A Bat in a Wulf's den(Batman, Force)

[Deleted]

Wulfen had spent the night out on patrol and was getting ready to get back to his apartment. He was impressed with how well he did, ever since he and Lupin had merged he became a much better fighter. As well as a better vigilante. Although a problem he had now was that he was having to get used to Cana. He was also glad that he didn't change into that other him.

He just made it to the alley near his apartment. He looked around abit and then jumped up to grab the ladder for the fire escape. After three tries he finally managed to get it down and climb up it. He then started to move up the fire escape as quietly as he could. To his dismay he wasn't very quiet. Luckily no one looked out to see what was going on. The whole way up he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He stopped at the window to his apartment and looked around. After a few seconds he opened the window and climbed inside. Normally he would have called out to Force in order to let her know he was home. But he had managed to finally wrap his head around the idea that she could read his mind.

[vigilant]

Batman was out on patrol that night. He swooped from building to building, aided by the shadows themselves. No one saw him. Not even the policemen that stared out sleepily, eager for their shift to end. Other than for James Gordan himself, Batman had no faith in Gotham's law enforcement. Underhanded thieves. The only thing that kept their hands out of the average taxpayer's pockets was their salary, which came in the form of a fat check they didn't deserve. Batman had no patience for them. Perhaps that was why they had no patience for him, either.

But even though he was, in every sense of the word, a vigilante, he wasn't about to support every stray self-proclaimed hero in the streets. He saw, from a distance, a new and unfamiliar face. How peculiar. The man was skulking about, and doing a rather terrible job at it. Compared to the Batman, Gotham's Silent Guardian, the man was a boy playing in the sandbox. Still new. Still an amateur. Sure to cause a mishap, if things went astray.

So Batman trailed after him, grim-faced and frustrated. His job was to protect the citizens of Gotham. But now, more than ever, he had to pluck so-called vigilantes out of the streets, armed with crowbars and pistols and some joke of a mask. Sometimes, they even dressed like him. But perhaps it was a good thing that Gotham's citizens were taking it upon themselves to protect their city. Perhaps he was inspiring change. But untrained men, armed with a gun? That was dangerous. When forced to come face to face with Gotham's most hardened villains, what prevented them from acting out in desperation, like the criminals themselves?

As Wulfen climbed into the window, Batman landed silently on the roof. It took but a handful of seconds to examine the building from outside, making sure that it wasn't stocked with people or weapons. Then he was behind Wulfen. A push, causing the man to topple inwards, before the Batman slipped in quietly after. The window was snapped shut, before he turned to stand menacingly over the fallen Wulfen. Arms crossed, face scowling. Up close, he looked bigger than ever; a giant, dwarfing over young Wulfen, with every intent to unleash his wrath on the amateur vigilante.

"What do you think you're doing?"

[Deleted]

At the sound of someone at the window, Phoebe immediately throws her mind in that direction. She can't help but be somewhat paranoid about someone at the window, even knowing that it's probably only Victor, but she's always worried about that. Sensing his mind, her worries cease, and she gets up from where she's sitting in the kitchen to go join him. While she'd gotten used to being alone while she was living on the streets, she still enjoys being with someone a lot more, and he usually has something interesting to tell about his patrols.

However, a moment later the sounds coming from the room inform her that this is not an ordinary homecoming. She breaks into a run, though the apartment is small and it only takes her another moment to round the corner and see a dark figure standing over Wulfen, who has been knocked to the floor.

And her reaction is largely instinctive: at the speed of thought she wraps the dark figure in a series of invisible but possibly indestructible binds, using them to pin its arms to his sides and its legs together, before lifting it a foot off the ground for added measure. It's one of the many very carefully trained moves that she'd perfected during her training under the government and actually quite tricky - it's hard to hold someone just tightly enough that they can't wiggle too much, but not so tightly that they can't breath or, worse, you actually crush them to death. She 'killed' a lot of dummies before she got the hang of that one.

It's only after she's certain that she's secured him that she recognizes who she's caught. Her eyes go wide, but she manages to not let her grip waiver. "You're Batman..." she says quietly, her voice a mixture of fear and awe. But it only takes her a moment to remember why she's holding him. "What are you doing to Wulfen!?!" she demands angrily. Ever since hearing about Gotham's dark knight she's had her doubts about him - both for good and for bad. Victor, on the other hand, is a known - he's definitely a good guy. Maybe even too good, in some ways. Batman, on the other hand, is a complete unknown.

