[log] you really wanged it this time [closed]

[srsbat]

Characters: Alphonse Elric, Bruce Wayne
Location: House 132
Date: D160, morning and/or full day
Summary: I'LL HANDLE IT
Warnings: None right this moment!

[It hadn't been intentional for Bruce to meet up with Alphonse. In fact, he had planned to half avoid Al at all costs just for the sake of getting to the Joker first, thus keeping Al out of harm's way.

But here comes a hulking suit of armor into the shed with him. The noise distracts him from continuing to investigate the sealed trap door. And, in typical Batman fashion, he presses himself as thinly as possible into the darkest corner, letting the suit do what it can to at least camoflage him for a few moments.

Just long enough to get a good look at Al, to assess. He remembers what Stephanie had said, and he has an inkling this may be who he thinks it is, though just to be sure, he doesn't move.] Stay where you are.

Who are you?

Comments

[armoured]

[He intends to go down to the entrance area as soon as possible, he's certain the Joker is still there and he needs to catch up to him. But he hasn't actually been this way yet, and the need to do something, discover something, after the last few days is strong.

But what he isn't expecting is a man dressed like-- that-- to appear out of the shadows.

He jumps practically six feet in the air, armour making a terrible clashing sound, before he rubs the back of his helmet kind of sheepishly.]

Uh-- you scared me! I'm Al, Alphonse Elric, who are you?

[srsbat]

[The noise doesn't budge Bruce, and he stands as still as he had been initially. There's lens visors in the way of his eyes, but colored white as they are, they seem to stare straight through Al.

After a moment of consideration, he says:] Batman.

[armoured]

[This is Batman?

He steps a bit closer, looking down on the man in the weird clothes, glowing eyes meeting glowing eyes.]

Really? Then I'm glad I ran into you, I was hoping you might have called before this.

[srsbat]

After moving out of the tunnels, I went to investigate the hospital. [Bruce doesn't seem put-off by Al's size, though he is intensely curious. Why would a childlike voice be coming out of someone in armor that's well over seven foot?

Interesting.] Have you run into the Joker?

[armoured]

[He nods, that's a perfectly acceptable reason and he trusts Batman would still have called him before going after the Joker like a naive fool.]

No, but I'm pretty sure I know where he is. I'm glad to have help this time.

[srsbat]

[Al's dodging of the Joker is both good and bad. Good in the sense Al hadn't had to deal with that, but bad in the sense neither of them have a reading on the location.]

Tell me about your previous encounters with him.

[armoured]

[He subconsciously reaches up to tug on the pink scarf almost completely covering his helmet, he's always self conscious of it when talking about the Joker.]

Okay.

[That makes sense, pooling knowledge.]

Just in person, right? I've spoken to him over the network a lot, it would take too long to tell you about all of that. But I've met him in person three times. The first time I came on purpose, a-- [Friend? Horrible person?] --another person asked me to come and help take him down and arrest him. There was a fight, the other person was killed and I was hurt pretty bad. But as soon as I could, I went straight after him.

I found him, but it wasn't just me and he had a hostage. [Luna.] We fought again and he got away, but nobody was really hurt.

[He sighs, shoulders hunching.]

Then recently, he died and when he came back he was different. He was sorry for everything he'd done, even broken. I was near, so I went to him and tried to help. We travelled together for a few days, he gave me his weapons and I think we were making progress. But then he changed back again and he attacked me. He got away, I'm sorry.

[srsbat]

[Thankfully, Bruce is not in the habit of interrupting people giving testimony, and so Al gets the showroom floor and all the time needed.

All of it sounds like typical Joker right until Al gets to the part of being "different." Below the cowl, his eyes narrow critically. He's getting second-hand information from a single witness, and thus can't entirely trust it, but... Al seems sincere, doesn't stammer, doesn't look in another direction, doesn't fidget like someone lying.] What makes the Joker extremely dangerous is his unreliability. You can never know what is his real self, only that there is none.

Acting that way could have been a byproduct of a bug in the nanomachines when they try to revive us. However, the Joker has been known to use innocent ruses to get the things he needs, or to get cooperation, protection.

I'm glad you're okay.

[armoured]

[He's not okay, but thankfully the scarf hides the problems with his face pretty well, and he doesn't want to get into it with someone who has already been touted to him as a person who doesn't want help.]

It wasn't a ruse. I really believe there's something good still hidden inside him, but maybe it can't be found any more. Either way, he needs to be stopped, and I'm not going to rest until he is.

[srsbat]

The Joker is human. It's highly likely he wasn't always who he is now, not when he was a boy. I don't know what changed him, and I don't know how it happened, but right now, that doesn't matter.

I don't kill, not him, not even in Gotham, because I don't have the right to make that call, to decide whether to end someone's life or let them live. But I also don't kill him because, if there is something good inside of him, he deserves the chance to change. Only he never takes it. I don't think he can climb back over that fence. I'm sorry.

I would give this chance to anyone, though I won't put up with their mind games.

[armoured]

If he can't, or he won't, then that's just how it is. I would never kill him either, I don't kill. My brother and I made a promise a long time ago to never take a life, not even the Joker is worth me breaking that promise.

[He's all for capture and containment, that's been his plan all along.]

I think it'll probably be easier for us to contain him now we're working as a pair, we can take shifts for sleep and things like that.

[srsbat]

[Maybe he and Al will get along more than he initially considered. Good. They'll need to be on the same page for this to work.] That had been my plan.

Before we proceed, you have to be sure it's something you want to do. People aren't going to be happy with you, and they aren't going to like you. They are going to try to change your mind, and they're going to try to fight you.

