A Robin Leaves The Nest

Haley decided against resting and went changing into a low cut t-shirt and a skirt. Once she finished changing she quietly left the Manor and started to head for a bar. She walked in silently and sat down a the bar and the bartender walked over. "Just get me anything at the moment I don't care what"she said. He came back wit some whiskey and she thank him before giving him some money. She glanced over and saw Eric but remained quiet as she drank down the whiskey,it burning her throat as it went down.

Bruce snapped his goggles back down, disappointed. He had been staking out the bar for an hour or so, and had found Eric inside, pouring his sorrows down with glass after glass of whiskey. Bruce wouldn't even need to commit to anything violent, he would let the alcohol do it's trick. At least that was his intention, before he watched Haley saunter into the bar at half past the hour.

"What is she doing?" he thought. He had told her to get sleep. Alfred hadn't alerted him that she had left the Manor, nor had the batcave computer gone off. She must've snuck out of the Manor proper. He would speak to Alfred later, he needed to keep better tabs on her.

Bruce gave it 10 or so more minutes, watching Haley take a shot of Whiskey. He shook his head, embarrassed. He needed a new Robin, and he knew it. He was deluding himself into thinking he could change this girl. She was never ready for the Mantle of Robin, and was proving him wrong everyday. He would deal with that later.

He hooked up his line-launcher, and attached the first end to the wall behind him. He positioned the angle downwards, and launched the second piston through the main window of the bar, and into the wall beyond the counter. He hadn't felt so bad about the destruction of property, this bar had been a hot-bed for Mafia activity for years. He wasn't worried about it.

He clipped himself on, and zip-lined down the roof, down the alley, across the street and cannon-balled straight through the window. He crashed through some tables, rolled to a stop, and ended up right next to Eric, as planned. Batman's gauntlet grabbed Eric around the neck, and hoisted him up out of his seat, and into the wall.

"The man in the alley! Did he live!?" Bruce never got his answer. Out of seemingly nowhere, Eric's clothing seemed to be turning into the suit of nano-armor that he had been wearing in the alley. His free hand hit Batman in the chest with a palm strike, propelling him across the room and over a table. Batman rolled to a stop, planting his feet against the wall, and launched himself towards Eric. His leaping right hand punched was deftly blocked, and Eric took his wrist and slammed Batman into the wall, cratering the plaster.

Batman hit the floor, his head dizzy. This guy was impossibly fast, and impossibly strong. Bruce was at a severe disadvantage in standard fisticuffs. But he still had the one advantage he always held. He was the Goddamned Batman. He looked up in time to see Eric's hand now held five claws, razor sharp and looking for blood. The hand swooped towards Batman, who used his legs to sweep Eric's, bringing them both to the floor. Batman kicked Eric's face, rolling himself up to his feet while propelling his enemy further from him.

Eric stood, a hearty laugh ripping from his suit. "Yes; he lived." Bruce could detect a swagger to the man's voice, and knew he had to be drunk. Despite his superhuman strength and speed, he was still just a man in a super advanced toy. Batman took three batarangs, spread them between his fingers, and launched all three towards Eric, using the momentum from his swing to grab a nearby beer glass and launched it at Eric too. Eric's arms sprang up, lightning fast, deflecting the batarangs with relative ease, before catching the mug as if it were a slowly tossed baseball. He looked up towards Batman, to see that he had been tricked, as Bruce's boot now planted itself firmly into Eric's chest, sending them both careening over the bar. Batman landed three strikes, before being thrown through the actual bar and into the doors beyond. Eric was impossibly strong. And seemed to be growing stronger.

"I don't want to fight you, Batman!"His voice called. He sounded like a bomb that was about to go off. Bruce realized that anger drove the suit. As Eric's emotions reached a fever pitch, he grew stronger. "So stop fighting." Bruce called, launching a table at Eric, who punched right through it. Eric advanced on Batman, who backed up slowly, ever so slowly. He had noticed the lack of patrons inside the bar, and had realized that even out of costume, Haley had dealt with the thugs in the bar. Their unconscious bodies now served as a barrier between Eric and Batman, with Haley out of Bruce's sight. He had no idea where she had went, or if she had even left the bar. He was busy.

