angermanaging | IC contact (TuShanshu)

[ They did a lot of similar things, especially when attention was drawn to them. For Bruce, it was his intelligence, purposely left unaddressed by the man most of the time and yet shining through whenever he put his mind to a task. For Jack it was too much emphasis on being legendary, on being Winter and he'd laugh it off and remind them that he was from Pennsylvania so he was just a guy, not that much different than anyone else.

Jack doesn't move, hands resting inside the front pocket of his hoodie now that he was no longer holding onto the glass, watching Bruce. There's neither agreement nor denial in his posture or expression... waiting, to see where this went. Technically it could be taken either way: that Jack knew about Bruce being alone, or that Jack himself had been alone for a long time. Neither are incorrect. ]

[Bruce doesn't have any reason to suspect that Jack would know more about him than what he's told him, and so far, that hasn't been much, not regarding the real details of his life. So in this case he definitely means the latter.

Whereas before this conversation he'd always respected his distance and never pushed, now he's feeling a little more forthcoming about it.] It is different here, [he says, remembering the conversation they'd both had weeks ago about being not totally sure if they'd go home if they had the choice.] It's... possible. Easier. To know people.

[An unspoken concession that yes, he has let Jack, and others, grow important to him. He's not totally isolated, and he's not trying to push him away. Once, both of those would be true.]

Yeah. This place changes the rules... the ones we thought couldn't be changed.

[ Jack remembers that conversation too and it's something that's been in the back of his mind, lurking just below the surface. Especially given how suddenly people disappeared, here one moment and gone the next and it was an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. The spirit thought, maybe that's why I told him, just now... because there was the a fear (not unfounded) of the risk that he'd never get the chance.

He thinks, he should be uncomfortable about having things guessed about him but the awkwardness doesn't come. So he nodded finally, affirming Bruce's observation. He had been alone for a very long time, in more ways than one. Alone in being unseen, alone in having no guidance, alone in having no one he could rely on except himself. ]

[He's not surprised to have his guess confirmed. It makes sense. The pieces that he knows of Jack's life fit together that way; and Bruce might not know much about spirits, but he does know that part of the definition is immortality. By nature they tend toward the incorporeal, the abstract and the unreal. It's easy for him to imagine it as lonely, with his own experience drifting in and out of other's lives, as unseen as he could be. And for Jack it would be so many more years, when Bruce already felt like the nine he'd been on the run were so long they were erasing the ones that had come before it.

He knows, too, what it's like to lose a chance. He'd known it before he got here, and had it confirmed since with disappearances. Bruce doesn't begrudge him the impulse not to leave things unstated, when you never knew and couldn't trust that sudden external events wouldn't sweep them away from you. But Betty, and those here, had begun to make him believe that period of loss might always be eventually ended.

Lighter and almost wry,] Always seems like just when you give up is when someone comes along to prove you wrong.

[Costigan spontaneously contacts Bruce to meet for a quick tidbit. He shares that he has found out it's the Emperor who brings people here herself. Of perhaps most interest is that some people forgetting their time is a mistake in the technique used to bring people; it's unintentional collateral damage.]

[ The change in tone and words prompt a similar reaction from Jack, the heaviness in his gaze lightening once again. ]

You'd almost think they were doing it on purpose, huh? Ought to give those people a piece of my mind.

[ He withdraws his hands from the pocket of his sweater, takes his staff from where it was leaning innocuously against the wall, layering a fresh crackle of frost across the old wood. ]

I should get going.

[Bruce sets his cup aside and straightens up to say goodbye. He's still not sure he'd really helped any, but Jack had said that it made a difference, so he'll believe him. After a certain point, there's only so much you can do for someone else, in any case.

The window's still open from where he'd come in, and Bruce reflexively walks over to it to see him out.] Don't be a stranger, [he says, half-joking, half-serious.]

[Tony has a bad habit of believing that many of his ideas are actually fabulous and flawless instead of...y'know, a really bad idea.]