Then again, that's a problem easily solved, as the moment she picked him up she also shifted from Victor's thoughts to his. Compared to her telekinesis, her telepathy is quite weak - she can sense a person's surface thoughts well enough to discover the truth, but she can't probe. But that's just as well because it also means that her mental touch is usually too weak for anyone to feel. So even if he lies to her she'll soon learn the truth - and probably even if he doesn't answer her question.

[Deleted]

Wulfen grunted as he fell to the ground. He knew that it wasn't Force. It didn't smell right. Before he even hit the ground he was getting ready to fight. Someone was in here. In his apartment. He was going to fight back to protect his living space as well as Force. After all he did make a promise. He quickly rolled over and was going to kick out at whoever had pushed him.

He didn't. When he saw the tall imposing figure he found himself unable to act. There was just something about the figure that caused a feeling of fear to rise up in him. Which oddly enough was the effect he was going for with his urban werewolf outfit. He started to crawl away from the figure. Eventually he stopped and put a hand out "Wait!" He said as the figure asked what he was doing. Then the figure started to lift up off the ground. The fear in Wulfen started to rise with him. Before he realized what it was. When he saw the figure was being restricted by an invisible force he knew Force was there.

Wulfen slowly got up still somewhat shaken by the sight of the tall dark figure. When he heard Force speak he looked at the figure and realized who it was. His eyes widened behind the lenses on his mask. "Batman? As in The Batman?' He asked not quite believing. After all why on Earth would Batman be bothering little Wulfen? "You'd better answer her question." He said in as firm a voice as he could manage at the moment.

[vigilant]

Batman surprised Wulfen, only to be surprised himself. Oh, the irony. Still, Bruce wasn't in the mood for jokes. The binds were too tight. Not because it hurt his body, but because it hurt his ego. He came in, fully intent on scolding the amateur vigilante, showing him once and for all how lacking his skills truly were. But here he was, The Batman himself, held a foot above the ground with arms pinned to his sides, like a tightly wrapped Christmas present.

"To warn him against playing hero."

But that would have to wait for another time. Batman recognized Force immediately. Even though he had never personally met her, he was well aware of her abilties. Her talents. The talents that the FBI had sought out and made a point to manipulate. For them, she was a living, breathing weapon; better than a cannon, better than a bazooka. She was power contained in a tiny child's body. Still, they had made a grievious error, having thought that this girl, this young talent, didn't have a mind of her own and was prepared to unleash it anytime.

"Let me down."

Even with his arms pinned, Batman was frightening. His voice, frigid and cold, reminiscent of winter's bitterest bite. His face, a harsh scowl underneath the dark cowl. He didn't show fear. He didn't show weakness. If anything, Batman seemed more angry, more determined than ever to break free. Turning his gaze sharply on the young vigilante, Wulfen, he narrowd his eyes, until the white lens became flashing pale slits. Still, even with all the odds stacked against him, the Batman was obstinate. Couple that with the aura of mystique surrounding him, and one couldn't help but be fearful and think that he has a plan and they better do as he says.

[Deleted]

The second that she recognized Batman, Phoebe essentially stopped paying any attention to Wulfen. Partly because she trusts him to not do anything she wouldn't like. But mostly because there aren't very many people in the world that she's less certain of than Batman. She remembers how long and hard the FBI scoured the city trying to find him, only to fail. And how certain so many of the agents were that he was the worst of the worst when it came to the people they needed to save Gotham from. Then again, she also remembers how completely wrong they were about that with so many other people. And how many of the citizens whose minds she touched are certain that he's a hero.

And then he comes charging in here, attacking Wulfen, who she knows for sure is definitely a good guy. Or at least she's pretty sure - she's still recovering from having been wrong about Agent Tiff and isn't even completely certain of her own judgment anymore even though she can read minds. Batman is certainly not helping his case if he wants Phoebe to look at him favorably by doing that. Still, what she can read from Batman's surface thoughts seems... okay. She thinks. At least with regard to why he was going after Wulfen - she actually understands a lot more from other people's words than the words themselves because words are merely a pale reflection of the thought behind them and she can read the entire thought as the person speaks. It does not take much for her to really understand a person.

