18057/Bat in the Family

Bat in the Family
Date of Scene:	25 May 2024
Location:	Library - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Bruce talks to Talia about the ongoing vampire crisis, and enlists her help at gathering information.
Cast of Characters:	Talia al Ghul, Bruce Wayne
Tinyplot:	Red Reign

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Talia al Ghul has posed:
It's sometime in the middle of the evening. In the library, which is quiet, Talia Al Ghul is meditating. Some tea has been left over in a saucer staying warm with a hot pad. Surrounding her are a few incense candles put up and over on ceramic plates to ensure that there is no wax that drips on the floor. Talia's body is in a lotus position and her eyes are closed.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
It is a rare thing that Bruce is at the manor this late in the evening, and when he appears in the library it's with his costume still worn. The cowl hangs down his back, however. Dark hair smoothed back from the few short ours of his patrol beneath the heavy hood. He's here, in the library, looking for a particular book and while he is aware of Talia seated, he doesn't immediately go over to her. A glance in her direction, black smear around his eyes, which are intense as he picks through the endless rows of volumes until he retrieves one from amongst the stacks.

Only then does he make his way over.

"Talia." He doesn't bother trying to sneak up on her, as he's no reason to do so, and it's hit or miss if he even could where he to put effort in. The book rests on the table beside him with his fingers spread out across the top on his left hand.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Normally he's out at this time of night. So there's just a slight gesture of surprise in Talia when Bruce approaches her. It's very quickly smothered over and pressed away, but Bruce is able to tell it's there. "Bruce, rare to see you. I hope that things within the city have remained peaceful. And you're not interrupting." She goes to quickly and carefully snuff out the candles, taking care to nto risk any wax going past the plates.

She respects Alfred as the true lord of the manor, and she shall not do anything which would give him extra work.

Is she allowed to call him Bruce?

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The muscles in his jaw tighten, but there's nothing hard about his eyes. "I needed something." Simple explainations being the easiest. He taps his fingers on the book beside him. The spine indicates it's a book on Vampire mythos from the late sevententh century. "Things are fine." Which could be the truth, but is probably far more complicated. Bruce is never very forthcoming.

He nods when she says he's not interrupting and watches her snuff the candles with care to not spill any wax on the fine wood tables. His brow perks, blue eyes shifting to look up at the ceiling in a slow circle around the room. Ultimately landing upon her fully.

"I may need your assistance with something, but I'm not certain yet." To the point, straight forward. In lue of polite conversation which he's only good at when pretending in public. The fact that he's not doing so indicates she's speaking to him, not some constructed identity.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would go to rise up over then and cross her arms cautiously, "Of course, anything that I can do to aid you. Is this.. Related to the vampires?" That sort of thing she's cautious on - if only as they're vampires and there is a level of wariness. "I do not have access to my father's Pits, and I would fear that any exposed to it would come out worse than they already are." That was something that she had at least been expecting a possible question on.

Bruce is given a bow then over of a formal nature. She is a.. Guest here. Or parolee might be a more apt way of putting it.

"Or another situation? I will do what I can." In a way that will not cross her father. Whatever happened to Talia before she came to the Manor broke her mentally and terrified her.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce glances down at the book and then back up at Talia, "Yes." It's about the vampires, though he is significantly less apprehensive about them. Though probably not less cautious. His jaw tightens, then relaxes, nodding to her mention of the Pit, "That may be true, but from my research, there are only a handful of ways we can cure anyone infected with vampirism." Kill the sire or ... pull the evil out of them, in this case, with a lazarus pit.

He can tell that any mention of her father brings up some painful memories, which normally he would avoid. The fact that he's not doing so means this is important, "This creature very nearly turned Orphan and we have to assume there's a possibility that one or more of us may be affected at some point. Until we put an end to this threat, I need a viable means to cure anyone that is turned. Which means..." He nods, "A lazarus pit. If we can get your father to agree, great. If you think we can't, then we will not ask him. Either way, we will be using one. I just need to know where to find one."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod cautiously, "Yes, best to deal with them over with magic, at least in theory." Vampires are things she knows more in a theoretical way. Mostly how to hurt them. They were things that her father on occasion did business with but was always wary. Not because of thier power, but because of their age. They had the experience all too often to match his own.