[armoured]

People have been trying to talk me out of doing this since I started, I haven't stopped yet. Sometimes you have to do what's right, even if everyone else disagrees with you.

[Yeah! Shounen optimism!]

[srsbat]

[Batman with shounen optimism, though.]

All right. [WELL SAID. He hates it.] We should get started.

[armoured]

Mm.

[He curls his hands into fists, even pumping one slightly. Go team!]

Why don't you tell me more about how you dealt with him back in Gotham?

[srsbat]

He was housed in a mental institution for the criminally insane: Arkham Asylum. Most of the time, he stayed there without problem; however, Arkham staff is sometimes just as corrupt as those on the police force.

If he ever managed to escape, I would hunt him down, and I would send him back.

[armoured]

[None of that sounds particularly encouraging, especially the last bit.]

Uh-- did he escape often?

[srsbat]

[It was a work in progress, Al! GOD! HE'S JUST ONE MAN.]

Not particularly. I worked with Arkham management to try to not only make the building more secure, but to make the staff secure as well. Naturally, some would slip by.

[armoured]

I don't think that's particularly natural.

[SERIOUSLY?! There are rarely any jail breaks in Amestris, because they have guards that do their actual jobs.]

If he escaped even once, wouldn't it make more sense to move him someplace else? Somewhere more secure?

[srsbat]

[It doesn't appear that Batman is fazed by Al's doubt.] It isn't that simple, unfortunately.

Monitoring every human, not only in Gotham, but through the world, is a breach of personal privacy. We have to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. Innocent until proven guilty.

Arkham staff go through rigorous training and extremely scrutinized background checks. But not everyone is born doing bad things. Sometimes, they can start right now, with a single bad choice.

There's nowhere else for the Joker, not where he can receive advanced mental health assistance and physical restraint. The only other prison, Belle Reve, is designed for metahuman criminals.

[armoured]

I know it's not really my business, but can't you send him to a prison or asylum outside the city? It just seems like he's smart, if he's escaped somewhere once then he can probably do it again and again in the future.

[He might be slightly judging Gotham here.]

I know it can be difficult to contain dangerous criminals, especially insane ones, but there has to be a way found.

[srsbat]

This is all we have until we can find something better. [It sounds like he may or may not be getting tired of Al trying to tell him what's best. It isn't that he thinks Al is wrong--he knows Al is right. There's just little he can do, and that's what so frustrating for a man like Bruce Wayne.]

I'm not going to risk the lives of other people in different places by sending him outside of the city. At least in Gotham, I'm able to step in and help if something does happen.

[armoured]

I guess I can understand that.

[The Joker is incredibly dangerous, he can't deny that, and having someone around who knows how to deal with him is a major benefit.]

...you know, Steph was the one who warned people about the Joker. He was trying to go by Jack, I think, when he was first here. She told me about you too, I'm really glad she has someone else here she can rely on.

[srsbat]

She came from a place that would turn most people into something terrible, but she's done well for herself. I wouldn't doubt she would warn everyone of the Joker.

[armoured]

I think that's why she's survived so well here, she knows how to turn a tough situation to her advantage.

[Let's turn this into the Steph fanclub hour.]

[srsbat]

[Dammit, Al!!]

It comes with the territory. Gotham isn't so different from this place, in a small way. Conditions are different, but the consequences are similar.

[armoured]

She deserves better.

[Firm, yet quiet.]

There was a time she was going to come home with me, to Amestris. But-- I think that's passed now.

[srsbat]

Because of Zach.

I think it would be best if she returned to her own timeline. Not only for the sake of the timeline's world, but for herself as well. I understand many say you make your home where you go; however, it may cause contengiency issues in space-time.

Her relationship with Zach still brings this all into question. If she doesn't go with him, I'm sure he'll try to come with her, if we are able to travel interdimensionally when we leave.

[armoured]

[He hums a quiet assent.

It hurts a little that their plans will have fallen so easily by the wayside, and that she hadn't even talked to him about it. But he's trying not to be selfish, trying to just be happy that she's found happiness here.]

You're right, he probably will. But is that such a bad thing? If he would rather go with her, then why shouldn't he?

[srsbat]

Because it could impact space and time on either end, or on both ends. His world, his timeline could be changed when he doesn't return. Stephanie's world and timeline could be changed if she returns with someone else.

The probability is low, but still possible. It's something they are going to have to consider when the time comes, whether their love here is worth more than the lives of other people.

[armoured]

I don't know how we might change things, but-- if we are going to change things, then we'll change them just by being different people when we go home to the ones we were before. If anyone has a chance for happiness, they should take it.

[He doesn't think that Zach going with Steph will change anything drastic.]

[srsbat]

[Wow, you're sickeningly optimistic Al, and Bruce isn't sure if he's proud or disappointed. BOTH? Both. It's hard not to be disappointingly proud in optimism when you always plan for the worst.]

Regardless, it's still something they should consider when they make their decision. Those in this line of work have a difficult choice to make: the happiness of one or two, or the happiness of many.

[armoured]

I don't think that's true at all.

[Nope, he's not buying it. Sorry, Bats.]

It doesn't matter what line of work you're in, or what life sends your way, you can always strive for the happiness of everyone. Maybe it won't always work out, life isn't perfect and the world is hard, but as long as you keep trying then, little by little, it'll get better.

[srsbat]

You can strive for it, but unfortunately, it's never going to end up with everyone happy regardless.

[armoured]

Do you think that means you shouldn't try?

[Bruce seems so pessimistic.]

[srsbat]

[He is the most pessimistic.]

You can't make everyone happy.

[armoured]

You already said that.

[HE ISN'T GIVING UP.]

So you do think you shouldn't try?