mental link, day 32

[headinjuries]

[ Sam crashed hard after the vigil, because between all the lies making him feel like he was going to puke and trying to pick them apart giving him one mother of a headache, staying awake felt like something you only do if you really hate yourself.

Do all newfound psychic powers suck this bad? He was fine with just flying and blowing things up, thanks. ]

( By the way, just figured everybody should know: Seong-Hye Ngazi is full of crap, the Public Safety Commission isn't half as gung-ho about bringing the bomber to justice as she makes it sound, and I'm like ninety percent she actually knows who did it, but that part I'm not quite positive about.

So, you know. In case anybody wanted to break into her office or stalk her or something. I hear some of you guys are actually good at the cloak and dagger stuff.

You're welcome. )

[ He can be found in the common area of the Bearings, scrolling through news reports and radiating pure frustration, if anyone would rather comment to his face instead of over the link. ]

Comments

[headinjuries]

[ He tenses up and jumps a good two inches before he turns around and cranes his neck to look at Bruce. ]

Oh my God. Are you like some kind of Wall Street ninja or something?

[batmotif]

[....Wall Street ninja. He's never heard it put quite like that.]

Something like that. [MOVING ON.] I can't decide if you're too focused or too oblivious of your surroundings, Sam. [He'll give him the benefit of the doubt and go with the former.] Find anything in the news reports?

[headinjuries]

Nothing's really standing out.

[ So far, she's just looking like a pretty typical public figure. Which he's guessing means he hasn't been able to dig down far enough, because there is definitely something shady going on. ]

[batmotif]

I find if you're hitting your head against a wall, that's usually the first sign that you should change your approach. Otherwise you're just wasting time and energy.

[But at least he's putting in an effort. He can't fault him on that.]

[headinjuries]

I guess so.

[ He flops back against the couch and sighs. ]

This is so not my thing.

[batmotif]

[He crosses his arms, nearly raising a brow.]

Well, you did mention breaking into her office.

[headinjuries]

I can't tell if you're shooting that down or implying that was a good idea.

[batmotif]

[A pause before he responds.]

I think it's something that we shouldn't rule out.

[headinjuries]

Awesome non-answer. You ever think of going into politics?

[batmotif]

[He exhales, it's almost a sigh. Almost. And he doesn't answer what he deems Sam's rhetorical question.]

I say we shouldn't rule it out because I don't know what the security is like. [It's different on Concordia. In Gotham, he had all his resources, and the technology was familiar; he could be in and out without so much of a trace. And even if he was spotted, well, good luck trying to catch him before he could disappear into the night.

Here? Well, none of those things apply. That doesn't mean he isn't willing to look into it, if there's even a small chance of breaking in.]

But if there's a possibility of finding evidence, or it'll point us in an even clearer direction, then yes. We should.

[headinjuries]

[ This is not doing anything to dissuade his suspicion that Bruce is some kind of corporate ninja.

Which is a pretty weird mental picture, but hey, so's being trained by a gun-happy raccoon. He has no room to talk. ]

I think everyone tripped security when they tried to sneak into Ven Diagrams, but I dunno what kind of security that was. I think there's a lot of like...ID tagging, facial recognition software, that kind of stuff?

[batmotif]

[At least corporate ninja is more interesting than boardroom business man?

The security issue was what he was afraid of, but it doesn't put it out of the realm of possibility just yet. He may yet be able to get around it, or find someone who can get around it for him. A little more research would have to be done, first, but if it all panned out.... well, it may be worth it.

If worse comes to worse, tripping an alarm wasn't the biggest issue, but rather getting out with any evidence unseen and uncaught.]

I'll look into it. I'd rather not trip an alarm if it comes down to it, but getting out unrecognized would be the most important thing.

[headinjuries]

You seriously know this much about that stuff, don't you.

[ The more he hears the more the image he has of Bruce is getting...weird and confusing. Why does some stick-in-the-mud businessman need to break into places with that kind of security? What the hell kind of double life is he leading?

(Says the guy who goes from single-handedly wiping out alien fleets to getting swirlies at school, but...you know.) ]

[batmotif]

[He hears that implied question, Sam. But Bruce isn't terribly inclined to share when faced with implied questions. That and old habits die hard; he's still trying to get used to how utterly pointless the idea of a secret identity is when linked to a literal hivemind. He reflects:]

So just because I wear a suit means that my knowledge only extends to the boardroom?

[headinjuries]

[ Yeah, okay, dude's got a point; Sam hates when people pull the same thing on him. But even so - ]

There's kind of a difference between finding out that you, I don't know, play the violin, and finding out you're into breaking and entering, dude.

[batmotif]

I'm not "into" breaking and entering. [A quick clarification, but not exactly true, at least, not without an addendum that he feels is necessary.] I'm not a robber or a thief, just so you know.

[He doesn't break into places just to steal personal or private property. He's no Selina Kyle.]

[headinjuries]

[ Well, that one doesn't feel like a lie. ]

Okay. Spy? Is it some kind of corporate espionage stuff?

[batmotif]

[Why has this turned into an interrogation? Can you feel the mental walls being raised, Sam? He crosses his arms, almost defiantly.]

No. It's nothing like that. I don't work for anyone other than myself.

[headinjuries]

[ Because Bruce is weird, ergo interesting.

And that's not pinging him like a lie either. Hm. ]

Vigilante?

[batmotif]

[He frowns. And then, without hesitancy:]

No.

[It's less of a lie for the sake of getting away with it, but more a test of Sam's skill he mentioned during vigil. He waits for the teen's reaction.]

[headinjuries]

[ Sam's gaze narrows, although that's possibly less a matter of "judging you, bro" and more him trying not to look like he's going to lose his lunch.

At least with a one-word answer, it fades fast, unlike listening to a prolonged speech of total crap. ]

Bull.

[batmotif]

[It's obvious enough to Bruce that Sam experienced a wave of nausea just then. It seems like he did have the ability to be a living lie detector, after all -- which only lends to the credence of Ngazi being full of it. But just to be certain, he says with a completely straight face:]

I'm not lying, Sam. I'm not a vigilante; I could care less about the crime in Gotham.

[please don't puke on his nice shoes]

[headinjuries]

[ Oh man.

He's not even trying to cover, this time. ]

Dude, now you're just trying to be a dick, aren't you?

[batmotif]

Then you shouldn't pry so much. [Not even attempting to justify himself this time around, though he at least feels inwardly satisfied at the results.] Especially when it has nothing to do with the matter at hand.

[More like he's still too used to keeping these matters close to his chest.]

[headinjuries]

God, okay, fine.

[ grumble grumble it's kind of relevant okay ]