"I.. Fear the same." Selina had gone off the grid and a fight with one of the vampire lords had an engagement using some of Batwoman's equipment. "I.. Will do what I can. I would however caution you to seek an outside expert to confirm first. I never heard of my father putting an undead within them." WHile she does not know that it would not work.. THe fact her father never did so speaks for itself.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce nods, his own experience with vampires is limited, but he's seen enough to make educated assumptions and hypothetical guesses. "The alternative is our allies being turned into enemies by this curse. I have several contacts I intend to reach out to, but I don't like going into any situation blind." Which is why he's doing the legwork on his end before trying to speak to Zatanna or, god forbid, Constantine. "I'm behind the eightball on this." An admission he usually wouldn't have given. Perhaps a sign of trust.

"I don't like that." Batman is always prepared.

"For now, I'm giving everyone with access to the Manor strict orders never to be out alone. I've reached out to others who operate independently-" The Kate Kanes and Barbara Gordons of Gotham, "-And haven't heard back. Which is disconcerting. If you have contacts that I don't, now is the time to call on them. We need to shut this down."

"Now."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "I will do so." She was a member of the Justice LEague Dark, or moreso an ally. "However, most of them are used to.. Combating vampires, not trying to cure them. They can be contained.. I will do what I can. What level of.. Permission do I have when it comes to passing along information and how to get in touch with you?" That was the tricky thing - how much was she allowed to share in these circumstances.

Particularly given the rather informal way that the League often operated in when it came to the field. "I'll get ahold of.. My sister. She'll have more information on my father's side facilities." Talia was terrified of Ras. Nyssa actively opposed him. And had so for centuries. So if anyone knew where to find a Pit or other information that Ras had..

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Bruce had a healthy respect for Ras, but he was not afraid of him. "As much as they need to know. I'll trust your judgement on that. I don't want an influx of magicians running around causing chaos in Gotham, but if they can help, good. Get them in touch with me." He was a leason for the Justice League Dark, mostly through his connection to Zatanna.

To the latter bit, about her sister, Bruce nods. "Good. We'll need that connection." There was a snow balls chance in a microwave Ras was likely to help either of them. So he was fairly well sure when it came to it, and it would come to it, they'd have to take the Lazarus Pit by force. The more intel they had the better.

He taps the top of the book set on the table beside him with the ends of his fingers. Another nod. He starts to say something, stops, and grabs the tome on his way towards the door. Where he again stops. "Damian has a new cat. His name is Shadow." He half turns to look back at her. "It's a monster." There's the faintest hint of a grin on his stubbled face.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod, "All right< I'll speak to some of the more.. Discrete members that may be of aid." That somewhat limited things if only as the ones with the msot direct expeirence with vampires knew how to kill each and every one of them with the power of a god but didn't necessarily know anything beyond the 'purge it with fire'. "First you'll need a safe way to contain and capture them before anything else. And that will be the most difficult thing."

Becasue catching one of the Bats that had gone to ground.. Or heaven help them Selina if her going missing was a part of this..

"I'll find out what I can. And isn't the correct term that a new cat has Damian?" SHe would quip.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
A concerning possibility that certainly troubles Bruce's mind. How can they contain someone that he may or may not have trained, who now has the powers of a vampire. He nods to her, the spectre of the grin gone in lue of his jaw once again tightening. He doesn't specifically say that it involves Selina, but she is one of the individuals who's gone missing since all of this started. "We have a great many resources at our disposal should that become necessary." He's not an optimist. Point of fact, Batman is pragmatic. He always assumes the worst, then plans for it.

So it's safe to say he's already got something in the works.

Because Batman always has something in the works.

"For now, we keep our people safe. Call in specialized aid to help in training against this new threat. Develop new tools to combat them. We do the work. We prepare. And if things are worse than we imagine, we deal with that too." How anyone can remain that stoic in the face of such a grime possibility is Bruce's real super power. Willpower and determination.

