self_inflictedexhile | open rp } { dc/marvel smash

Barry. Allen. I'll see you around.

[And with that he will head out the door, but the second it closes behind him, he's gone in a flash of red and gold lightning.]

[Bruce watches him go and -- holy shit, okay. apparently he wasn't wrong about this kid being more than what he seemed and -- did anyone else see that? he takes a moment, looking around surreptitiously, and no, it seems no one else was paying much attention. that's -- something. something he has no idea what to do with, right now, so he's just going to sit here, slumping back into his seat, and finish his tea]

[later, maybe he'll run by these labs Barry mentioned. more than maybe, actually. he honestly shows up there, though not without looking like he's going to make a break for it at any point. he's still not sold on the idea that this isn't going to go south, but. he's curious and that's winning out, right now]

[he's just full of terrible ideas]

[And as he comes in, he runs into this ball of sunshine as he heads to the Cortex, who just frowns at Bruce's general presence because hey that guy's not Team Flash ... ]

Excuse me, what are you ...

[Then he actually gets a look at his face and his jaw drops.]

Oh my God.

Yeah, hi, uh ... [he glances over his shoulder, as if the urge to bolt is growing stronger. mostly because it is] I'm looking for Barry Allen? [maybe?]

[Cisco falters for a moment, before he just nods. Of course Barry is off making superhero friends. Apparently it's what Barry does.

Regardless, he'll just nod and turn, gesturing for Bruce to follow him.]

Cisco Ramon. Nice to meet you.

Edited 2016-05-22 21:34 (UTC)

[tentatively, Bruce moves to follow him, looking around for potential exits and over his shoulder again several times as he does so. it's like his arrival on the helicarrier all over again. it's worse, because he's in the middle of a city, and if this goes terribly wrong, it will go terribly wrong]

Bruce Banner. [a beat] But you might already know that?

Yeah. No offense, dude, but you're kinda one of the most infamous scientists out there.

[And he doesn't say that to be cruel, it's just a fact. It's hard not to be infamous when you tend to leave destruction in your wake.]

[he may not mean it that way, but Bruce still looks a little hurt, a little guilty before he looks away entirely. this is not the way he wanted his life to go. he never wanted to be a monster]

Right, yeah.

[Cisco catches that and cringes, but they can set that aside for later.]

Anyway, the Cortex is right through those doors. If you're looking to find Barry, that's where he'd be.

[And with that he will leave Bruce at the doorway, letting him choose to stay or go as he sees fit.]

Thanks.

[and so Bruce stands there for a long moment, both trying to compose himself and resist the urge to bolt (again), before he heads into this Cortex. whatever it is]

[The Cortex is essentially the Flash Cave, complete with computers monitoring the city, a med bay and a super impressive treadmill. Instead of having the suit on the mannequin, however Barry is already suited up, though the mask is resting around his shoulders.]

[Bruce takes a long moment to look around, his eyes eventually falling on Barry through the course of said inspection of his surroundings. he startles a little, not really having been expecting to find him just standing there, and then offers him a wry smile]

Well, I'm glad I didn't call that one wrong.

[about him being that Flash fellow and all]

[He grins a bit at that, before making his way closer.]

You came! I'm glad.

[Because he always needs more superheroes in his life, apparently.]

Want me to give you the tour? It's not a huge tour but there's some pretty cool science stuff I'm sure you'll appreciate.

You got my attention.

[and he's pretty sure that, now that he knows Barry is a superhero, he won't try and put him in a cell, somewhere. ... maybe. kind of. he did mention stopping a bunch of dangerous metahumans and he's pretty sure he counts as a dangerous metahuman, himself. he also mentioned not having a beef with him if he didn't try wrecking the city, though, so. he's trying for trust. at very least, he looks slightly less like he might bolt, at the moment?]

But uh, yeah. Sure. Why not?

[please don't lead him to a cell and shove him in]

[Nope, they probably don't even have something that can hold him. But Barry will show him all the fun stuff that they've built over the years, like his treadmill and the particle accelerator, and even the metahuman containment cells, which are now mostly empty save for one very angry songbird.]

We helped Iron Heights build metahuman-safe containment cells, so we don't really have to hold them here anymore, but this one isn't actually from our Earth, so we aren't really sure what to do with her yet.

[yeah, he's not saying that that would end well, if Barry did try and lead him down this breadcrumb trail to a cell, but -- well, he doesn't really have to worry about it, does he?]

[anyway. he looks around with interest, his hesitation fading in measures as curiosity takes over. he has about a thousand questions he wants to ask and he can't decide where to start, though, and so he stays silent for most of the tour, if only because he's trying to nail down a handful. he doesn't want to overload Barry, and -- ]

[ -- yeah, he's just going to recoil from the glass, when they reach the containment cell]

[he stares at the woman for a moment, like a deer in headlights, and then slowly turns to Barry] Have you -- I mean, I'm guessing you've tried talking to her? [does she not speak English? he doesn't know]

We've tried. She's not interested. She nearly took down half the skyscrapers in Central City with her voice, and she's basically the right hand woman of one of the most powerful speedsters I've ever seen.

I don't think she's really built to negotiate.

[Bruce makes a face, not doubting Barry but not thrilled by the answer, nevertheless. that's disappointing]

Right. [a beat] I'm guessing this guy she works for doesn't know where she is? [otherwise, he imagines he might have tried to come for her, break her out]

[He shakes his head.]

I don't think he particularly cares either. She was just another tool in his plans for multiverse domination.

[that's similarly disappointing, albeit probably better for Barry and his seekrit base. still, it's enough that he hesitates for a moment, not entirely sure what to say and trying to pin down something]

[what he comes up with is a weak:] Guess that's why they're the bad guys. [a beat] And, uh -- speaking of. I guess you know that I'm not exactly ... [one of said bad guys. he figures that Barry must know, that he would have stopped him at the cafe, if he thought he was going to start trouble, but. he doesn't destroy cities because he enjoys it. it just kind of happens. he still feels guilt, still hates himself, even if it isn't his choice, but he wants to make it clear that he's not trying to be a danger to people, even if he is more often than not]

[He glances over at Bruce for a moment, before shaking his head in agreement.]

No, I know. I mean, dude, I saw the footage of you guys in New York. You were trying to save the world - sometimes not everything comes away in tact.

Doubly so, in my case. [he flashes him a brief, humorless smile, and then blows out a breath] But okay, yeah. Just -- just checking or whatever.

[He nods with a grimace.]

Look, I was involved in something that opened a singularity over Central City. Me and Firestorm managed to close it but that doesn't mean there wasn't collateral damage.

[yeah, but Barry wasn't the cause of that. he couldn't stop bad things from happening -- Bruce is the bad thing that happens. he's not going to argue that, right now, however, and so he just nods, wincing on his behalf]

Glamorous life of being a -- whatever we are. [he won't use the word superhero and he can't remember the one Barry used to describe people with super powers earlier]

[Weeeeeeeell actually it kinda was Barry's fault, in a way, it's really complicated and involves time travel which makes it hard to explain.]

Yeah. Guess it is. Everything's got collateral damage somehow.

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