Eric sprang towards Bruce, propelling them both through the bar's windows, and out into the street beyond. The claws came close to raking down Batman's face, and he had to turn away to avoid their razor sharp touch. The street beneath him sparked up and scarred at Eric's touch. Batman used his knees to throw Eric off of him, before reaching for his sonic batarang. With one touch, it yielded a high-pitched scream, scrambling all the electronics in the area. It was enough to give Eric pause, his suit's reaction to the batarang was uncertain, but Bruce was willing to bet that if the batarang made contact with Eric, he wouldn't be in the fight much longer. It gave Bruce pause. If the suit was part of Eric, destroying the suit might kill the man inside. And Bruce couldn't do that.

"Tell me who you are; and what you want, before this gets a lot worse for you." The batarang stayed in Bruce's hand, menacingly. There was the chance that it would have no effect on Eric at all, and they both knew they had hit a stalemate. It was Eric's move.

Haley had only had one whiskey and she had stopped drinking. She had quickly moved away from the bar when she saw Batman come crashing through. She watched the fight for a moment before some thugs tried to make a move on her and she turned on them punching them before knocking them uncouncious and throwing them on the floor where they most likely wouldn't get badly hurt. Haley watched as Bruce was thrown through the bar and she blinked before she looked around for something to help but found nothing so she decided to jump behind the bar counter almost at the exact moment that Batman came back out and the men she knocked out seemed to create a barrier between him and Eric. She knew once this was over with she'd surely be getting some lecture or another from Bruce. She sighed before looking under the counter bar for anything to use to help Bruce though she didn't find much and she just balled her fists tightly in anger before she just decided to take her chances and went outside only to stop seeing that Bruce had it under control at the moment. She just stood there for a moment.

Eric

The attack on him was so sudden that the suit acted instantly, it took Eric a second or two to realize that he was angry. The fight was fast, hard and furious. As Eric's anger grew, the clearer his mind got, the clearer his mind got, the angrier he got. Batman was just another cop, he lied and now he's here, trying to take Eric down and most probably make this all out as being Eric's fault. Then the suit recoiled.

Eric knew that the suit would continue to fight, if his anger kept burning, but there seemed to be a part of the suit which feared the sonic batarang in Batman's hand. Eric looked down at his hands, flexing the razor sharp claws, they slowly retracted. He rose from his crouch and faced Batman head-on.

"Who I am? Did you even consider to find that out before you came crashing into that bar and attacked me?" The anger was still there, his voice sure as hell still carried the heat of anger and frustration in it. "What do I want?" He burst out into laughter, it almost bordered on an insane laugh, but carried a hint of anger and mirth. The laugh cut off suddenly.

"I want revenge. Justice has failed me, it has failed my murdered family and it will keep on failing as long as man-kind runs the officers of justice." Talking was bad, it only fueled his anger, the suit seemed to grow even bolder as it's strength and agility levels rose. "Now, you come here and attack me? I did as you asked, I allowed that murderer to live. But just like this corrupt system's enforcers, you came back, you attacked me without provocation." He spread his arms, "So throw your batarang Batman, throw it and let's see how good your little Robin is without her staff."

Batman's eyes viewed him coldy. Despite being out of breath, and pretty severely bruised, he maintained his composure and posture. He had to live up to the image. He had to be the Bat. The Batarang felt light in his hands, almost begging to be thrown. Aching for contact with the nano-suit. Promising to do damage of the worst kind. But Batman knew, he couldn't intentionally hurt this man in such a way. It wasn't the way things were done.

He saw Haley picking her way out of the bar, looking relatively unscathed. What she had been doing here, was far beyond his knowledge. He couldn't even fathom what possessed her to get the hell out of the Manor. Put she put his identity at risk, and her own. Some transgressions were to severe to let go. He would need to think long and hard about her future with him.

His eyes came back to Eric, and made a quick judgement call. His thumb hit the central button on the batarang again, causing the two wing-tip prongs to retract back into the disc, which he slid back into his utility belt. "You're a petty criminal. You don't have the luxury of being attacked. Everything you receive, you deserve." The taunt was nothing more than an effort to buy time. What had he meant by human beings running the law system. Did that imply that the suit was alien in origin? He hadn't contacted the Watchtower in quite some time, maybe the Manhunter had some information on the suit's composition.