Then again, just because she understands doesn't mean that she agrees. "Wulfen is a good guy. A very good guy. Hurting people and scaring them is what bad guys do. And he's too stubborn to let that stop him for very long anyway. You should talk to him. That's how good guys treat good guys," she says simply. She knows that will probably seem very simplistic to an adult, but just because the logic is simple doesn't mean that it isn't true.

But that moment of uncertainty she showed when she first recognized Batman crosses her features again as she catches Batman's thoughts about her. You know... she says quietly in Batman's mind, keeping the thought from Wulfen. Wulfen hasn't asked about her past, and she wouldn't have told him even if he had. She'd rather avoid it and forget it, even though she knows that's going to eventually be impossible. But she can't help it though - she doesn't know what to do with all of the self-doubt, all of the nagging guilt that gnaws on her even though she's pretty sure that she shouldn't feel it. And she can't ignore the feeling with Batman's thoughts reminding her of it.

Though the visible hesitation in her vanishes the moment that Batman tells her to let him down though. If she were an ordinary ten year-old girl, she'd probably find him terrifying. But she most certainly isn't ordinary. She's extremely powerful, always has been, and knows just how competent she is will her powers - she doesn't scare easily at all. Not only that, her ability to read Batman's mind means that she knows exactly what he's trying to do, looking around at them like that.

She walks further into the room, stepping in front of Wulfen where she can look at Batman squarely in the eye. "I decide who can tell me what to do now!" she says very firmly before folding her arms in front of her, letting him know in no uncertain terms that he crossed a line by attempting to do so. She didn't leave the FBI only to start taking orders from someone she isn't completely certain of yet.

But after pausing for only a moment to let that point sink in, she's much more mild as she adds, "I'll put you down, but I'm not letting you go until I'm ready." Because she doesn't fail to recognize from his thoughts that the way that she's holding him is a bit... undignified. And he probably doesn't deserve that any more than Wulfen deserved to be attacked. She lowers him to the floor first, and then pulls four pennies out of her pocket. "I'm putting you in a cube - top and bottom match the floor and ceiling, these will show you where the sides are," she explains as she lifts them up and orients them around him that indicates a shape roughly seven foot square around him - they help make up for the fact that her telekinetic barriers are invisible and he might bump into them without a visual reference.

Once the pennies are in place, she releases him from the bonds. He's still basically just as stuck as he was before, but it's probably a lot more comfortable being contained in a large invisible box than it is being tightly bound. "Better?" she asks. She already knows the answer to that, but she's wondering if he'll actually say so. He's one of the most grumpy-headed people she's ever read the mind of.

[Deleted]

Wulfen felt himself feeling a slight bit of fear. But after hearing Force talk he started to relax. He had someone to back him up. After a few seconds he shook his head some. "She has a point. If someone had 'warned' you to not 'play hero' I'm positive you wouldn't have listened." He said crossing his arms. and looking Batman squarely in the eyes. "And I'm not going out to look for fights that are out of me league." He said walking up to one of the pennies.

Just as he found himself growing more and more confidant Cana appeared to complicate things. Seeing as only Wulfen could see her despite the fact that she's real and not a figment of his mind he had to now avoid looking crazy. "And I'm sure that you had to learn a few things before you got to where you are now." He said. "You tell him buddy." Cana commented. 'Not now.' He thought to himself.

Wulfen was glad he was still in costume he wasn't sure if he wanted the Batman to know who he was. Wulfen looked at Force, he was thankful that he was being backed up by someone who everyone could see. Though he felt that it was more him backing her up. "But I'll admit I liked how you made your entrance." He said with a slight shrug with his arms still crossed.

[vigilant]

Batman was stiff as a wooden plank as Force lectured him. He seemed aggravated, bound and suspended as he was. The only reprieve for his wounded pride was the fact that she was no ordinary child, that she had powers beyond the scope of human understanding, and it was never a fair fight to begin with. But where Batman lacked in brute force, he made up for in steely resolve, a chilling collectedness, and sheer intellect. He wasn't going to fight her head on, it would be like tossing feathers at a metal wall. But he would try to pacify the situation at hand.

"No, but I would make sure that no one is compromised because of me."

