plotting to unnerve her

[self_composed]

Bella finds Milliways in the moon palace instead of one of her balconies.

"Huh," she says aloud.

Then, to Alice, Libby, Elena, and Mary, and Lazarus except he autoreplies with a busy message, [Hey folks, Moonstone Palace grew a bar that I don't remember putting in, come check it out.]

Comments

[self_composed]

"And yet, funnily enough, I put the safety features in because I wanted them as they are," Bella says mildly. "And so I would not much care for even the nicest of breakage."

[manofmyword]

"Suit yourself."

[self_composed]

"Always."

[manofmyword]

"I'm getting that impression."

[self_composed]

"Aren't you observant."

[manofmyword]

"I sure am!"

[self_composed]

"So your bat-costume-clad crush," Bella says, "do you not even know her name? Or is her name actually Bat or Bats or something?"

[manofmyword]

"Oh, it's a big secret," he says. "I tried to get it out of her once, at the beginning, but I don't really care. I already know who she really is. I don't need to know who she pretends to be when the sun's up."

[self_composed]

"Is this dressing up as a terrifying expensive non-festive small mammal and then going out at night and getting into fights with the criminally insane a thing in your world?"

[manofmyword]

"Not until her, it wasn't."

[self_composed]

"Has she," Bella asks innocently, "inspired copybats?"

[manofmyword]

...

He cracks up.

[self_composed]

[manofmyword]

"She did!" he giggles. "They were a riot. Dried up pretty quick after I killed one, though. 'S a shame."

[self_composed]

"Ah. Yes, I'd imagine that would do it."

[manofmyword]

"Never made a dent in her, though."

[self_composed]

"I'm curious," Bella says. "If she disappeared - suppose she died of a heart attack or developed a deadly peanut allergy, all by herself - something boring - would you even bother continuing to terrorize the place?"

[manofmyword]

"Mm... maybe," he says. "Maybe not. I hope she doesn't; it'd break my heart."

The wide-eyed anxious delivery of 'break my heart' is deliberately exaggerated, but that doesn't make the message any less true.

[self_composed]

"So she'd have a reasonable shot at quitting the carnage just by not dressing up as a bat anymore," says Bella. "If you don't know her daytime identity, that'd be all she'd have to do - quit appearing in the bat outfit in a way consistent with her being dead-or-disappeared. And then if it didn't work, she could just 'come back'."

[manofmyword]

He shrugs.

"She doesn't know that. And I bet she thinks getting me locked up solved the problem just fine."

[self_composed]

"Yes, but I mean after you get out. Unless you're planning to dress up like a marmoset to throw her off."

[manofmyword]

He giggles.

"Nah. Anyway, she's not just after me. And say what you like about her, she scared half the crime outta Gotham. The boys wouldn'ta hired me to kill her if she wasn't playing hell with their bottom line."

[self_composed]

"Well, maybe she can get the other half down to reasonable levels while you're put away, and then when you escape she'll have the leeway to retire-slash-fake-her-death," shrugs Bella.

[manofmyword]

"And once she's done that, whos gonna keep 'em down? Besides, she's not the only hot prospect in town. I could have some fun with our shiny new police commissioner, I bet."

[self_composed]

"Fair enough."