He quickly sent an encrypted file up to the Justice League Watchtower, to see if they can get a read on the suit's origins. He hated asking them for assistance, but he also understood the prudence in swallowing his pride if the situation called for it. Eric was responding to Bruce's taunt, but he paid it no mind. He cut him off mid-sentence. "Your suit. Where'd you get it?" Bruce eye's lazed back over to Robin, standing there in her street clothing. He subtly shook his head, both disapproving of her actions, but also warning her off any attempt at attacking the man in front of her.

Eric

"Petty criminal." Eric tasted the words and it tasted vile, "Sad part is that I used to be quite an upstanding citizen."

At Batman's question, Eric could feel a change in the suit, felt it form into something, then the mask over his face formed an image which looked a lot like the face of the Spiderman-hating Venom, Eric felt the huge grin even as the mask's face split into the grin which spread over his own face, "I swear occifer, it just lay there in the dumpster, I din steal it or nuffin"

Eric's laughter still had the slight edge to it, the mask returned to it's usual form and Eric lowered his arms to his sides, "I bought it from a man who promised me revenge. He said I'd have the power to stop the highest form of corruption, destroy the humans...men who use this city as their own leisure resort."

Eric tilted his head, "Yet you not only stopped me, you gave to me a shove almost through a wall, while all I did was having a drink" Eric could feel his anger slowly simmer down, "You want more answers dark knight, find me on the Lest apartment building."

Eric sprang to the side, into a dark alley, scaling the walls using jumps and claws, within seconds he was racing towards the rooftop of the apartments. He arrived and slid into the darkest shadows, the suit slowly dissipating as his anger started to die down after the sudden attack.

Haley listened for a moment. She then saw Bruce just slightly look at her. She simply knew what he meant and instead to coverup what would make it seem like she was Robin if Eric noticed if not all the better. She put on a look of slight fear but Bruce would know its an act. She moved and quickly ran but not as fast as she would as if she were out as Robin. She turned going to the sidewalk and practically ran back to Wayne Manor. She slowed down slightly. She knew by the look Bruce had given her and the way he shook his head he had been disappointed in her. She seemed to stop just outside the manor as she thought.Am I always a disappointment. She shook her head trying to clear the thought"I just need to try harder not to be"She said quietly to herself before she walked in. Haley sighed looking around for a moment before heading up to her room. She opened the door before closing it behind her and moved going to sit on the edge of her bed. As she sat many thoughts swam through her mind.slowly and quietly she changed into a a red tank top and black sleeping pants and went back to her bed. She pulled the covers back and laid down. Haley quietly pulled the covers back over her. Though she just laid there staring at the wall not able to sleep yet.

Bumping this

(OOC: Kitty, it doesn't need bumping. We're all here and active, it just takes me some time to get posts put together. I'm in a four or five different threads, so it's hard to give each one my undivided. Patience.)


Bruce watched the man go, crawling up the walls like a spider-monkey. He rolled his shoulder where it was sore, still standing alone in the middle of the street. The bartender was peeking out through the broken glass, as the unconscious mobsters started to stir. A patron pulled her cellphone out, looking to take pictures of the melee. His grapnel hook reached out to a billboard several stories up, and lifted himself away from the fray.

He hit the rooftop, a few blocks away from the apartments, and knelt for a moment, regaining his bearings. That fight took a load out of him, more than he'd ever admit. He needed backup in case Eric was still looking for a fight. He took out his communicator. "Alfred, wake up Haley. I need coverage over at the Lest Apartment blocks in the Diamond district. She needs to be there, ASAP." He snapped off his communicator, and replaced it back into his utility belt. He removed his line launcher from his pouch, it had respooled itself since his previous usage in the bar. There was still some glass stuck in the wiring which he removed.

He lined up with the Lest buildings, and fired the launcher into the back half of the rooftop access. He slid across, detracting the cables and replacing them back in his utility belt. He found Eric there, standing in the middle of the rooftop. He came up from behind him, within arm's distance.