The full force of his gaze was fixed on Wulfen. His eyes, a fierce blue underneath the white lens, were intense as he scrutinized the amateur vigilante. He saw so much, yet voiced so little. Every detail was absorbed and deposited in the backburner of his brain, where he was sure it would become useful, later. If anything, he was more interested as to how, and why, Force had teamed up with him. Batman thought she had left, when the FBI made their departure. But for reasons he can't even begin to fanthom, she has remained in Gotham City.

"You want to make this city a better place... but have you considered that your inexperience, that your lack of proper training, could mean that Gotham's protectors would have to distract themselves with protecting you while this city's most hardened villains wreck havoc? Do we have time for every little self-proclaimed hero?"

Yes, Batman was rough around the edges, gruff, and blunt. But Force would know that he wasn't lying, that even if what he said had hurt Wulfen, at least he was honest. An honest man, in a dishonest city. Slowly, he descended, boot-clad feet touching the ground. His hands extended before him, and he felt the intangible walls she had made with her mind. Impressive. It felt solid, stronger than cement, tougher than a stack of bricks. There was no use fighting his way out. It seems the best option at hand is to negotiate, and to acquire as much information as possible. Turning to Force, he regarded her thoughtfully, eyes distant as the images of the FBI wrecking havoc in Gotham flooded his mind.

"Why are you here? I thought you left."

[Deleted]

It's true that Phoebe is no ordinary girl, but that's not limited to her powers. They effect more than just what she's able to do but also who she is as a person. Her ability to read the minds of others, something she's been able to do for as long as she can remember, has been particularly influential in how she sees things. And one of her stronger viewpoints is the place of violence; she doesn't like it. But she's also not so naive as to think that it's never necessary. However, to her at least, this is not one of those situations. And she's quite pleased when she senses that Batman recognizes that it's not a good idea to fight her anyway.

She goes quiet as Batman and Victor talk, not really feeling like she's a part of that conversation. While she can vouch for Victor's character, she doesn't feel the need to do the same for either his skills and the wisdom (or lack thereof) of his patrols. She's essentially neutral on the subject - hasn't even really thought about it, actually. Victor's a grown adult who can decide for himself how much risk he wants to take. Though on the other hand, Batman does bring up a few good points. Now that she's ensured that it's a conversation rather than a horribly one sided fight, she's content to let them work it out for themselves.

As Batman inspects her barrier with his hands, she watches him in silence. Hard, seamless - she can create them to have a little give to them if she wants to, but these aren't that type. They never did do a proper test to see how strong she is, but when she was in training her shields proved themselves against medium-sized bombs. And more recently she assisted Superman while he repaired a bridge by holding it up for him... yes, her telekinesis is not weak by any stretch of the imagination.

When Batman turns his attention to her, she regards him with perhaps similar care. Her expression reflects her thoughts very easily, showing that she's profoundly uncertain about this man that she's holding in her cube. Though she can sense his good intentions, she's more recently learned that simple good intentions aren't good enough. While they may mark someone as a good person at heart, it doesn't mean that you ought to trust and listen to them.

Something that she learned in perhaps the hardest possible way very recently, and as Batman's head fills with images of what the FBI did to Gotham, her face suddenly floods with guilt and she looks at the floor. "Because I learned that I can tell when someone's lying, but I can't tell when they're wrong. And that sometimes somebody can think that they're right, but actually they're very, very, very, very, very wrong..." she gets a pained look on her face when she says that, adding, "I should have figured that out faster. A lot faster. But I didn't until they told me that we were going. So I didn't go with them." She pauses for a moment before admitting, "I don't know what I'm doing now - but Wulfen said I could stay here. I didn't have anywhere before that." She'd lived on the streets for a few months, in fact.

[Deleted]

Wulfen held a finger up when he heard Batman use the word 'self-proclaimed hero' "Ah. So you're not infallible." He said. Not in an offensive manner. But in the usual manner he used when he was teaching. "I never said I was a hero. As a matter of fact when someone asked me if I was a hero I said I wasn't." He said as he started pacing with his hands clasped behind his back. He was falling into his teaching style. "Besides I haven't gone out looking for a fight with anyone else wearing a costume. I've only fight off buggers. I'd actually prefer it if you didn't use the word 'hero' when talking about me."

