down to near the entrance of a nearby building dressed as a builder and carrying a small tent. No one pays me much attention as I head towards the Monument at a quick walk. There isn't a lot of building work in the city at the moment, and the people who
have it can't afford to give the impression that they're slacking.
Set the tent up in a plausible location near to the Monument and step inside. Drop a sound-deadening field out of subspace covering the interior of the tent. Generate a large construct drill and
dig, sending the expelled stone, concrete and earth into subspace. And wires-. Ah, replace those and move them to the edge of the hole and hope that no one noticed. Keep boring down...
Hm.
Alright, dismiss my construct, shore up the existing shaft and then create a
new drill. If this doesn't go anywhere then I can just fill the hole in. The Monument is
that way, so
dig and brace as we go.
It'll be a bit embarrassing if I
don't find anything, but just in case I'm early-.
Huh. That wall isn't supposed to be there. Or rather, it
is, because it's what I'm looking for, but the location doesn't match any plans I've been able to find and I couldn't detect it by scanning.
Right then. Another sound nullifying field generator dropped out of subspace. Not to prevent the occupant -if there is one- hearing me, but to prevent sound from this encounter making its way to the surface.
Dismiss the drill bit, generate a crumbler ram, and…
Breach.
I walk out into… Just above floor level in an underground base of some kind. Scans show… No, whatever ward system they've got set up doesn't just affect the outer wall. Plenty of room though, so I dismiss the ram, don my power armour and generate construct armour.
Shouldn't need that, but there's no sense in taking foolish risks.
The room is mostly filled with mostly-empty shelving, and there's a thin layer of dust on most of it. That makes sense; this is a mostly-sealed environment, so there's only so much dust that can get in. The places where the dust has been removed seems to be from someone poking around to see what's in the storage units, though it doesn't look like they've taken anything.
Naturally, I ring-dust the whole place as I walk through the door to the rest of the facility.
"Mister Machin, if you're here, I'd like a
word.
"
No sudden yelp of panic, and I… Seem to remember that he had an A.I. installed during his own series. That doesn't try speaking to me either. Instead, a small white terrier with a black patch over its left eye walks out of another room, tail wagging hopefully. He's wearing a black collar and has an A-in-a-circle pendant dangling off it.
He stops in the doorway, tail wagging nervously.
Ugh.
"I don't remember your name, dog.
"
"Rup!" He yaps, tail still wagging. "Rup!"
Ugh. I don't like the idea of scaring a dog in his own home, and Lonnie himself doesn't appear to be in. Dismiss construct armour, send power armour back to subspace, turn the environmental shield down to the absolute minimum, and kneel down. Take a… Chicken drumstick, yes, that'll do, out of subspace, and hold it out.
"Hungry, boy? I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to your owner.
"
And because power rings can translate into dog, he actually understands what I'm saying. As much as a dog can, anyway. His ears perk up, and his stance goes from nervous to quizzical. Then his tail slows and he walks forwards, pulling the drumstick from my hand with his mouth before turning around and trotting back into the room from whence he came.
Right, so he is
using this place, but he's not here right now. Either that or he's a very heavy sleeper. I follow the dog into… Looks like a control room. There's a large computer console across the opposite side, panels open and… Wiring that escaped from the sixties visible inside. It looks like he's making an effort to modernise it, but that's slow going for a boy his age.
Hm.
I could update that for him. And make sure that he's actually eating healthily. And check up on the structure of his brain just in case he's done anything unwise to himself.
The dog returns to his basket and starts stripping the meat from the bone with obvious relish.
"Any idea when he's getting back?
"
The dog woof-snorts.
"Alright. Let's.. see then.
" I extrude construct probes towards the computer, trying to find the data storage components. The older-.
Is that a..? My goodness. The core of this thing is an ancient hard drive the size of a laundry basket. It looks… In reasonable condition at least. I access it and… Gather the paltry amount of data that it actually stores. It looks like Mr. Machin has modified the access mechanisms in an attempt to speed it up, but-.
BOOM!
