Detective-Verse. In stately Wayne Manor.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

It was late afternoon, the sun was a deep golden yellow even though the hour was still early, as late fall was wont to do. The shadows were long in the quiet manor, silence permeating every inch of the estate. No sounds of footsteps, no voices, nothing. The only sound was the thunk of the refridgerator opening as a heavy hand reached out to grab a carton of milk. Bruce glanced around, even though he knew Alfred was not around, and drank right out of the carton. Something he couldn't do when the gentleman was here. Feeling a bit juvinile, he stuffed the milk back into the 'fridge and on second though, reached in for some leftover apple pie. He had a couple hours to kill before dusk--a few rare hours--and wanted to keep up his strength, work on a few leads down in the cave on the computer, and add a few new toys to the 'mobile. He was still musing on his odd visit to that 'universe', and was thus a bit absentminded at the moment.

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[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

"Oh." He was a bit taken aback at this, most of the Waynes he had met were all terrified or really, really didn't like the animals. Well, if she had not fallen in the well, why would she be? He made a mental note to make sure that there were no sinkholes on the property...

"I want to show you something. It's a...cave, actually. You might like it then."

[random_xtras]

"Alright. But first you must thank God for the food." She quirked one eyebrow in an all too familiar gesture.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

This caused a quirk of a smile to barely appear on his lips, then it dissapeared under brows of worry. "I've already eaten. You'll have to do it and eat by yourself. I've got to get ready for work. If you're going to stay here, you're going to learn how to be self-sufficent. I work every day. Every night."

With that he turned his back and strode through the hallway, his mind on how in the world was he going to break 'Batman' to the little girl.

[random_xtras]

She watched him go, then bowed her head and prayed, not only asking God to bless the food, but also for this troubled man. Then she glanced around guiltily before bolting her meal and hopping down to trot the way she'd heard him go. Her path led to a room with a grandfather clock by one wall.

But no Bruce.

Bree frowned slightly, her eyes dropping to the carpet and brightening slightly as she caught sight of faint signs of high traffic leading to the clock. She followed these and ran her fingers where the clock and the wall met, feeling a tiny breeze in one place.

The discovery led her to examin the timepeice more closely, looking for a hidden button or something similar. Finally, on a hunch, she went to the desk and came back with a ruler. The first time she moved the hands to was the hour she was born.

The clock moved away from the wall with a click.

She was standing in front of the costumes of Batgirl and the first Robins when Bruce finished changing and came out.

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

And he was unusually absentminded that evening while he changed, he could keep an eye on what he was doing and another within while he thought of whatever case he happened to be working on. But of course, not every day a tiny girl version of oneself was plopped on one's doorstep. He did have the fortune of the experience of taking care of kids before, but not one this young, and certinly not a girl. It was going to be one awkward...however long she would be here.

He fumbled with his gloves while stepping out into the light, blinking for a moment seeing the form of Bree looking at the costumes in their cases. Of course. Why wouldn't she be able to find her way in? After all, the girl had brains and he wasn't being conceited...and that just gave him an even bigger headache.

Actually he wasn't sure she'd be scared of him, but he approached quietly just the same.

"How did you get here?" He didn't mean to sound so gruff, but when the cowl was on it was almost automatic. And besides, he was a little ticked at finding her here, anyway.

[random_xtras]

She tipped her head back to look up at him calmly, having heard the swish of the cape as he walked up. The mask made her eyebrows quirk with interest. She turned to get a better look and examined him closely, forgetting his question in her interest.

Then she pointed to Dick's original costume. "May I wear that one?"

[detectivebats.livejournal.com]

Batman felt a twinge of pain from the headache that was developing. First of all, she didn't seem at all bothered by his 'scary' visage. Second, she just asked if she could wear a costume. Dick's costume. ROBIN. It wasn't like she started asking questions about Batman. Or even asked what he did. She just knew or something. She was him, after all.

"I..." he was a bit at a loss for words. How would he deal with this? WHY wasn't Alfred here to take care of her? He so would have a talking to the man later on. But Bree couldn't possibly tag along without a disguise, right? It would be odd for him to have a random kid with him. Not that half the people who knew he existed were bothered every time some new 'sidekick' as they called it showed up, he seemed to go through them quite a lot...

With a very large and satisfying sigh, he placed his gloved fingers on the case.

"Yes, Bree. You can wear it." His hand slipped off the glass. "I've got another one you can use in the back, I'll have to fix it for you."

He paused. "You do know, I fight crime. It is a dangerous, deadly occupation, and I really ought not to bring you along. But as you can see, there's no one else here to watch you." Bad memories of what happened to the manor when he left young Dick alone made him shudder a bit.

"So you're going to stay in the Car the entire time. No questions."