I worked in the design department primarily. I maintained and upgraded a lot of machinery, designed a few security systems, helped Mr. Stark with a few plans. Routine stuff.

[Technically more than routine if the Fantastic Four had trusted him with all their gadgets but Scott's never really been one to brag. Good as he might be in his field he's still nothing compared to the likes of Tony Stark and Reed Richards and all the other big names out there. It doesn't really matter though; he's comfortable being mostly unknown, both as an engineer as well as a superhero.]

I also ran my own business for awhile but [and there's a faint wince here] start-up companies are hard.

[Bruce tries to point out what a bad idea they are, but so far there's been no listening.

And that's more than Bruce was expecting to hear, which maybe comes through in faint, momentary surprise, before he nods in concession.] Especially here, [he agrees.] We could probably find something for you. That's not insignificant experience. If you can put up with Tony in designing, then-- [A half shrug. Far be it from him to discount that level of aptitude.]

Uh, usually Pepper deals with... personnel. But I don't think that'll be a problem.

[ Jack hops up, rests one leg bent beneath him on the sill and nods. ]

I won't.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[Admittedly, Scott hasn't had quite as much experience with Tony as Bruce has and the experience he has had has been with a different Tony in a different capacity, both of which he's not fully aware of.]

But yeah, I think I can handle that. And I can go talk to Pepper if that'll make things easier.

[Not that he necessarily likes being shunted from person to person but hey, he's used to it.]

Tony while he's in a work phase? [A hint of tolerant amusement.] Maybe yours is different. But he's a little, focused. [And that tends to make him somewhat impatient and rude to others, something Bruce deals with well but other people, he knows, not so much.]

Just stop in and say hi, [he decides.] I can't see her minding. She just likes to keep track of everyone.

[The use of 'yours' is a little surprising but not enough to throw Scott off orbit. He guesses he'll just keep that tidbit in mind in case he meets the Tony here.]

Actually, he's about the same. Or was, last time I saw him.

[Which, admittedly, was years ago. Plenty of time for a person to change, if they were so inclined. Or if things forced them to change.]

But can do and will do. Thanks for [erm] being so helpful. I appreciate it.

[Bruce is the last person Hayley expects to be sending this message, but he's the only one standing by process of elimination and it actually worries her a little just how few 'friends' she really has. Clark and Lois would have come first, normally, but the recent events with the rock have her trusting them a little less and Bruce is the only one she thinks can actually protect her, whom she trusts not to tell anyone about her request, and whom she's confident won't try anything. Not certain, but confident.]

Hey. [A beat.] You know I would never ask this if it wasn't super important.

[She pauses awkwardly. This message is clearly an uncomfortable and difficult one for her.]

Could I maybe stay in your suite tonight? Just for the one night. I'll sleep on the floor with my taser and I won't bother you, but I just.. [She trails off.] Please.

[The fear in her voice is meant to be hidden, but it's still noticeable, nearly akin to the level of her first mention of being abused.]

[Compared to the last couple times they'd seen each other, Bruce is much more his normal self. He's adjusted to the idea that she knows the vague outline of one of his secrets, and that it hasn't been brought up since then gives him some faith that it won't be in the future. As long as it remains unstated, he can go back to treating her like he did when they first met.

There is a lingering tell in how that conversation has changed his attitude toward her, however, in how immediately this concerns him.] Sure. I mean-- of course. What is it? Is someone after you?

[He doesn't make the immediate leap to Malicant's post, though it's a plausible enough explanation. His own history makes him think who's chasing you? instead of taking the incorporeal Death spirit as cause for alarm.]

[The miscommunication stands, because Bruce isn't one to gossip about other people and their alternates. Especially not when the Tony from his world is apparently so sensitive about being compared to the other one.]

If that counts as helpful, [he pokes fun at himself lightly.] Nice to meet you... [he has to recall his name,] Scott.

[There's a pause as she shifts uncomfortably. This is probably the hardest thing she has done on the turtle and she kind of hates Bruce all over again for the fact that he's the one she's calling.]