"The man who gave you the suit. He spoke of stopping Humans, not Men. Who was it?" He asked. Not overtly menacing, but still enough bark in his tone to signify that he meant business. He wasn't itching for a fight, but if the nano-suited man wanted some action, he was going to get it.

(OOC:sorry its a force of habit sometimes. ...)

Haley looked away from the wall when she heard a knock then the door open. Haley sat up and looked at Alfred. She listened as he explained that Bruce needed her out again. Haley nodded and got out of bed putting the covers back quickly she quickly changed and after she asked if alfred would mind helping her make her sur more protected instead of womanly. After that being said she quickly left going out into Gotham. She silently went to the Lest Apartment Blocks in the Daimond District.

Eric

He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking out over the city, then the Batman spoke up behind him. He didn't answer for a while, the silence grew...then when he spoke his voice was dead, "It was a cold evening, you will remember when winter came early. I will not bore you with the same sob story of how I had to work double shifts and how she had to look after our child alone. It is how things are in this city. After the funeral I sold the home, bought an apartment and stocked up on whiskey. By the time the man found me, I was as close to alcohol poisoning and buried so deep in self-pity that I couldn't even understand him the first time around."

Eric withdrew a hand from his pocket and touched his neck, "An injection with a strange device cleared me up fast though. It was strange, like all the alcohol was burned away, leaving me revitalized and fresh, then the man spoke to me again", Eric stuck his hand into his pocket again, his back still turned towards Batman.

"You suffer at the hands of these animals, but they are more like poisoned blood, they are just the result. The cause, now that is the festering wound, the thing you call corruption. I can help you gain revenge on the humans who made you suffer, you will have revenge, you will have the power to bring justice to the wicked humans running this city", Eric paused.

"And then with a slight flick of his hand I could see all the families, all the lives interupted and changed by these men and the crooked cops and I could feel a rage bubble up in me, this man laughed softly and muttered something about perfect and testing. In this rage, I saw it, the suit. I saw what it would allow me to do and in this fit of rage I agreed to wear the suit, to wipe out corruption and gain my revenge. Sad part is that I sold my body to a man whose face I did not even see, he wore a fedora and trenchcoat which somehow managed to keep hiding his face", Eric sighed and turned around to face Batman, showing his real face to the man in the cape. "My name is Eric Gray and I beg you, don't make me angry."

Bruce mustered up a one-worded response, simultaneously judgmental and dismissive. "Weak." He shook his head, stepping towards the skyline. "I don't care who you are. I don't care why you did it. I need to know who gave you that suit." His cowl's optics flashed through the entire spectrum, trying to get a good read on the suit. It mystified his cowl, still. The entire weight of the bat-computer couldn't figure this guy out. He needed to hear back from the League.

He turned on Eric, tossing him a communicator. "Once I find out who gave you the suit, I am going to find them. Then, I'll come back for you. That suit needs to be destroyed. I'm not asking you." He walked towards where Robin had been staying in the shadows. "Keep an eye on him. I'm going up to the Watchtower."

He turned back to Eric one last time. "That communicator does not make us allies. This city does not want your help. I don't want your help. Stay out of trouble, and I might let you walk away from this."

Eric

Eric didn't reach for the communicator, it fell and slithered on the rooftop, his anger was roiling and seemed ready to erupt any moment, already his clothing's color was changing. "Why would I want to be friends with the mighty Bruce Wayne and his latest project Haley? You just can't stop threatening me can you? Well here is my answer, you may not want my help, but little man like me? They need me. So go ahead Bats, threaten me more, but the fact remain, you're just another cop. You care about nothing but yourself"

Eric turned from the two, kicked the communcator to one side and walked to the edge of the building, slowly forcing his anger down as he looked out over the neighborhood once more. He had willed himself to not listen to anything the Batman might produce, of course he could not entirely ignore the man, that would just be totally stupid. Almost like sharing his aprehension, the suit shifted slightly, the colors of his clothing going darker and Eric felt his senses sharpen, allowing him to place the two and their positions.

Haley eatched silently as it played out. She had stayed to the shadows quietly. She then looked at Bruce when he told her to keep an eye on Eric and gave a silent nod. She didn't leave but followed Eric silently. She glanced at the communicator that Eric had kicked.