8047/Post-Hell Debrief

Post-Hell Debrief
Date of Scene:	25 September 2021
Location:	Library - Wayne Manor
Synopsis:	Selina accompanies Bruce on a post-Apokolips checkup on Tim. The cat is let out of the bag as they all agree to acknowledge each other's secret identities.
Cast of Characters:	Selina Kyle, Tim Drake, Bruce Wayne

---

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Tim Drake probably doesn't remember blacking out, which is fair enough, considering he needed an artificial adrenaline rush just to move a few minutes beforehand. The day that Batman, M'Gann and... someebody else, processing is hard when you're in a rush, that energy ran out pretty shortly after the portal closed.

    He is, at least, somewhere comfortable when he starts waking up. Even if someone is being a little noisy.

    "...-actly what I'm saying, though. Robin was on the boat with you. That was way after we m- oh!" As Tim's senses filter back in, he might see, of all things, Catwoman seated beside the bed - costumed and everything - holding a cup of coffee in her ungloved hands as she seems to notice the ex-boy-wonder waking. "Oh hey, I think he's waking up."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The last thing he remembers is bursting through into the cave, going "I need to--" and then nothing. Because that was precisely when M'gann's psychic burst of adrenaline gave out on him, and thus so did Tim's body. Faceplanting directly into the cave floor was probably not the best for his injuries. Oh well.

    His black eye is probably the worst of what's visible at this point. The gashes on his arm have no doubt been stitched up and bandaged, and judging by how tight his chest feels, his ribs have been wrapped. That's all good.

    Taking an accounting of his injuries is the first thing he does. Then Tim tries to figure out where the hell he is.

    It's been a while since he slept on this bed.

    Okay, so, he's in the manor. That's a voice he recognizes, more or less, though he's still more than a little surprised when he opens his eyes (well, eye) to see Catwoman next to his bed. "I'm not dead," he clarifies.

    Just as much for himself as whoever else is in the room. He's assuming there's someone else in the room. But finding that out for certain is a little bit beyond him at the moment, if he's being perfectly honest.

Bruce Wayne has posed:
Despite misgivings about leaving Tim's bedside, Bruce has changed into a cable knit grey sweater and a pair of dark slacks. He holds a mug of coffee in two hands, suspended between his knees as he sits hunched forward on a high-backed chair directly opposite Tim's line of sight. His dark brows are knitted in concern, piercing blue eyes watching for any sign of serious injury that can only be diagnosed in the conscious state.

"Mm."

He puts the coffee aside on the bedside table, rising to his feet and producing a penlight from his pocket. He holds it up rather unceremoniously, flashing it into Tim's eyes and peering carefully for a moment.

"No concussion. Good. Alfred's making chicken mulligatawny soup. I'll ask him to bring you up a bowl and some ice water."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Tim's announcement earns a tired smirk from Selina, who reclines in her relatively humble chair and says, "Well hell, that's the second bet I've lost today." She tilts her head curiously as Bruce immediately sets to work, rubber-necking a little to see what Bruce is doing. When he finishes, Catwoman adds "Also, glad you're okay." on Bruce's behalf, giving him a little bit of a teasing look, before looking down to Tim. "You picked a hell of a place to get lost, kid."

Tim Drake has posed:
    Tim bears the light being flashed into his eyes with the resigned acceptance of someone who has done this particular song and dance before. Once Bruce is done, Tim lifts a hand to gently palpate around his black eye. "No orbital fracture, I don't think," he reports after some grimacing, then slowly he lowers his arm back to the mattress. "Thanks."

    After Selina's last comment, he admits, "Thought I was in actual hell there for a little while." His fingers flex into fists and then release at his sides; judging by that movement, no broken bones there, though his knuckles are pretty savaged. The next thing he tries is to take a deeper breath than the fairly shallow ones he's been doing thus far, and he manages.

    Not without a little wheezy groan, though.

    "Oh god, this is a really awkward time to bring up that I'm a vegetarian," he says, after. "Please don't tell Alfred. I'll eat the soup."

    It looks like after that he's just going to pass right back out, given his eyes are closed and his expression has smoothed out, but then Tim pipes up with a "So she knows, then?"