He had originally wanted to keep it secret that they were in his apartment. But Force sorta let that little fact slip out. Oh well no harm done. From what he had heard Batman would have found out eventually. "Plus I'm not the one entering someone's house without permission. Where I'm from it would be well within my rights and completely legal for me to shoot you." He said as he finished pacing and looked at the Batman. He respected the man but he was defending his character in a way. Plus he was in his apartment. "And if you really don't like me being inexperienced then teach me. Or point me to someone who could." He said shrugging.

Even though he wasn't saying it, he was wondering what Batman had meant when he said that he thought Force had left. But he wasn't going to ask her about it at the moment. After all so far when she spoke up she was speaking against him. So turning around and asking her what she meant now didn't seem like a good idea. But he might go on to ask her later. But that didn't stop Cana. "What does he mean by that?" He asked to Wulfen seeing as he was the only one who could truly hear her with his own ears. And Wulfen simply ignored her. After all he didn't want Batman to have something else to use against him.

[vigilant]

Batman was frustrated, but he wasn't blind. A mental checklist sprang to mind as he observed Wulfen. Body language, reminiscent of a teacher or professor. Calm, cool-headed. Intelligent. Batman also made sure to make a mental note that this was Wulfen's apartment. Later on, he promised to do a complete background check on the man. His birth, his upbringing, every little adventure he's ever had down to the most finite detail. Then Wulfen mentioned shooting him. A younger, more inexperienced him might have tensed at the thought. But Batman, Gotham's hardened vigilante, merely stared at Wulfen, the scowl on his face deepening imperceptibly. If the man thought he was being funny, he wasn't. There was nothing funny about shooting anyone.

"But you're not going to."

It wasn't a threat. It wasn't a question. It was a statement of authority; a declaration made, as surely as the sky was blue and the ocean was deep. Perhaps, since first having laid eyes on the man, Batman knew Wulfen didn't have it in him to shoot a man dead. Not because he was weak, but because he was kind. Perhaps this was Batman's saying of letting Wulfen know that The Dark Knight was a keen observant of people, and for the few minutes they've known each other, he had already taken him apart and put him back together. That for a man like Gotham's Caped Crusader, who had seen the most hardened, psychotic criminals to the most innocuous child, he knew every medium in-between. He knew Wulfen, perhaps better than the man would ever know Batman.

But his attention soon turned to Force. He listened, silent. If her words, and the underlying emotions, somehow managed to weed through that hard-edged exterior, he didn't show it. There was only his eyes, blue shards shrouded behind white lens, as they peered thoughtfully at her. No, he didn't have telekinesis. No, he couldn't read people's minds. But Batman had endured his share of mishaps, and tasted enough of life to last a lifetime. He knew enough about life, and enough about people, to understand the way she felt. No, there was no need for mind-reading or metahuman empathy. You just need a touch of insight, and a lot of humanity.

"It's not your fault. You thought knowledge and wisdom was the same thing. It isn't. Knowledge is knowing, wisdom is knowing what to do with your knowing... and choosing to do something about it."

[Deleted]

Frowning slightly, Phoebe turns to look at Victor. "You run around in a costume and beat up bad guys, Wulfen. Of course you're a hero - get over the word already," she tells him with a shake of her head and a smirk on her face, but then her expression gets a lot more serious when she adds, "And you shouldn't joke about shooting people - it's not funny, and I don't like it." Her eyes flicker over to Batman for a moment as she says that. She's not a fan of guns herself, never mind that she's pretty much immune to them when she's ready for them, but not to the same degree as Batman. And she's far more aware than Batman is just how far away Victor is from doing any such thing - he's just too nice. And even if he wasn't she'd stop him.

But all of that is very simple compared to the thoughts and emotions that stew in her head at Batman's thoughts and words. "Well, it's my fault that it took so long," she insists, "I feel stupid in two ways." She should have known that the FBI wasn't really helping Gotham, and she should have been wise enough to realize that she had that blind-spot to her ability to know the real truth about things instead of taking opinion for fact.

