Wait, wasn't he infiltrating?

[detectivewonder]

Okay, I think I've got the hang of this. Can you hear me?

Not that it's really hearing, it seems like it's an internal voice. Mental.

We're Travelers, we're opposing some sort of organization called the Manticore Knights, and we have access to the world they're in and a place called a liminal - is that right?

I don't see anyone else here, so I must be in liminal right now...

Is there an orientation process in place? What's an infiltrator, in this context?

Comments

Private

[asinisterkid]

Now I really want to know what assumptions you're making there.

But, to sum up: Daddy Bats is all about the law and order, and vigilantism with the goal of handing the bad guys to the cops with a bow on, and never ever killing them, no matter how many people they've killed and will kill in the future because no one can keep them in jail or the local loony bin for long.

Me? I grew up on the streets. I've seen the ways the justice system fails, and what happens to innocent people when it does. I literally fucking died and all he did was take in a new kid -- that's you, gumdrop -- while the psycho who killed me was still alive and killing more people.

I tried playing it his way. People died. I was one of them. My way, people still die, but they're the ones who've actually done something wrong.

Private

[detectivewonder]

... Huh. I was... way off.

I mean, scarring, lots of time spent on rooftops, ninja skills. I figured we were some kind of syndicate. Catburglars for hire, assassins, something like that.

Private

[asinisterkid]

Reasonable assumptions, but no. Sorry to disappoint, but we're the good guys.

[ And if Tim had all his memories, he'd be bracing himself for an argument about that 'we'. He's still not sure he shouldn't, but considering Tim thought he was a catburglar or assassin, he doesn't have a lot of room to point fingers. ]

[detectivewonder]

Not disappointed. Just, uh, recalibrating. So crime is Not Cool. Got it.

[asinisterkid]

Yeah.

We just ignore the part where vigilantism's also illegal. On good days, the cops turn a blind eye. On really good days, they ask for help.

On bad days... the cops are less friendly.

[detectivewonder]

Tricky. But if relations are good sometimes, we must avoid retaliatory strikes.

... Huh. Tactics. Guess I know de-escalation, disproportionate escalation, and negotiation techniques.

[asinisterkid]

Especially given the way cops stick with their own. The worst Batman ever did was disable a few of them when they got in the way. Well, and sometimes use swarms of bats for cover, which led to a lot of Gotham City's finest getting rabies shots.

And disproportionate escalation may not always be the best tactic, but it's definitely the most fun.