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"Not Hell," Bruce answers, folding away the tools of his trade and rising to his feet properly, "A close approximation though. Intel suggests that it was the 'Apokolips' that Vundabar kept referring to. The statues depicted 'Darkseid' - presumably a deity or magisterial figure. "

Bruce raises an eyebrow at the mention of vegetarianism. He's never been one to belittle such practices, but everyone knows his view of food is purely about filling in nutritional gaps. Skipping out on meat never made practical sense to him.

The question about Selina prompts him to turn his gaze to her for a moment: "Yes. Among other things. Selina Kyle, Tim Drake."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina briefly looks uncomfortable at Tim's description of Apokalypse, but she sharply sits up and looks aghast when Bruce casually drops her name. "Uhp!" She squints and gestures at Bruce, "You!" she presses her lips together very tightly, then reclines back into her chair with a hard nasal sigh, pouting furiously and crossing her arms. "Guess we're not asking cats how they feel about bags today."

    She indulges in a second of frowning, before smiling at Tim and giving a little finger-waggle. "Hellooo. Nice to meet you again." She adds "Love the new costume." before taking a sip of her drink.

    Obviously it's not the first time they've met. Catwoman's made an endearing nuisance of herself for years, making her big return the year or so after Tim became Robin. Still, identities and all that.

Tim Drake has posed:
    "I--I think he's real. The way they talked about him, over there... if he's a god, he's the kind that makes public appearances," Tim says, and then he presses his hand against his side, through the layers of blankets over him. "Vundabar, he's their resident Jigsaw. Pretty sure he would've put a cage on my head if I hadn't picked the lock on my cell while he was giving the typical villain speech."

    He's ruminating in his thoughts--or maybe the memories of his time in Apokolips, judging by way his expression has gone tense--when Bruce gives him and Selina a formal introduction. "Is that a thing we're doing now? Admitting we know who she is?"

    Well then. Weakly, he lifts a hand to return the finger-wiggle. "Hello Ms. Kyle. Glad to see you've taken up less illegal hobbies. I always thought you were, um, nice," he replies. And he only sounds mildly dubious about that last word!

    Immediately after saying that, though, he winces. And not because of whatever pain he's likely in. "Oh, no. I had plans. Can I--is my phone around here somewhere? I need to make a call, maybe um--texts."

Bruce Wayne has posed:
"He's already worked it out on his own," Bruce tells Selina rather flatly, reaching to pick up the former Robin's cell phone and tossing it to him casually from across the room, "He's just too polite to tell you."

"Regardless of what they do in their own dimension, they came to this one for a reason. They want something and it's here. That private island that belonged to Bates is the next thing we need to check. These people thought Bates had what they were looking for or at least knew where it was and killed him when he didn't cooperate."

Selina Kyle has posed:
    Selina purposefully turns her eyes up and away in a suspicious manner, and says "... Yyyyeeeess. Completely. No more crime for me." She says, mostly to tease Bruce, judging by the look she gives him after that. "You're a sweet kid." she replies to Tim. "Terrible judge of character, though~"

    She shoots Bruce a friendly little glare and says, "Someday I'm gonna find a comfortable illussion of yours, and pop it." Her expression grows more serious when the topic turns back to Apokalypse, however. "Don't supppose they mentioned anything about what they're looking for? They seem big on talking."

Tim Drake has posed:
    The phone bounces on the mattress and Tim's hand seeks it out. There are a lot of notifications waiting for him, lots of texts in various stages of frantic, and Tim squints his one good eye at the screen.

    "You have no idea," is all he says about Selina's critique on his ability to read someone's intentions, with a breathy wheeze of a laugh that turns pretty quickly into a wince.

    He has to twist uncomfortably to start responding to his texts, because one of his arms isn't really cooperating with him. His thumbs tap away at his phone as he says, "Mostly grandstanding with a side of proselytizing. Not a whole lot to go on." The next inhale he takes is sharp because of his positioning. Kids and their obsessive attachments to their phones.

    Of course, Tim at least has the excuse that he's trying to let people know he's not dead. Maybe that's a point in his favor.

    "I really don't want to find out exactly how far they're willing to go to find it, whatever it is," he adds. Then he hits the dial button and tucks his phone between his ear and the pillow he's resting on.