No. Not exactly. [She huffs, immediately burying some of that vulnerability behind her walls.] I'm fine, okay? I just want to stay somewhere else tonight.

[Resenting someone for things that aren't their fault is not unfamiliar to Bruce. He has thick enough skin not to take it personally.

After a second of silence, he relents.] Alright. I usually get home after dinner. You can come over.

... I'm sure you don't want my help, but-- [An audible exhale.] If you need something, then you should ask. [It's not a unilateral offer, he's not that naive, but it's at least a suggestion. A statement that he'd listen.]

[She knows she should say thank you, but she just can't bring herself to do it in this moment. Playing nice be damned. He already knows too much about her anyway.]

Ask.. who? You? [Skeptical as hell.] Because we're obviously best friends.

[Hayley knows it's not his fault, but she can't help it. She's scared and feels powerless, which makes her angry in general. That she has no one else and is having to turn to Bruce is only that much worse.]

[It's a valid point, but he's not daunted. Bruce has always been very clear on who deserved help, and it was a separate issue from anything else, in his mind.]

We don't need to be friends, [he counters calmly. Bruce's altruism may seem out of place in his character, but he wants to make a positive impact wherever he can. Not to balance the scales for the other things he's responsible for, no, that sort of thinking was never going to work. It was just because he needs to, for his own sanity. For his own belief that he's not a monster. He has to do something good.]

[She wants to point out that she can't really ask for help from someone without trusting them and that, well, she doesn't trust him. But it all seems counterproductive. Besides, that would mean admitting that she does need help. Which she totally doesn't.]

I'll see you after dinner.

[Well, if that's the way she wants to play it...]

Alright. WA-1C.

[It's a few hours after dinner when Hayley shows up at Bruce's door, closer to bedtime than any meal. She second guesses the decision a few times both before leaving and on her way, but the truth is that she just doesn't want to be alone tonight and there's no one else she really trusts right now who's not angry with her.

Hayley loiters at his door for a full ten seconds before she finally builds up the courage to knock, glancing around and hoping no one sees her. She has a reputation to uphold, after all. The girl's in her usual Converse, jeans, and red jacket, her messenger bag slung over her shoulder. While the idea had crossed her mind that bringing a blanket might be a good idea, wandering all the way from the Metal Sector to Water with a blanket in her arms was just too unappealing. Instead, she simply hopes that Bruce has some excess.]

[He does have a few extra, and has the couch set up with them neatly folded on the arm, a pillow propped next to it. It's visible through the doorway when Bruce opens it, his apartment a small, spartan, bare place that matches poverty of its surroundings. He hasn't acquired many possessions, and what little there is seem to be odd curiosities, tea pots or tech that he's tinkering with.

He has a white tank top, an open short sleeve shirt, and kedan style pants on, his normal sitting around at home clothes, and can't help a brief look of curiosity over her as he wonders what this all is about.

But he knows better than to leap right into that. Bruce merely takes a step back and gestures her in.] You can have the couch. Did you eat?

[It's not a dad question (God forbid); it's a polite inquiry, given the smells drifting from the kitchen. Bruce tends to eat late, after getting caught up in work.]

[Hayley slides awkwardly through the door, trying somehow to remain unnoticed and thus less likely to be addressed, despite the very obvious necessity of their communicating. Her eyes never leave him, her back never meets him. It's not that she doesn't trust him, per say, but, well, she doesn't trust him. Just because he can provide the closest thing she has to a safer place doesn't mean that it is safe.

Once inside, she edges awkwardly around the invisible bubble surrounding him, keeping equidistant as she moves farther into the room and glances briefly about at the surroundings and how he's decorated his suite. It reminds her too much of her own, only cleaner. So few things to speak to the man he is, his tastes, or who he might desire to be. His suite is as hollow as his perceived identity, as her own tastes and preferences.]

A little. [It's a safe answer, one that allows her to accept or deny any offer or request upon elaboration.]

IC contact (TuShanshu)

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ASSUMED -- aug 9th

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