There's a moment of hesitation before she looks up at Batman and asks, "What do you think that I should do now? I don't really... belong anywhere. I mean, Wulfen's nice letting me stay here, but I don't really do anything." The question is actually a test of sorts. Depending on how Batman answers, she'll know just how far to trust him. Because while she can sense that his motives are good, people can have the best motives in the world and yet make bad choices. And while she has no idea what the real answer to that is, there's a short list of perfectly terrible and unacceptable answers to it that she needs to know aren't in Batman's head if she's going to trust him at all.

[Deleted]

When the two reacted to his comment about shooting someone Wulfen held up a hand. "I was simply making a point. The only way I would shoot anyone would be if I or someone around me was in direct danger and I had no, repeat no, other choice." He said before lowering his hand again. He then looked at the Batman and shook his head slightly. This had to be the strangest talk he ever had. He was ambushed by the Batman. Only to have said Batman to be trapped in a transparent box and then have to sit through Wulfen falling into his teacher routine.

Then he heard Force's comment. What did she mean? What did they mean? He wanted to ask her but he didn't want to give the Dark Knight another point to use in his argument. After all if Batman was against the idea of Wulfen then fine. But he didn't want to drag Force into this as a 'sidekick' Because she wasn't a sidekick by any means.

"So is that the end of you're discussion with me?" Wulfen asked. "If so then I'll step aside so I won't be in the way." He added in a slightly diplomatic tone that was still awful teacher like.

[vigilant]

Batman still fumed inwardly at Wulfen's comment about guns. It was something he simply didn't tolerate. Firearms in the hands of civilians. Firearms in the hands of would-be, self-proclaimed amateur vigilantes. All it takes is a moment, a brief, dazzling instant of confusion, and Gotham City will be covered with the corpses of bullet-ridden civilians. You give a man a gun, and he thinks he's invincible. He's seen this for himself, in the eyes of a man stricken by poverty, carried away in the arms of corruption and desperation. Even now, nearly three decades later, he could still see the man's eyes; a wild, crazed blue, cold as arctic ice, before he shot down the man and woman who had meant the whole world to a young boy.

"I can find you a better hideout. If you were to stay here, and in the event someone decides to follow our young hero home like I did today, you'd be discovered. I can only offer you protection. What you do with your power and your life is for you to choose. I only ask you choose more wisely this time."

His eyes fixed themselves on Wulfen. He appraised the man up and down. There was one thing he was right about. If he wasn't going to be able to be able to stop him from patrolling the streets, the best bet would be to train him. To make sure he's more help than hindrance. But still, Batman was yet unsure, and still very distrustful of the man's character. They had only just met. But even so, he could see the man's desire to do good, even if it was almost misguided because of his inexperience. Something worth thinking about. Something that he would need to take a few sleepless nights to mull over.

"Stay. You're in too deep already."

[Deleted]

At Wulfen's comment, Phoebe glances over at him and says, "I'm not sure you could even do it then - you'd probably have to think about it for too long and miss your chance." When you have the ability to read people's minds, you can get to know them very well, very quickly. And she's been with Victor for quite awhile now and knows him extremely well indeed.

Batman she's now known only for a matter of minutes, but she already knows him quite well too. While she can't go digging through someone's memories, the way that their works even at the surface level is deeply revealing about their character - at least when she keeps in mind that she can't depend too much on good motivations. Results matter too. Yet when she hears his answer to her question, she lifts up her hand, and the pennies that had been marking the walls of the cube are neatly gather themselves above it before she takes them and puts them back into her pocket. If Batman checks for the walls again, he'll find that they no longer exist - she said that she'd let him go when she's ready, and now she is.

But her forehead wrinkles as she says, "I'm only ten, Batman. I'm not very good at choosing wisely yet." But does she ever respect the fact that he recognizes that it's still up to her. And to protect her on top of that - she has some sense that it would be really bad for her to end up being found by the wrong people and is doing her best to avoid that. Problem is, she's not so sure of her ability to distinguish that yet. She was completely wrong about Agent Tiff and the rest of the FBI, after all.

"You're right, this place isn't good enough for hiding. I wasn't thinking I would stay here for very long anyway - it's risky for Wulfen," she adds, but then hesitates as she turns slightly to Victor and says, "I used to be an FBI agent. They probably want me back." Which she didn't tell him before because she wasn't sure what he'd think. And she's telling him now because she wants him to understand why she's being so quick to say that staying with him isn't good enough - it certainly has nothing to do with how much she likes his company.