"Maybe." A new cat has Damian. He grins, fully, for a half second. "It's a cute cat." The grin evaporates.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod over at Bruce thoughtfully and let out a breath. "The best way I can suggest that might keep them.. Stable while also not at risk of breakout until a treatment could be found would be cryogenics. There would be no risk given thier.. Enhanced state and they could be brought in and out as resources were available." And none of the risks of perhpas overrelying on magic or something overly technological to do so. And (hopefully) thanks to Freeze the equipment would already be available.

"I'll make inquiries immediately. I'll have them passed along to the Justice League itself then unless they're of immediate aid." And if Zatanna couldn't be available first.

"Of course. I take given the name it's black?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"I'd considered that." Cryogenics. There was a great many of Freeze's tools down in the Cave, afterall. With enough conversation he may even be able to convince Freeze to assist them directly, but that's a bridge not yet crossed. "There's not telling how many people are already infected. Dozens, hundreds? We can't know yet." The sheer amount of power necessary for something like that would be staggering. Not impossible... but staggering. His finger drums the book laid against his costumed thigh, half beneath the weighted black cape.

"I'll be reaching out to the key members of the Justice League that will be of the most assistance with this. I don't want them sticking their noses in either." Batman has certainly loosened his grip on other heroes operating in Gotham, but a sudden surge of said heroes from the Justice League brings Justice League problems to his city.

"Besides, not all of them will be useful. Cherry pick who you talk to. We want the right help, not a lot of it."

He nods about the cat. "Yes. Two litterboxes. He says that's mandatory." He chuckles, but there's no sound, just the shift of his shoulders. "I'm pretty sure that cat is saving lives. The hero we need."

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would just slowly nod over at Bruce, "I understand. I'll also warn you that a mass curing of vampirism has been something pursued for millenia. I trust in your associates but it may be something beyond what can be done." SHe would wince. "And I have another possibility,b ut it's one that you're not going to like and that will have just as many dangers and traps.. But also might get you more useful information if you're interested in pursuing it."

She would take a breath. "Firstly, vampire clans are often territorial. Many of them are of different.. Species?" That was the closest term she could come up with, accurate or not. "And many of them loathe one another. IF you could find one that's in.. Opposition to the vampire lord.. They may be all too happy to share information." And try to backstab as much as possible.

"And I'll get back to you as soon as I have some ideas."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"You're right, I don't like that." Bruce admits, but that doesn't mean he's above it. If it comes to it. "I'm not going to trade a devil for another devil and I'm not going to encourage a vampiric war to wage out on the streets of Gotham." That will cause a whole new mess that may be impossible to clean up. "I trust in our capabilities and those of our allies. If we pick the right people to assist us, we may be able to sever the link with the Master Vampire and free these people of any control. From there we'll decide how to proceed. Any cures we'll use as need and availablity dictates." If there is one.

Pragmatism.

"Good, keep me informed. I'll have Tim put together a datapackage of what we know to distribute to those you speak to. Be discrete. We're not at 'nuclear option' yet." He taps the book and nods, glancing through the door. "I have to go. Patrol." He doesn't immediately leave. "It's good to have you here, Talia." Even rarer still.

Talia al Ghul has posed:
Talia al Ghul would nod and give a bow, "I'll get bcak as soon as I have someone or some artifact that's useful." There's pain in her eyes - not related to Bruce, but at someone she knew and trusted that could have helped here that had moved beyond this realm. "I'll contact Nyssa and see if she knows of any useful locations of a Pit that my father keeps in reserve or lightly guarded." Talia had two runins with said master vampire. Neither went particularly well.

As she reviews options in her mind, she's caught by surprise at Bruce saying thanks to her. Something to be treasured.. For it might not happen again. "Thank.. You." Her mouth goes to form the words 'beloved' but it is suppressed before her lips have moved on to the first syllable.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
The slip was enough for Bruce to catch it. Very little sneaks past him, after all. He doesn't say anything, but does stare at her for a few moments longer. Then nods and slips out of the library as quietly as he'd entered, reaching to pull his cowl back up over his head with a smooth motion of his hand. He's never troubled by his throughts. The Batman doesn't have time to be uncomfortable. He'd sat on his hands for long enough that a major threat had risen in Gotham, right under his nose.

There will be time enough to sort out feelings once it's dealt with.

Now he needs to go see a man about a horse.